Page 169 - YC Cooking School

Mastering Meat 2

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Top tips for unbeatable barbecue accompaniments

Sides should have universal appeal
This is especially true if you’re cooking different meats like chicken, steaks, sausage or even
venison. Ideally, you want a good spread of side dishes that can accompany and work with
any of the meats you have sizzling on the barbecue.

Bring balance to your table
If you’re cooking a lot of fatty red meat, balance it with fresh and simple salads and
vinaigrette-based dressings rather than heavy, cream-based dishes.

Mix it up
Get creative and try alternative starches like couscous or quinoa instead of the same old
potato salad. Or, breathe life into your stock-standard potato salad by leaving out the
mayonnaise and dressing the potatoes with vinegar, olive oil and loads of chopped herbs.

Room temperature is best
The Mediterranean approach, where grilled meat is served at room temperature, means
that the meat gets a chance to rest and the flavours are enhanced. Also, like with all food,
our palates miss a lot of flavour if a dish is either too hot or too cold. So, the best
accompaniments for meat served at room temperature are complimentary side dishes that
are also served at room temperature.

Reduce the fuss
The beauty of room temperature side dishes like the Caponata and couscous salad is that
you can make them in advance and then simply take them out of the fridge a bit before

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