Bratty's Backyard Barbecues

Barbecues used to mean sweaty nights at chalets with undercooked chicken wings, and an overdose of cheap supermarket hotdogs. But not anymore. Ever since I met Bratty, there have been endless possibilities over smouldering charcoal. Especially after he got his own pit. 

I managed to capture some shots of his amazing food last night, when he was busy dishing out platters of meat for his sister's friends. And yes, this is for him - the fire starter, pit master, and champion chicken wings expert. For all his amazing barbecue parties and the long hours that go into ensuring our tummies are well taken care of. Without him, we would never have had some of the best steaks and wings in our lives. 

A good barbecue starts with a good fire. 

And hickory wood chips. I used to lament that his meats were overly smoked but in recent parties, he seems to have achieved a good balance. 

And once you have that settled... WINGS!!

It may sound like I'm biased when I say this, but the chicken wings he makes are possibly one of my absolute favourites. I would even go so far to say that I'll take this over Wings World any day (And I love my Wings World wings okay). But maybe not, because waiting for these wings to cook is pure torture. 

His marinate is straightforward enough: ketchup, sugar, cajun spices. salt, chili flakes... But somehow they just end up tasting so good. They are always perfectly cooked - tender and juicy and flavourful. The skin isn't crispy but I always overlook that because of how tasty the marinate is. 

These pork sausages Daryl gets from the Meat Collective is quite the crowd pleaser at his parties. I would very much prefer their cheese sausages but you can't always have what you want in life lol. 

And yes, to Bratty, you can't call it a barbecue unless you've steak. Here's the wagyu rib-eye we had last night.

He's nailed the medium rare, hasn't he? He's so good with steaks, I find it a waste of money eating them at restaurants now. ;) 

And last night, we had a really pleasant end to the evening because his sister made brownies for her friends and we had some! 

Yums, few things in life are more decadent than a slice of moist, chocolatey brownie topped with gooey marshmallows. 

I'm eagerly anticipating Bratty's next barbecue *rubs hands together gleefully* so I can pig out on more wings!!