Barbecue time

Friday April 7th
The first barbecue of the year! It wasn’t quite like the ones I used to enjoy in the Florida Keys, but after the coldest winter reported for 40 years, it felt good. Interestingly, the supermarkets were not yet selling barbecue stuff. The assistant gave a shiver and said “Maybe later.”

It was in a sheltered patio in Cambridge. It took more than an hour and a half before the charcoal really took off, though I’ve no idea what I did wrong. Maybe not enough fuel the first time? Anyway, the sausages were not the franks often used in the US. Some were pork sausages and some were Toulouse sausages made with beef, venison and plenty of herbs. The hamburgers were lamburgers, made with fresh minced lamb, an egg beaten in, and a little flour to achieve the right consistency.

Everything worked out. The sausages were slightly but agreeably charred on the outside, and the lamb was succulently tender inside. The weather held out, though as the evening wore on the heat from the barbecue helped combat the crisp coolness of the air. And yes, Jackie, we used French’s mustard on the sausages and mint sauce on the lamb burgers.