For many, backyard entertaining often means throwing a few hot dogs or steaks on the Hibachi and washing them down with a beer. But if you're aiming for something a little more sophisticated this season, why not try a restaurant-calibre tasting menu? A variety of barbecued flatbreads, ribs and veggies in elegant single servings allow the grill master to show off his or her skills while providing diners with a range of taste sensations. And you haven't savoured seasonal fruit until you've tried it grilled, frozen or drenched in rum.
To serve your tasting menu, have plenty of trays, small bowls, large spoons and shot glasses at the ready. Here is a backyard smorgasbord in bite-sized samplings from appetizers to dessert.
Grilled flatbread
For a tasty starter, cook some basic pizza dough on the grill and have guests choose their preferred toppings from a trio of simple chunky salsas in colourful mini buckets. Sweet/savoury threesomes might include peach and goat cheese, pear and gorgonzola or cherry jalapeno. Hang the breads from a clothesline when they're hot off the grill for a truly original presentation.
To kick off your tasting party, have guests choose their own topping for grilled flatbread from a trio of sweet-savoury salsas, such as peach and goat cheese, pear and gorgonzola or cherry jalapeno.
Ingredients
Pizza dough as required
Olive oil
Salt
Method
Pull apart your sheet of pizza dough into smaller portions and stretch each out into oval-shaped individual servings. Rub a little olive oil onto each piece, sprinkle with salt and cook them on the grill until brown. Encourage guests to spoon on the assorted salsas and chutneys while the bread is still hot.
Slow-cooked dry ribs
Ribs are high on everyone's summer grill list. For your tasting menu, try traditional ribs with a sticky barbecue sauce, Korean kalbi short beef ribs (a bone-in cut available at most Asian markets) and ribs coated with a spicy dry rub like the one perfected by my brother Sean, who has kindly provided the recipe below. Since Sean's ribs are slow-cooked, you will need to get them on the grill about four to five hours before serving. (The Korean ribs, by comparison, are thinner cuts and therefore require only about 10 minutes on the grill.)
To serve your trio, place one of each type of rib in individual bowls on a single platter for each person. Include a finger bowl containing warm water and a lemon slice and lots of napkins.
Provide a sampling of different ribs - sticky, dry-rubbed, Korean - by serving three kinds in single bowls.
Ingredients
Short ribs as required
Dry rib rub:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 teaspoons ground sage
3 tablespoons seasoned salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
1 tablespoon celery salt
1 tablespoons cayenne pepper
Method
Combine spices in a bowl and set aside until needed. Although there is no need to pre-boil the ribs for this recipe, you should remove the silverskin; do so by holding each rib at one end and peeling the skin off with a fork. Rub the spice mix into the ribs an hour or two before cooking, coating them liberally on all sides. This recipe provides enough rub for the whole summer and also tastes great on pork tenderloin and chicken breasts.
If you're cooking your ribs on a barbecue, heat the grill up so that the internal thermometer reads 425 F. Place the ribs curve side up over low flame for 15 to 25 minutes. Turn the flame to medium and move the ribs to the other side of the grill so that they cook on indirect heat for an additional 3.5 hours or even longer if you wish.
