BBQ'ed French bread

So that wonderfully expensive prime rib is cooking and you’ve uncorked the cabernet to let it breathe for that perfect dinner. Now you’re down to making the ho’hum French bread, which is nearly required on the side for this type of meal. Here is something you can do to make that average bread side really pop for your guests and move it closer to center stage of your meal.

I like to pick out a nice soft French bread from the bakery, avoid those two day old bricks as the price difference really isn’t that much considering the difference between qualities.

Once you’re ready to BBQ the bread cut it down the sides which will results in a top and bottom. Then apply a light even misting of habanero infused olive oil* to both sides of each piece. Apply a hot mixture of butter, sea salt, pepper, oregano, parsley, and minced garlic. I generally don’t measure when I’m doing this and just base the amounts of butter and other spices on the size of the bread I’m cooking but if you want something to go off of use something along the lines of 30% garlic, 20% pepper, 10% salt, 20% oregano, and 20% parsley. You also want to try to apply all the ingredients to the bread as close to the time that you’re going to bbq it as possible because the butter will over saturate the bread causing it to become soggy. A good idea is to preheat your BBQ to 350-375 prior to prepping the bread.

Once all the ingredients have been applied place the bread on the top rack of the bbq face up for a couple minutes then flip it to face down. When its face down some of the ingredients will inevitably fall off and into the flames so be gentle when it’s face down to reduce the loss. After a few minutes flip the bread face up then apply a light even coating of Mexican blend finely shredded cheese to the top. Monitor the bread until the edges start to brown and remove from heat. I generally cut the bread into strips then place in a basket and cover with a clean kitchen towel, try to initially keep the towel off the top of the bread as the cheese will stick to the towel until it starts to cool a little. Keeping the towel over the bread helps maintain the heat during serving. –HD

*  I will address how to make the infused habanero olive oil in another blog but for now if you don’t have a mister prepped then pour some olive oil and chopped chili peppers, whatever flavor pepper you prefer, into a bowl and mix. Be careful about heating this mixture in enclosed spaces as some chilies could cause you to cough and make your eyes water, kind of like spraying pepper spray in a room. Once you have the ingredients mixed apply it with a soft brush to the both sides of each piece of bread.