A Very Saucy Aussie Summer
The sun is out, beaches are filling up and its finally Aussie BBQ season! Anybody can throw something on the barbie, but taking extra steps to create delicious accompaniments to your meal will make it all the more special. With these 4 amazing sauce recipes, you will have all your bases covered for killer barbecues and gatherings this holiday season!
The Only 4 Sauces You Need:
- Chimichurri Sauce
- Aioli
- Orange & Fennel BBQ Sauce
- Chilli & Tomato Jam
Chimichurri Sauce
This South American dressing has a fantastic zing from fresh herbs and lime, yet an earthy spiciness from cumin, coriander and chili. Perfect with steak or lamb.
Ingredients
- 1 heaped tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp coriander seed
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 cups firmly packed mixed parsley, mint and coriander
- ½ tsp dried chili flakes
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 125ml /1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- Juice of ½ lime
Instructions:
Toast the spices until fragrant in a small pan (optional).
Add everything to a blender except the olive oil, and blend until the herbs are in very small pieces. Slowly add the olive oil with the motor going.
Check for seasoning. Add a little water if necessary to thin.
Aioli
This velvety sauce is so delicious dolloped under fish or on top of roasted vegetables. Experiment by adding other flavourings to the base recipe below, such as a drizzle of truffle oil, chopped herbs or smoking it with the Davis and Waddell Smoke Infuser.
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- Juice of ½ lemon
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
Place everything in a mixing bowl and stir to incorporate. Store in a glass jar or container in the fridge for 1 week.
Orange and Fennel BBQ Sauce
This BBQ sauce has a deliciously fruity flavour, a little fiery kick and a nice background flavour from a sprinkling of fennel seeds. A really nice homemade sauce to have in your repertoire. Great with chicken, pork baby back ribs or on burgers.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup tomato ketchup
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic
- Grated zest and juice of one orange
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp fennel seed
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Bring everything to boil, then reduce to a simmer for 10-15 minutes until thickened (reduced by 1/3) and bubbly.
Pour into a sterilized jar, keeps for 3 weeks.
Since it's also the holidays, here's a fun idea. Store your freshly made sauce into a stylish jar to keep it fresh for a longer duration, while serving as a lovely gift to spice up your loved one's dish! Check out our post, How To Out BBQ All of your Mates.
Chilli and Tomato Jam
This chili and tomato jam is absolutely lip smacking and highly versatile – serve it with a cheese board, on burgers, poured over some cream cheese as a dip for crackers, or my personal favourite; with BBQ’ed fish, prawns, or scallops.
Ingredients
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 2 tsp cumin powder
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 inch piece of ginger, grated or finely chopped
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 4 large red tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 8 red chillies, such as cayenne, seeds removed and chopped
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- A few drops of fish sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
Heat a large pan (we find the Scanpan Pro IQ Wok perfect for this) to medium, then add the coriander, cumin, star anise and cinnamon and dry fry for about 5 minutes.
Add the oil, and then the onion. Let that cook and sweeten for another 5 minutes before adding the garlic. Add the tomatoes, chopped chillies, ginger, 1 cup of water, the fish sauce, rice vinegar, sugar and salt. Let it come to a simmer for about 20 minutes until the liquid has reduced by half and it is syrupy and bubbly.
Becky Gillespie is a food writer and former Masterchef semi-finalist. She is currently working part-time as a chef, having chosen to do on the job training instead of enrolling at the culinary school. Becky is a recipe writer and product tester for many household name brands via Everten, and her own food blog, www.eatwhatweeat.com focusses on family-friendly meals with the wow factor that are healthy, fast and simple to prepare.
Becky is originally from the US but lived in London for 15 years and now resides in Sydney with her husband and two little boys. Her food is inspired a lot by her travels (and desire to travel more).
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