By Simone Egger
1. GEWURZHAUS BBQ SPICE RACK
Gewurzhaus's gift-boxed spice rack is an Around the World's BBQs in Six Jars. There's Louisianan Cajun dry rub that can be sprinkled on chicken, fish or red meat to add a smack of hot-earthy flavour. There's North African harissa, and chermoula – which gives a herby lift to fish. BBQ Bloke's Spice adds peppery-chilli oomph to pork and chicken and, as a wet rub (by mixing with olive oil) to steak, fish and chops. Mix Lamb Spice with oil for a garlicky-turmeric marinade, while rosemary-spiked Bavarian Roast Chicken Spice is big enough for veal or pork, as well as poultry.
Gewurzhaus's BBQ Bloke's Spice adds a hot, peppery tang.
2. ADOBO
This brick-red dry spice mix, with paprika and garlic up front, is a Mexican marinade for red meat or chicken. You'll find it at Latin food specialists Casa Iberica, in Fitzroy, where they recommend mixing it with beer – to tenderise and flavour meat at the same time. Choose a fuller flavoured beer, like Dos Equis Ambar for its caramel and burnt sugar flavours, and mix in Adobo to your taste. Putting meat and marinade into a zip-top plastic bag allows you to push out air and maximise your marinade-to-meat contact.
3. KALBI
Korean barbecue marinades have hit the mainstream and the shelves at Coles. In many ways, the marinade is the easy part; the trick is to get the fine, butterfly cut of beef short-rib (you'll never take your butcher for granted again). Kalbi (meaning 'rib') is a richer cut of meat than Korean barbecue's better-known bulgogi, so it has a suitably stronger marinade (a blend of soy sauce, garlic and sesame oil). Kalbi are thin, and don't need much time with the marinade: 30 minutes on a scored surface. Use a high and hot heat source, and, once cooked, snip the meat into bite-size strips with kitchen scissors. Eat on rice or wrapped in lettuce leaves.
4. TANDOORI PASTE
This highly aromatic East Indian marinade is what stains tandoor-oven cooked food that oily red-orange. It works beautifully on the barbecue, but mixing the 12 or 13 ingredients can be a time-hurdle. Off-the-shelf Patak's tandoori paste with tamarind is tangy-paprika-peppery. Mix it with yoghurt to marinate chicken breasts, beef, lamb or a hearty fish, like salmon. Score the flesh and marinate, covered, in the fridge for at least 20 minutes – longer for more flavour. Grill over medium heat until cooked through.
5. YAKITORI
Caramelly charred chicken skewers are a Japanese specialty and quick to make with ready-made yakitori sauce. Japanese grocers, such as Hinoki and Suzuran, have a good range of imported marinades/sauces. The thing with yakitori is to baste the chicken while it's cooking, three times. Thread 2.5cm cubes of free-range chicken pieces onto a skewer alternating with shiitake and leek pieces, or spring onion sticks. Over high charcoal heat, grill both sides of the chicken, then brush sauce over meat, and grill for 30 seconds on each side, repeating the glazing process twice more.