Barbecue at Watergate Bay

You know it’s summer when the barbecue’s come out. At Watergate Bay we have seen families and friends all tucking into feasts of sausages, burgers and seafood cooked on the barbie and enjoyed by the sea, but there is no reason why you can’t pull on a pullover and barbecue through the autumn as well.

At Watergate Bay beach you can barbecue all year round, in fact it’s thought of as one of the best barbecue spots in the UK.

Here’s some of our favourite barbecue food, recipes and tips:

Sausages

Kernow Sausage Company is an artisan producer of sausages, bacon and gammon. Grab a packet of Cornish Bratwurst sausages or Trelawney Traditional sausages; line them up over medium heat to allow for that extra depth of smoky flavours and wait until they are cooked through.

Top Tip: Glaze your sausages in marmalade. Once cooked they won’t taste like marmalade but be coated in a delicious sticky sauce that you're guaranteed to love!

Lobster

Move over shrimps, we are throwing lobster on our barbie!

Take a sharp knife and cut straight through the middle.
Remove the dark digestive tract, stomach and gills (similar to the dead man's fingers in crabs).
Barbecue your lobster for a few minutes and lather in garlic butter.

Top tip: If you don’t fancy preparing the lobster yourself head to the local fishmonger that morning and ask them to do it for you. Whilst you are there why not pick up some prawns too!

Take some fresh bread to mop up any garlic butter.

Halloumi burger on a plate taken from above

Burgers

If you have time we recommend making your own burger patty’s at home as they give a bigger and better taste.

Place your burgers on the barbie, making sure to turn them over and rotate them towards the heat.
Once cooked, melt a piece of cheese on the top and grill the flat side of your burger buns until toasted.
Start stackin’.
Burger bun, garlic mayo, lettuce, tomato, burger and cheese, tomato relish, burger bun. Done.

Top tip: Make your own burger patties for a bigger burger with a bigger taste.

Spatchcock chicken sharing board with patatas bravas, grilled corn and padron peppers

Chicken with a barbecue glaze

Coat chicken thighs and legs in barbecue sauce; you could make your own but to speed things up why not just grab a bottle.
Leave them to marinate overnight in an airtight container.
When the barbecue is nice and hot, spread them across the heat until cooked through.

Top tip: Marinade the chicken overnight to allow it to take on the flavours of the sauce.

Pimms

Our favourite drink to enjoy at a British barbecue is Pimms. It’s the perfect mix of thirst-quenching and refreshing and compliments smokey barbecue nibbles perfectly.

Top tip: Mix you Pimms with Ginger Ale instead of lemonade.

Top barbecue tips

Have a water spray gun handy to cool the coals, if they are too hot they will burn the food rather than cook it through.

Lobster is the perfect barbecue food as its shell encases the meat as a built-in cooking vessel – try it with basil or garlic butter.

Crab, however, doesn’t work quite as well on the barbecue as the meat can stick to the shell.

For a better flavour marinade your meat and fish overnight with your favourite herbs and spices. You could use oil, lemon juice, lime juice and/or coconut milk.

Grilled halloumi cheese is great finger food if your peckish whilst waiting for your meat to cook.

Try something sweet on the barbie! How about bananas wrapped in foil with brown sugar. Or grilled pineapple and peaches which are the perfect accompaniment for pork.

Experiment! Cooking over the barbecue is a great time to try new flavour combinations, sauces and glazes. Try adding some Applewood, Maple or Oak chippings to your fire for smoke infusions.