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The uninitiated might think it’s easy to throw a banging beach barbecue in Hong Kong, what with the built in fire pits and readily available coals, fire lighters and equipment at all of our most popular strips of sand. Those who have ever attempted to organise one, however, will know only too well how easily things can go wrong, from pink chicken, to warm wine, to the absence of ketchup. As seasoned sand sous chefs ourselves, we will now share with you our hard-won BBQ knowhow that goes beyond the simple art of fire starting.
Delegation Stations
Photo: Wikicommons
First thing’s first: unless you’re as organised as Monica from Friends (with accompanying headset), you’re not going to be able to do this all on your own. Delegate tasks of relatively equal easiness and cost to those attending so you don’t have to worry about splitting money at the end. For example, one person can get sausages and salad, another chicken wings and bread, another burgers and crisps. And rather than buying new bottles of condiments and lugging them all to way to the beach, tell your crew to bring the leftover sauce sachets from their late night fast food shame stops instead. We know you all have them.
Preparing is caring
If you’re on meat duty and you want extra culinary points, get your flesh the day before and leave it to marinade overnight. A simple honey and mustard marinade works wonders for chicken, while something with a little more kick, such as ginger, chili and soy sauce, will spice up your pork. Talking of pork, think about doing kebabs instead of boring old steaks. Cut your meat and veggies into bite-sized pieces and bag them up in your chosen marinade the day before. Soak your wooden skewers in water for at least an hour in the morning so they don’t burn on the barbie, and carry them separately to the beach for assembly on arrival. Much easier than having fully loaded pointy sticks poking holes in you carrier bag on the bus!
Chicken drumsticks, beef steaks and jacket potatoes are not your friends
While juicy chicken drumsticks and big beef steaks may look sexy on the supermarket shelves, they do not typically do well over the coals. Big chunks of chicken take a lot longer than you think to cook through, meaning you risk poisoning all your mates, which has never worked out well for us. On the contrary, beef steaks cook faster than expected, leaving you with overdone, tough slabs of meat that you probably don’t have the cutlery, plates or energy to deal with. Opt for self-marinated (see above) chicken wings, and either pre-made or homemade burgers instead. Jacket potatoes in foil are also never as good as you might hope, so bag up some raw, chopped pumpkin pieces, garlic cloves and a slug of olive oil in the morning and transfer to foil on arrival. Place your little silver parcel of joy on the grill and have a delicious veggie dish in less than 10 minutes.
Baguettes not buns, hun
Unless you’re rolling with the carb-free cross-fitters, you’re going to want bread for your burgers and sausages. Rather than taking up a bunch of bag space with rank long-life burger and hotdog buns that fall apart as soon as you touch them, however, head to your nearest half decent bakery on the morning of your barbecue and purchase a couple of fresh French-style baguettes. They can be cut into any size you need (don’t forget a wee serrated knife), are easy to carry and look cute poking out of any nap sack. Yep, you get extra points for looking cute.
Be a brainy boozer
Until now, we had few choices when it came to your beachside boozing. You could bring you own beer, wine, ice and a cool box if you want to keep your drinks cool and your wallet (and bags) heavy, or you could buy crazily overpriced beer from the shops by the sand. Neither is ideal.
If you’re down for something a little more classy and convenient, however, hook up with your new best beach buddy BottlesXO. Operating at Shek O Beach in July, Repulse Bay and Deep Water Bay in August, and Clear Water Bay Beach 2 in September, these guys will deliver your chosen wine to your spot on the sand, chilled, within 15 minutes of ordering, with no minimum charge or delivery fee. They even supply the corkscrew and plastic cups!
Beach-goers will also be given a code for 10 percent off their first order valid only on the beach, with a follow-up offer of 12 percent to be used anytime in the following two weeks. Simply download the app, pick from a range of hand-selected ethical and affordable wines – these guys actually go to the vineyards, taste the grapes and talk to the growers themselves – choose to pay online or by cash on delivery, and sit back and watch your tipple getting closer on GPS.
Beach barbecue in the bag!
FYI, outside of BottlesXO’s summer beach campaign, order wine on any occasion or location on Hong Kong Island or Kowloon, and your delivery will come within the hour. Enjoy wine delivered at the perfect temperature at any time of the year.
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