If I think back to barbecues when I was a boy, the food available was very limited. You had a choice between hot dogs and burgers.
I don’t recall barbecues of my youth being hugely enjoyable. In fact I think they’ve become much more popular in recent years and as our expectations have grown, in line with the quality of food available.
To mark National Barbecue Month, the guys at Iceland challenged me to take a look at its range of frozen meats and put together a feast. Iceland is renowned for its #PowerOfFrozen concept, and on this occasion I put it to very good use.
What is the #PowerOfFrozen? Essentially it is the idea that frozen foods can be convenient, high quality and tasty. I’ve been very pleasantly surprised by Iceland’s range in recent months and so I was more than happy to give this challenge a go.
A few days before the planned barbecue, I went online and ordered a range of items. The highlights were: beef burger koftas, churassco sausages (a new addition to the Iceland family), boneless chilli and lime beef ribs and Argentinian shrimp.
Some would disagree, but I feel a barbecue requires salad and I was delighted to be able to order a number of salad items including olives and beetroot and fresh tomatoes. Before the order I arrived, I even received a text message reminding me the goods were on their way.
On the morning of the ‘great cook’, the weather was unpredictable. In fact, I woke up in the morning and asked our Google Home what the weather would be like and she informed me I could expect showers and a “high of 12 degrees.”
I then looked in the garden. Our barbecue was covered in a thick layer of frost. I was very surprised by this considering the time of year.
I am very experienced at using charcoal barbecues. Even so, the weather did indeed turn out to be cold and changeable and so I decided to start the food off in the oven and finish it off on the barbecue. As you can see from these images, this approach worked very well.
My favourite was definitely the churassco sausages. They taste marvellous and they are also pre-prepared on skewers making them easy to cook as you turn them all at the same time giving you peace of mind they have all cooked for the same length of time.
The boneless chilli and lime beef ribs tasted lovely. Having been taken off the bone there was little fiddling around with the food. As anyone used to barbecuing food will know, you want to keep fuss to a minimum.
As for the burger koftas and shrimp, well, they show how far barbecue food has come on over recent years. Cardboard-burgers and plain sausages are a thing of the past. You can now have real variety when you have a barbecue.
Have you any barbecues planned? Maybe you have a barbecue planned for the Bank Holiday at the end of May? If so, I hope it goes well and I hope you’ve enjoyed this introduction to the Iceland range.
Disclosure: This post was produced in partnership with Iceland.
10 thoughts on “Barbecues: So much better than they used to be”
Totally agree – I may not be as old as you ;p but the BBQs from my youth were basically burgers and sausages. With things like ribs, steaks etc, there’s definitely a better choice these days.
Thank you for pointing out our difference in age. I believe mine to be superior! if you thought barbecues were bad when you were young, you should have tried them when I was a boy.
You know what? I’ve never actually been to Iceland for anything… But those look amazing! We’re planning to have a barbecue soon, so having something other than just chicken breast and wings will be awesome. Thanks for the advice!
Hi Gareth, yes Iceland has come on a lot. I only ever used to go there to buy frozen spinach and even then it was rare. These days it’s a regular fixture for us as the range has expanded hugely and features some really good produce. I recommend it.
Thanks 🙂 I’m definitely going to have to take a visit to my local one next time I’m doing a weekly shop… Shame it’s 25 miles from my home, haha.
Check out the online delivery service. Should serve your area I’d have thought?
Looks good John. I much prefer the way BBQs are these days, those ribs look amazing.
Yes the ribs were great. Barbecues have improved no end I think.
I love barbecues and have already had two or three this year. I’ve tried some of the Iceland stuff too and really enjoyed it. Think I’m going to have to go back for the shrimp and koftas – they look delicious!
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