I woke up to snow recently. My 25 year old son joined me at the window where I was admiring the gently falling flakes and suggested we fire up the Blackstone Grill and cook a traditional English breakfast outdoors in the snow. Challenge accepted!
Luckily by chance we had a good number of the ingredients required for what Brits often call a "fry-up" so we made a cup of tea to take outside, shook the snow off the grill's cover and fired her up.
Now normally I use a combination of grill, air-fryer, microwave and a pan on the hob to make my version but the joy of the Blackstone is that you can cook pretty much everything on the huge flat-plate, cutting out the dashing around the kitchen and most of the grim washing up.
(Click the link to read more about what you can cook on a Blackstone Griddle.)
I'd already seasoned the grill after cleaning it the last time I used it so I just drizzled a little oil on and wiped it over then chucked on sausages. I started to cook them first because they take longer to cook than anything else. I opened a tin of baked beans and set the tin directly onto the grill.
Hash browns next - cooked from frozen. I sprayed them with a little oil to help them sizzle and to prevent sticking then I added sliced black pudding and bacon.
Next, a demo of something the Blackstone can do which most run-of-the-mill BBQ's cannot.
I sprayed a little oil on the griddle, emptied on cleaned button mushrooms, squirted about a tablespoon of water on top then covered with a "dome" (Blackstone make a lovely one but I don't have it yet so I used a large frying pan lid). The water under the dome means the mushrooms both steam and fry so you get gorgeous juicy mushrooms with your meal.
Then it was a case of just monitoring the meal as it cooked. Turning the meat, stirring the beans, tossing the mushrooms and then when everything was nearly cooked I started frying eggs.
With a cuppa in hand and snowflakes swirling I was delighted that the rest of the family also bundled up warmly and headed out to enjoy the heat of the Blackstone and the delicious aroma of sizzling sausages with a beautiful snowscape as a backdrop.
Luckily I had made enough food for everyone and all that needed to be done was to pour some orange juice and make a fresh cup of tea then we all sat down (inside I'll admit!) to enjoy our breakfast.
The cooking took just 12 minutes and the most amazing thing was that to clean up I just had to squirt a little water onto the hot grill to steam clean it as I scraped any debris into the built in grease trap (with disposable liner) at the back. As always I also re-seasoned the griddle with a small amount of oil wiped across the grill.
No airfryer, no frying pan and no grill pan to wash and the plates just went into the dishwasher. The house didn't smell greasy and we had enjoyed a fun family activity in the snow!
The one and only thing I would change was the beans - they didn't get warm enough for me really so next time I am going to pop them into a metallic dish with a larger base than the tin can which I think will get them nice and hot.
And next time I'm going to have a shot at making fried bread on the griddle - my husband's fave and a VERY occasional treat for him. You could also add tomatoes, halved or whole depending on the size. Have I forgotten anything? What is a must-have ingredient in your family fry-ups?
Disclaimer: I was gifted the Blackstone Griddle to show how easy and fun cooking Al Fresco can be.