How do you BBQ?

12th December 2025

I’m not going to lie, I’m a tad intimidated by the barbie, it’s a hot box of fire that isn’t as easy to control like a stove top. Being an Australian, cooking a barbeque should be in my blood, however I have never owned a barbeque and when I moved in with my boyfriend, he tends to take control of the grill. I have heaps of barbeque recipes I want to test out, specifically a couple that I wanted to try for potential Christmas festivity options, so this was the perfect time to put my BBQ skills (or lack there of) to the test.

It was the perfect day to crank the barbie. Summer time, blue sky and the best part - I had the house to myself! I feel I have enough culinary knowledge to understand how long to cook a piece of meat for on the BBQ, but honestly, I haven’t really ventured away from sausages, burgers and chicken. So, with two recipes in hand, I was excited to try something new. These two recipes called for cuts of meat that I have yet to tackle on the barbie – a beef sirloin steak and lamb cutlets, I was ready and raring to go.

A stroll to the butcher earlier that day to secure the goods, but about a billion dollars later, I only secured 6 lamb cutlets. The beef was crazy expensive and I didn’t want to sell my left kidney to pay for it. Thankfully, Woolies came to the rescue, and I managed to secure a nice big piece of beef sirloin at a reasonable price. Back home, BBQ on, meat seasoned and resting for the past hour to come to room temperature, I was ready to show on the road.

The lamb cutlets were first, I knew I wanted them to be cooked though, slightly pink with some sexy grill marks. So, I had the heat nice and high. On the cutlets went and a glorious sizzle sounded as soon as the meat kissed the grill. I was excited but knew not to touch them for a few minutes so a nice crust can form. I cooked them for 3 minutes on each side, making sure I closed the hood of the barbeque to lock in all the heat. After 3 minutes I turned the cutlets and squealed with glee at the beautiful lines that formed.

Once they were cooked, I left them to rest and as I’m sure most people will know, this is key to locking in all those juices. This is a very simple recipe; you accompany the tasty lamb lollipops with a gorgeous green herb sauce. Yep, that’s it! I have had this recipe bookmarked for some time, as soon as I read it, I knew I wanted to make it, the green herb sauce featured some of my favourite ingredients - garlic, lemon, parsley and of course, ANCHOVIES!

Another reason I wanted to try this recipe was to be able to use my mortar and pestle for the first time. It has been in the box, unused and collecting dust since I purchased it. Obviously you don’t need to use a mortar and pestle, you could easily make this sauce in a food processor; however, the recipe does suggest using the old-fashioned method. And I’m bloody glad I did, as hand grinding the ingredients together allowed the flavours to bind perfectly. It takes a bit more effort but, trust me when I say this beats the food processor any day.  

I changed the recipe ever so slightly (I mean, I am a sucker for an anchovy) so naturally, I added an extra anchovy and a touch of the oil, just to give it that little extra salty fishy kick. And let me tell you it was definitely a good decision! That herby green sauce was incredible.

Everything was ready, chops - tick, sauce - tick, mouth watering - tick. A quick photoshoot later, I finally had the pleasure of consuming one of these beautiful looking lamb cutlets, smothered in that glorious green sauce. It was heaven. Pure and utter heaven. The lamb was juicy, and ever so slightly pink in the middle. The fat had rendered enough which enhanced the flavour of the meat, the grill marks were beautiful and added a welcomed crisp. And that sauce, oh that sauce was divine. The anchovy shone through beautifully and really complemented the lamb perfectly. I was extremely happy with how the first recipe went, I would have been happy to sit there and eat as many as I could, but I didn’t have time - onto the next recipe!

A gorgeous Beef Tagliata with tonnato sauce was next up. If you are unsure what a Beef Tagliata is, Google describes it as an elegant Italian dish of thinly sliced steak, served over a bed of peppery rocket leaves with a sprinkle of parmesan shavings. You can just drizzle olive oil over the top or you can add a tonnato sauce. Tonnato sauce is a creamy, protein-rich Italian condiment primarily made of canned tuna, anchovies and mayonnaise, I had never head of it before and I was very intrigued, it ticked all my foodie boxes.

With the barbeque still roaring, the meat was finally at room temperature. This took a big longer than expected as it was a nice, thick piece of beef; easily over one inch. It had a gorgeous red colour with some nice marbling, with a little bit of fat which is always good - they do say fat is flavour!

Unlike the lamb, the beef needed to be rare, as it would be thinly sliced. I’m a big fan of raw beef, I like my steak raw, I adore steak tartare and beef carpaccio – both of which I plan on making one day soon. So, I needed to get the cooking time perfect. Using my noggin and the internet, I chose to cook the sirloin for 6 minutes on each side. Hoping this will allow for a nice rare interior and a gorgeous crust on the exterior. With a little trust and my fingers crossed, 45 minutes later (I rested the beef for 30 minutes after cooking) it was time to slice this bad boy and see what was going on inside.

Thankfully a few weeks prior, my gorgeous man gifted me an incredible Japanese knife, which helped to get some super thin slices. While I was slicing, I was beaming from ear to ear, the sirloin was cooked to perfection! I was pretty damn proud of myself. Not only that, the crust was beautiful and beef was juicy and tender as hell. I popped the beef to one side and made the tonnato sauce..

*Side note - Apologies, no photos of prepping the tonnato and the rest of the ingredients, I forgot!

The tonnato sauce is super simple, you blend all the ingredients in a food processor until its thick and creamy. Assembly was also simple, using the rocket as a bed, you then place the thin slices of beef all over the patter evenly. Drizzle over the tonnato sauce, sprinkle the parmesan shavings and some capers and season with freshly cracked pepper and salt. Lastly, a little trickle of olive oil over the top and voila!

Holy moly… WHAT A DISH! Wow, just wow. I can’t really put into words how delicious it was. The pepperiness of the rocket combined with the beef, the creamy tonnato and a hint of parmesan was the perfect bite. It felt complex, yet simple at the same time. No ingredient was over powering or fighting for its place, every element worked in harmony. This is one recipe I will make over and over and will definitely be making an appearance at Christmas. It is perfect to eat as a salad for dinner, however I would like to serve it as a starter, and feel it would pair beautifully with toasted baguette slices. The bread will be a great vessel to carry the beef, be easier for guests to eat and add a gorgeous crunch.

All in all, it was truly a great first attempt at doing things other than sausages on the barbie. To say I was pretty bloody happy with myself is an understatement. I can do it; I can cook a barbeque! Look out honey, you have some competition now! Keep a lookout for many more barbie cook ups in the future.

Until next time.

Jo x

Lamb Cutlets and Green Herb Sauce recipe can be found in Daen Lia’s cookbook - Garlic, Olive Oil and Everything Else.

Beef Tagliata and Tonnato Sauce recipe can be found in Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s cookbook - Good Cooking Everyday.