Breakfast on the BBQ!

Why limit your BBQ meals to lunch and dinner? Breakfast can be elevated to a whole new level with just a cast iron pan, or a bit of patience. These are awesome BBQ Breakfast treats for the weekend out doors or home with the Family. It will put your breakfast burrito to shame…you know shame…the same shame which is something you should be feeling if you are microwaving a breakfast burrito to kick start the day.

Dutch Babies
These are a German style pancake that you can BBQ, cook over a campfire or in the oven. You will need a cast iron pan for the full effect. Make the batter ahead of time and put it in a water bottle for a virtually ready-made breakfast (just keep it chilled to avoid spoilage). Basically lots of butter and your choice of toppings be it fresh blueberries, a rhubarb compote, or bananas and Nutella will turn you from a grill master zero to grill master hero!

¾ C milk (room temperature)
½ C all-purpose flour (sifted)
2 eggs (room temperature)
1 ½ Tbsp sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of Cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of salt
4 Tbsp unsalted butter

Mix everything except the butter with a mixer or using a blender.
Heat your cooking source to 425F (oven or BBQ really hot campfire.)
Melt butter in pan being sure to coat the edges to avoid any sticking.
Pour your batter directly in the centre of the pan. It will spit and hiss when the batter first makes contact with the oil (that is a good thing.)
Let it cook undisturbed for 12-15 minutes at 425F because there is no need to flip it over.
When it puffs around the edges and has a big divot in the centre you have a perfectly cooked Dutch Baby! Just be careful removing it from the hot pan. Serve ASAP with the toppings of your choice.

This next one takes time and patience (soft hands also help). It would be difficult to pull off a large number of these without help, but if you prepare it right you get an incredibly visual and decadent BBQ breakfast that combines sausage, eggs, bacon and BBQ sauce. Do not worry if the yolk does over cook into a solid, it will still be a mighty tasty breakfast treat like no other!

The Scotch Egg

6 eggs (soft-boiled and peeled…this is the hard part, everything else is easy)
1 ½ lbs quality sausage (cut the casings and remove all the meat into a bowl)
1 Tbsp mustard (I like the grainy type)
1 Tbsp Parsley (fresh and chopped)
1 tsp black pepper
1Tbsp Cajun seasoning
2 lbs bacon (smoked variety, and thin sliced and partially cooked and cooled to make BBQing easier))
1 ½ C BBQ sauce of your choice for basting
Salted boiling water for the eggs
Large bowl filled with ice cubes and cold water (ice bath for the eggs)

Start by soft-boiling your eggs in salted water. This should be about a 4- 6 minute cook.
Immediately remove eggs from hot water and place into an ice bath for a fast chill.
After about 15 minutes in the ice bath you can start to peel the eggs VERY carefully as you do not want to compromise the yolk.
Mix the sausage meat, mustard, parsley and salt and pepper together.
Form the sausage into 6 equal parts as the eggs are cooling and form into patties.
Place a patty in the palm of your hand and gently place a peeled soft-boiled egg in the centre. Carefully mold the sausage around the egg (again careful not to break the yolk) until it is COMPLETELY encased in meat. You want even not overly thick sausage walls.
Take one strip of bacon at a time and gently wrap around each sausage ball until it is covered in bacon (use a toothpick if you need to when securing the bacon but DO NOT penetrate the middle where the yolk is).
Place on the top rack of your BBQ set to 350F and prepare to cook with indirect heat (try on a cedar plank for added flavour) for 15 – 30 minutes (use your meat thermometer to nail 150F-160F). Place a metal container or foil under the scotch eggs to prevent flare ups. If you choose to use a smoker, keep the heat at 250F and smoke for 45 minutes.
Make sure you baste you scotch eggs but do not move them excessively around on the grill as to not break the yolk.
If you nail it the yolk will be runny. If the yolk cooks through, not a problem it still looks damn pretty and tastes even better. Not an everyday breakfast meal, but a great BBQ treat!