Barbecue season is just around the corner and already, the smell of grilled meats is spreading to the four corners of the province every evening. If chicken breasts, flank steaks and sausages are timeless, local and tasty options exist.
Highland Beef from Badger Farm
John Badger has been raising highland beef on the family farm located in Bolton, in the Eastern Townships, for several generations. This breed originating from Scotland is adapted to the harsh climatic conditions of Quebec.
This beef has the specificity of staying outside all year round, which, thanks to its leather and its double thickness of fur, gives meat that is less fatty than the others. “The cooking times on the barbecue are therefore reduced by around a third”, warns the farmer. “I always recommend a rib steak, with the bone or in the sirloin. I also like the sirloin steaks for the quality/price ratio, because it is tastier than the filet mignon, for example. »
Highland beef should be at room temperature before cooking. We leave it for at least two or three hours on the counter. There is no danger, because it is a natural meat, without antibiotics or growth hormones.
Once the piece of beef has been chosen and tempered, just brush it with a dash of olive oil, salt and pepper. “For a 1-inch highland beef steak, I recommend 1 minute 20 to 1 minute 30 per side,” says John Badger. Out of the barbecue, we then add a little olive oil and steak spices, or Provencal herbs. “And then we cover the dish with aluminum foil for a rest of five minutes – the time to prepare the vegetables and the plates. The gravy that remains is excellent to serve! he enthuses.
Beef from the Quatre-Temps farm
At the Quatre-Temps farm, in Hemmingford in Montérégie, beef is also raised — a cross between the belted galloway (Scotland), wagyu (Japan) and angus (Scotland) breeds for a more marbled meat this time, it’s that is, dotted with fat infiltration. The Ferme des Quatre-Temps, which slaughters 24 oxen each year, wishes to promote the whole animal.
Chloé Trudeau, its general manager, first suggests the scoter. “We keep it whole, in the shape of a steak. It’s a big piece that can look like flank steak and it’s the best cut for grilling. We cook it on the barbecue with onions, zucchini, a little olive oil, salt and pepper and we have a complete and delicious meal! Another piece is also to be discovered according to her: the top sirloin cap, better known under the name of tri-tip in English. “We like to simply grill it on the barbecue and eat it as it is with salt, pepper and aromatics like herbs, garlic or chimichurri. Since their beef is aged for 30 days, “it brings a touch of complexity to the taste.”
Berkshire pork from Ferme d’Orée
In Cookshire-Eaton, in the Eastern Townships, the Berkshire pig, a breed also from the United Kingdom, is the star of the Ferme d’Orée. Its owners, the Janssens-Hui family, praise this special and different breed, fatter, more marbled, but also tender and juicy. “It’s because of genetics and because they’re raised outside,” says Gert, the father. His wife Sarah likes to marinate berkshire pork chops “with old fashioned mustard and honey”. “Afterwards, I sear them fairly quickly on each side, then I finish cooking over an indirect fire,” she warns, because otherwise the fat in the meat will cause everything to burn.
The same goes for the lamb from the Ferme d’Orée, whose chops are very popular with customers for cooking on the barbecue. However, we must not forget the merguez sausages and racks of lamb, just as famous for grilling, says Gert.
And what about the chicken, produced in small quantities at the Ferme d’Orée? “Why not cook it whole on the BBQ, with a can of beer in the back? says a laughing Gert.