BBQ Season

Recipe Page 59

RECIPES VICKI RAVLICH-HORAN | IMAGES BRYDIE THOMPSON

My secret to a great BBQ is good quality meat and lots of delicious salads and sides. The better quality the meat the less you need, as it will shine. Add in some interesting salads using beautiful in season produce and you will impress without breaking the bank.

BBQ PORK RIBS

WITH CHARGRILLED CORN & ZUCCHINI SALAD

Back in my university days, I worked in a Tex Mex restaurant that served the best pork ribs. From then on, every rib experience is measured against these and sadly most don’t live up to expectations. There are a number of reasons for this, namely the poor-quality ribs to begin with and the cooking method. I believe to get fall-off-the-bone, melt-in-the-mouth ribs you need to cook them slowly first. Some people do this by simmering them in a stock, but I have found this is often too harsh and the best results are in a low (130°C) oven. Then once precooked you can slather them in your favourite sauce and sear them on the BBQ for some down and dirty lip smacking, finger licking ribs. I used St Louis pork ribs, which are cut from the belly of the pig giving you meatier ribs. They also have a layer of fat which adds lots of flavour. This is a favoured cut of low and slow BBQ fans as they suit beautifully a lovely, long, smoky cook.

PORK RIBS

1.5kg (approx. two racks) St Louis ribs 2 tsp salt 1 tsp pepper 2 tsp chopped thyme 2–3 cups apple cider (alternatively you can use apple juice, chicken stock or just water)

Pat the ribs dry and rub all over with the salt, pepper and thyme. Allow to sit at room temperature for an hour before placing in a large oven tray with 2 cups of cider. Cover loosely with foil and cook at 130°C for 3–4 hours. After 2 hours check and add more liquid if needed. Once the ribs are cooked, remove them from the oven and allow to cool.

Generously slather the cooked ribs with the BBQ sauce and cook fat side down first on the BBQ until warmed through and golden. Slice the ribs down the bone and serve with more BBQ sauce.

BBQ SAUCE

This basic BBQ sauce comes from the King of BBQ

1½ cups tomato sauce ½ cup water ½ cup apple cider vinegar 2 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp paprika ¼ cup white vinegar 1/3 cup brown sugar 1 tsp salt 1 tsp pepper

Place all the ingredients into a small pot and heat. Bring to a simmer and then take off the heat.

CHARGRILLED CORN AND ZUCCHINI SALAD

4–5 zucchini 4 cobs of corn ¼ cup lemon juice ¼ cup olive oil 1 tsp sugar pinch salt pinch ground black pepper ½ cup basil ½ cup mint ½ cup chives

Cut the zucchini on the angle into 1cm thick slices. Husk the corn and chargrill both on the BBQ. Allow to cool.

In a large bowl whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, sugar, salt and black pepper. Roughly chop or tear the herbs and stir into the dressing. Cut the corn into 2cm pieces and toss these and the zucchini in with the dressing and herbs. Serve on a generous platter at room temperature.

TOMAHAWK STEAK WITH SALSA VERDE

This is a very impressive cut of meat and one you will be hard pressed to find at the supermarket. Basically, a piece of beef rib eye (or scotch fillet) with the rib bone still intact, you’ll find Tomahawk steaks at great butchers. Because the bone is still attached, a Tomahawk steak is often thicker than the average scotch fillet, so you need to take this into consideration when cooking it.

1 Tomahawk steak will feed 3–4 people. To cook the steak, season liberally with salt and pepper as the BBQ or a cast iron griddle pan is heating up. Sear the steak in a very hot pan or BBQ for 3–5 minutes on each side depending how you like your steak.

The key is a VERY hot pan or BBQ and only turn the steak once, so you get beautiful caramelisation. Once seared, place in a hot oven (200°C) for 5–10 minutes (again depending how you like your steak). Remove from the oven and rest for 5–10 minutes before slicing and serving with the salsa verde.

SALSA VERDE

1 cup coriander 1 cup parsley 1 tbsp Dijon mustard 1 garlic clove 1 anchovy fillet 1 tbsp lemon juice 3 tbsp pinch of salt

Place all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Place in a glass jar and store in the fridge for up to a week.

TIP – remove the steak from the fridge at least 30 minutes before cooking.

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ANIMAL INSTINCT

WORDS VICKI JONES

IMAGE BRYDIE THOMPSON

Being able to do what you love every day is a goal that many never quite achieve. Being able to define your passion or dream is often just as hard. Artist Clinton Christian feels his animal instincts have finally kicked in and he has been brave enough to pursue his true passion.

At the start of 2018, gratefully supported by his family, he left his career as an architectural designer to focus full time on his passion for painting. Something that had been predominately neglected for over 20 years. Clinton, known as Clint©, is now developing a keen group of followers for his unique artistic style, exhibiting and selling across the country.

“Art was my A+ subject and passion at school, but for me it wasn’t really encouraged as a career pathway,” Clint explains. “I did go on to study Visual Arts after school but buying my first home had soon become the priority rather than art school.”

Clint entered the building industry and after beginning on the tools eventually was drawn to creating again by training and working as a draftsman. It was a job that allowed a degree of creative output but not enough to feed his passion for true artistic expression. “Too many straight lines!” he jokes.

It was not until a series of personal life events, including the passing of his mother, that Clint decided that he needed to follow his heart, even though it meant taking a huge step backwards financially.

“It was like I flicked a switch,” Clint explains. “It probably looked like a mid-life crisis, but for me it was like I just knew what I was born to do.”

He set himself a target of six months to try full-time painting, see how it went and then reassess. Allowing time to build himself a studio on his rural Waikato property, just north of Hamilton, the trial period was extended a bit but, by the end of the year, he was well and truly underway with private sales and commissions.

Yet to exhibit in a gallery, Clint remembers taking a piece to Claudia at The Mandarin Tree gallery in Gordonton Village and telling her he wanted to be an artist. “Her response was ‘you already are’ and she soon suggested a solo exhibition.” Eight weeks later Clint’s first exhibition was a great success, and he continues to exhibit at the Mandarin Tree gallery.

Early and recent works have largely focused on nature, inspired in particular by the uniqueness of what he sees in his surroundings or farm animals he finds interesting. “Every animal has its own personality,” Clint observes.

Clint’s early pieces were more realistic in style, created using acrylics on canvas, but a series of animals in a unique style Clint has dubbed ‘rural pop-art’ has really got him some attention.

“I want to create artworks that are something different, and that are in a style that is unique to me but with a bit of Kiwi flavour we can all relate too,” he explains. “I’d always been inspired by the likes of Warhol and Picasso with their use of colour and shapes, but now there are also many artists on social media whose work inspires me to be myself.”

Clint was recently due to exhibit his work at the Cloud, on the Auckland viaduct for The Auckland Art Show but with Covid restrictions this led to an unexpected twist and the show became an online only event.

“I was really disappointed at the time not to talk with the public about my art but as a result of going online it got wider interest across the country,” Clint recalls.

In fact, sales were well above his expectations with Clint finishing in the top 10 for sales of 147 artists at the show with his work heading for homes from Auckland to Timaru, including the mayor’s chambers in Westport.

Looking to the future, Clint is happy to be continuing to do what he loves, happy that others get joy from his work. “My style is evolving and I’m always trying to do something a bit different, to create my own identity as an artist,” explains Clint. “I look forward to the time when someone sees one of my works and says, ‘Oh, that’s a painting by Clint©, isn’t it?’”

Clinton Christian’s work can be seen at The Mandarin Tree Gallery in Gordonton and galleries across the Waikato, including Waihi Beach Gallery and Rivet in Raglan. Alternatively, you can follow Clint’s journey on Instagram@clintc.artist or Facebook @Cc’d