Beer-butt chicken

It's finally June, and with it comes the longest days of the year, a minor heatwave, hayfever in all its glory and, inevitably, BBQ season. There's nothing I like better than standing around the grill, sipping a chilled glass of rosé and anticipating the smokiness of a well grilled meal. Not for us the burnt shells of sausages and cheapo burgers - we like to go all out and try new things each year.

Happy as Larry in the sunshine

When we bought our BBQ, we struggled greatly with the decision of gas versus charcoal. I'm naturally inclined towards the gas option, having grown up with one and knowing the ease with which it can be fired up, temperature controlled and easily cleaned. The great downside is that gas cylinders for said BBQs cannot be delivered, which would have increased the expense of purchasing a BBQ exponentially, due to the subsequent need of buying a car. It wasn't out of the question, but that con combined with husband's belief that food tastes much better on a charcoal BBQ convinced me to settle for the latter.

This does mean, however, that I'm very unlikely to want to BBQ most summer evenings, because of the time it takes to get the charcoal to the right temperature, the cost of burning a whole bag of charcoal just for a small meal for two, and the smell that lingers on my hair and clothes the next day. So when we do BBQ for two, we tend to go a little overboard and grill something big and slow, like the beer-can chicken we pulled off on Saturday night.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the concept, this involves sticking a can of half drunk beer up a whole chicken's butt, then sitting the chicken upright on top of the BBQ to cook. The beer evaporates and steams the chicken from the inside, giving it an incredible moistness, the chicken cooks evenly due to the fat dripping down the BBQ and the meat has a lovely smokiness from the charcoal. Winner winner chicken dinner!

I got a beer can up my butt

Naturally one can't have just a chicken for dinner, so we popped a couple of foil-wrapped sweet potatoes alongside the chicken, knowing they'd take an equally long time (about 1.25 hours) to bake and would be super tasty alongside our drunken bird. With a cheeky salad to go on the side and some low calorie sausages to serve as a starter, that made excellent use of the charcoal bag.
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A feast for the eyes (and stomach)

Sausages and hot sauce = ideal

June or not, we know it was likely to get pretty chilly as the sun went down. So we brought out the fire pit, for the last time ever, because by the end of the night we'd realised that the fire grating has rusted through and it has turned into a safety hazard (for our garden and all the grass). We'd paid about forty quid for this little gem about four years ago, and it has been great value for money - I'm exceptionally sad to see it go!

Adieu to le firepit

But with all endings comes new beginnings, and I have no doubt there is one in sight for our pyro-based activities. We'd love to landscape our garden this year (although the thought of the difficulty of finding a landscaper in London is making me feel ill) and part of that landscaping should really include putting in a chiminea or....the dream....a pizza oven. Fingers crossed!