There’s frost on the lawn, the wind is biting and the sky is a cold winter’s blue. Sounds like perfect weather for a barbecue.
After all, winter is no time for hibernating. It’s the season to chop some wood, build a fire – and eat outdoors, in the spirit of #Hibernot.
#Hibernot means getting outside and embracing winter, not sitting on the sofa wishing the season away. And that applies as much to cooking as to anything else.
That’s why Land Rover recently hosted a #Hibernot winter barbecue, supported by chef and Land Rover ambassador James Martin. The event took place in the grounds of Broughton Hall, Yorkshire – and featured the best British produce and seasonal winter ingredients, all barbecued in the great outdoors.
Singer Pixie Lott also provided entertainment at the event, with a 30-minute acoustic set.
It’s the perfect inspiration to host a #Hibernot winter barbecue of your own – inviting family and friends over for a winter barbie, maybe with some outdoor music and traditional warming drinks such as hot chocolate, hot toddies or mild wine.
After all, few forms of cooking are as well suited to a chilly winter’s day as a roaring barbie. Just because it’s cold outside, there’s no need to wheel your barbecue back to the shed.
With its warming embers, smokey slow-cooked meat and hearty, carb-rich sides, a winter barbecue is a great reason to swap the sofa for the bracing British outdoors.
Like many of the #Hibernot adventures you’ll see at Hibernot.co.uk, cold-weather cooking creates a great sense of camaraderie, bringing people together and helping appreciate the outdoor life.
Part-time accountant Barrie de Vere Gunning hosts barbecues for family and friends at his east London home at least twice a month, come rain or shine.
“The amazing thing about eating outdoors in winter is that friends, family and complete strangers huddle together to conserve heat,” Gunning says. “Naturally, they then begin to chat and share stories – something that would never happen in summer.”
Gunning, who also runs supper club Pop Up Barbados, was born and raised in the Caribbean – but despite moving to chilly Britain at 17, hasn’t lost the winter barbecue habit. “Cooking outdoors is what I love to do,” he says. “I enjoy being surrounded by nature; it makes me feel closer to the ingredients I’m cooking with. And I’m sure the fresh air makes the food taste better.”
If you’re planning to host a #Hibernot winter barbie of your own, of course, it pays to be prepared. To avoid a winter washout, have a rainproof shelter at the ready, such as an open-sided gazebo.
Good cooking heat is vital. Miles Kirby, co-founder of London all-day restaurant Caravan, says a key to winter barbecuing is to use quality charcoal, which will give good heat for as long as you need it. Use the cheapest charcoal you can find, he says, and you’ll find it’s hard to light, doesn’t give much flavour and may burn well for only around half an hour.
Of course, it helps to choose the right food. To help you host your #Hibernot barbecue, we’ve put together a collection of winter barbecue ideas and even marinades full of winter flavour.
Kirby has some tips of his own. Meat, he says, should be cooked long and slow: “Slow-cooked pork shoulder marinated in a Korean chilli bean paste is unbeatable,” he says. Root veg such as Jerusalem artichokes, carrots, parsnips and potatoes, he suggests, can simply be wrapped in foil with olive oil and a little honey and buried in the embers.
Shellfish and game, too, are spectacular at this time of year.
So don’t stay curled up in the sofa. Wrap up warm – and start cooking up a #Hibernot winter barbecue.
For more #Hibernot adventures, see Hibernot.co.uk
