The arrival of good weather brings us, among other things, the cookout season. We already talked about the cuts that we have to choose if we want to prepare an Argentine barbecue at home, today we want to do it in our most Spanish style, with the most common ingredients in Sunday barbecues in our country.
For us it is essential to have some appetizers or snacks, based on chorizo and blood sausage grilled and afterwards, we prefer lamb chops over hamburgers, being our choice for meats, the entrecots or steaks, before the large pieces of meat that are cut or the Moorish skewers of other varieties of outdoor barbecues.
The first calculations
Calculate how many people will attend, albeit roughly and calculates an average of about 350-400 g of meat per person, among the starters such as chorizo, bacon, chicken wings and the main meats that are going to be grilled, distributing equally said amount.
To get the proportions right, we can calculate roughly 500 g of meat for each man, between 350 and 400 g for each woman and more or less between 250 and 300 g for each child, without having to be exact and invariable amounts.
For example, for a group of 10 people, between 3 and a half kilos and 4 kilos of meat will be necessary, distributed according to the tastes of cooks and diners. For example, those 4 kg of meat could be made up of 2 kg between wings, sausages, blood sausages, bacon, etc. and another 2 kg of lean meat such as beef loin, steaks or the like.
With all that meat and salads and garnishes, the gastronomic feast will be a real feast, and it will last for many hours between preparations, appetizers and snacks and the main dishes themselves.
1. The appetizers
Traditional appetizers at a Spanish-style barbecue party are based on three or four ingredients. Bacon, chorizo, blood sausage and chicken wings or skewers. I recommend you calculate some 150-200 g per person among all those ingredients, distributed to your liking.
In the example of 10 people if there are adults and children, a kilo and a half to two kilos of everything would suffice, which for example could be made up of 500 g of chicken wings or skewers, 400 g of bacon, 350 g of sausages and 250 g of black pudding, adjusting these amounts to your tastes. You can substitute part of the sausages and blood sausages for fresh sausages, which are also great after going through the fire.
It is about trying a little of each thing but not filling up and not reaching the main dishes later, the lamb chops, the entrecots or steaks that will complete our BBQ menu, along with the varied salads and garnishes to prepare an authentic gastronomic feast around the embers.
2. The main dishes
After the initial snack, some more consistent dishes will come in handy, accompanied by a variety of salads. for the garnish. Everyone will want their main course, a good piece of red meat for the most carnivores or some very crunchy lamb chops for those who prefer it. Calculate some 200 g per person, that is, approximately 2 kg of meat for a group of 10 people, after the appetizers.
The choice of the type of meat will depend on the taste of the attendees and the budget, but with a good entrecote per person or a steak to share by the most greedy of the group, everyone will be happy.
Opting for leaner pieces is usually not a good idea. Sirloin and other similar cuts are perfect for grilling but they are not perfect on the embers and lose part of their natural juiciness. I better recommend large pieces like entrecote and ribeye, thick cuts that you can later portion in cross sections.
For those who do not want these cuts of red meat, lamb chops are an excellent option, which everyone will especially enjoy if you dress them with a ajilimojili traditional or with another sauce to your liking.
With all this variety, your traditional Spanish style barbecue will be a success. What ingredients do you recommend us to enjoy a barbecue in spring and summer? Leave us your suggestions in comments.
Photos | Pixabay.com
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