BBQ season is upon us, let’s get grilling

Spring is here and the sun is shining; it’s time to get out those dusty BBQ’s and move into the garden. The BBQ is a much-loved celebration of food and the outdoors; a time to bring out our best ingredients. We’ve collected tips from BoTree seasoning experts to help you have the best BBQ yet.

Let’s start at the beginning

High quality charcoal or wood are both good options; wood is our favourite because of the lovely flavours and aromas it adds to food. Meat should be room temperature to start, so take it out of the fridge an hour or so before you cook it.

Now comes the fun part: seasoning food before lighting the barbecue. Black, Red, and White Kampot peppers all have a part to play depending on what is on the menu. When it comes to salt, you can never go wrong with BoTree’s pure, creamy crystals of Fleur de Sel.

Important note: Be sure to add salt to both sides of meat as it absorbs moisture and heats up the outer side of what you’re cooking.

Take olive oil and rub it in with hands. On both sides, grind pepper (see below for type) and sprinkle Fleur de Sel to taste.

Juicy meat

A meaty steak and robust Black Kampot pepper were made for each other. Pork and lamb benefit from the softer Red Kampot pepper with its hint of sweetness. We love to slow-roast pork and lamb on the barbecue as flavours infuse this way and the meat becomes really tender. After cooking, the fats will have tightened up from the heat so allow the meat to rest (depending on size, between 5-20 minutes). Have a warm dish prepared to put it in. Add foil to the top and soon the muscles will relax, enabling all the flavourful juices to emerge. You end up with well-cooked meat in its own jus – delicious!

Grilled Fish

Our family favourite is steamed salmon with a fabulous marinade of lime juice, minced ginger, Red Kampot pepper and onions. Squeeze lime all over, wrap it with foil to create a bag, and put that on the barbecue. Within 20-25 minutes, you have lovely steamed fish with smoky flavours from the grill coming through. Alternatively, sprinkling Herbs de Kampot onto every type of fish quickly adds a satisfying blend of spices, Kampot peppers, herbs, and Fleur de Sel.

Seasonal vegetables and sides

For veggie crowd-pleasers, you can’t go wrong serving sweet corn with Red Kampot pepper and high-quality butter. For a lovely salad, try this delightful French dressing recipe: olive oil, Dijon, a little white wine vinegar, ground Red Kampot pepper, Fleur de Sel, and a little brown sugar. Shake to mix.

We also like thinly sliced courgette w/ Red and Fleur de Sel – just quickly grill both sides. Utilise spring veggies like early new potatoes and wild garlic (a flower with fresh, lovely garlic flavour) in lieu of crushed garlic.

If you’re using barbecue coals, throw on some tasty baked potatoes. Slice the potatoes in half, grind White Kampot pepper on top with Fleur de Sel. Wrap in foil, and sit them in the heat of the BBQ.

A refreshing tipple

Our Salted Pepper Berries have endless uses (canapés, salads, snack mixes…) but the fan favourite continues to be the Gin & Tonic. There’s a science behind this coupling: to be fizzy, tonic is infused with gas which gives a slight metallic taste, and the salt around the berries neutralises it. The piperine-packed pepper berries themselves wake up the taste buds so you’re then able to taste all the botanicals at a much more elevated level.

We favour Tarsier Gin, which offers the taste of a high quality dry London gin with a subtle essence of Southeast Asia that’s perfect for the summer time. The gin is infused with flavours from the region including lemongrass, galangal, and our Black and Red Kampot peppers. Pour a glass, pop in some Salted Pepper Berries along with a garnish of ginger for heat that brings it all together.