Introducing Weber’s Latest Cookbook
Weber’s Ultimate Barbecue

Throughout the cookbook, Jamie shares his Top Tips for all our favourite barbecued foods like chicken wings, pizza, ribs, brisket, burgers, steaks, whole turkey, plus many more.

To give you a little taster for what’s inside this book, we tested out the Fennel and Garlic Pork Chops recipe on the barbecue, and have shared with you his  tried and tested tips for the ultimate pork chops.

They cook fast, they react well to char and smoky flavour, and they’re likely to be juicier than their thicker pork chop brethren. Really. That’s be­cause they’re so thin that they need very little time on the fire— and less time over the flames means less time to dry out. 

Like many lean meats, chops love a little sparkle. A short soak in a flavourful marinade or a smear of spice rub will go a long way towards developing flavour. If you are marinating longer, pop them into the fridge for several hours and remove them 15 minutes before barbe­cuing to allow them to come to room temperature. Got a glaze? Brush it on during the last min­ute of barbecuing and flip the chops once again to coat each side. Another flavour-building option is to cook your chops over a fragrant fire of briquettes and smouldering wood chips. 

The barbecue is hot, the skinnies are cooking and all’s well. Then you glance down and see them curling into a funky shape. Don’t fret. We have a solution. Warping occurs when the band of fat around the exterior of the chop heats up and loses moisture faster than the rest of the meat. It shrinks, causing the meat to buckle. To prevent it— and enhance crispiness—make narrow crosswise incisions in the fat at 2.5-cm intervals, being careful not to pierce the meat.    

To prevent chops from sticking or tearing, you need a little patience. The proteins found in meats that come in closest contact with the hot cooking grills are the first ones to “denature”, or unwind, and start browning. As this unwind­ing occurs, the proteins let go of one another and grab onto the grill, hence the sticking. But if you wait just a little longer, the proteins will break down further and release from the grill. Make sure the barbecue is piping hot before you add the chops. That way, the protein denaturing will happen quickly and efficiently. Second, oil the chops on both sides. Third, if the chops still stick, shove a metal spatula between the chops and the grill to release them. 

Cutting into the meat too soon will release everything it’s got. Allowing 3 to 5 minutes of rest will do the trick. 

For the full recipe visit here: Fennel and Garlic Pork Chops

I’m quite the sucker for delicious recipes paired with amazing food photography , and boy oh boy did this book have my taste buds watering every time I opened the book. To give you a second course taste for what’s inside this book I have picked out my three favourite recipes (it was a hard pick!).

• Tequila Smoked Salmon with Radish
• Portobello Mushrooms, Silverbeet and Feta
• Beef Brisket

(Extractions from Weber’s Ultimate Barbecue cookbook- by Jamie Purviance)