Seafood barbecue

Tamara West

Adjust the amounts of this seafood barbecue to feed your tribe, and the seafood according to what you have available (thick kingfish or kahawai fillets can replace crayfish, and add scallops or paua if you're lucky enough to have them).

Herb butter

1 bunch	Coriander
1	Lemon, or lime, zest and juice
3	Garlic cloves, crushed with 1 tsp sea salt
1	Chilli, red or green
150 g	Butter
1 splash	Olive oil

The boil up

2 bottles	Lager, 330mls each
660 ml	Water
1 handful	Thyme, a generous amount
1 handful	Fresh oregano, a generous amount
1	Garlic head, cut in half
1 Tbsp	Cayenne pepper
½ tsp	Chilli flakes
2	Lemons, quartered
2 Tbsp	Herb butter, add another tablespoon if needed
1 handful	Baby potatoes, depending upon number of servings
2	Corn cobs, more if you like, cut into quarters
2	Chorizo sausages, cut into thick slices (choose smoked chorizo and use up to 4 sausages if liked)

The seafood

1 splash	Cooking liquor, from the boil-up, enough to cover baking pan
1 handful	Mussels, in the shell, uncooked (Main)
1 handful	Clams, in the shell, uncooked (Main)
2	Crayfish, raw, halved (Main)
500 g	Prawns, raw, shells on (Main)
1 serving	Herb butter
1 handful	Chopped parsley, to serve
1	Lemon, juiced, use as much as required for serving depending upon individual taste (you may need more than 1 lemon)
1 loaf	Crusty bread, for mopping up juices

Directions

Herb butter

Blitz coriander, the zest and juice of a lime (or lemon), crushed garlic, chilli, some freshly ground black pepper, butter and a good glug of olive oil in a food processor until smooth. Remove to a container and chill.

The boil up

1. In a large saucepan place the contents of both bottles of lager and the water, the handfuls of thyme and oregano, the garlic, the cayenne, chilli flakes, lemon quarters, 2-3 tablespoons of the herb butter and the baby potatoes. Bring to the boil then simmer until the potatoes are almost cooked.
2. Add fresh corn cobs cut into quarters, and the sliced chorizo. Simmer until the potatoes are knife tender, then turn off heat and cover while you cook the seafood.

The seafood

1. Cover the bottom of a large pan (a foil one is good for the barbecue) with approximately 1cm of the boil up cooking liquor. Fill pan with fresh mussels and clams and cover with foil. Place pan over a hot barbecue grill and steam until shellfish open, tossing them occasionally so they cook evenly. Remove from heat and keep covered while you cook the crayfish and prawns (or get them going at the same time).
2. Cut crayfish in half and slather the flesh with lots of the herb butter. Toss the shell-on prawns with herb butter also. Oil and heat the barbecue hotplate until smoking, then add the crayfish, flesh side down, and scatter the prawns out evenly. When the crays are nicely coloured, turn them over and cook through. Toss the prawns so they cook evenly.
3. Strain the potatoes and place in a serving dish (or use the foil dish you cooked the crayfish in). Add the prawns and shellfish and pour over the shellfish cooking liquor. Top with the crays and garnish with dollops of herb butter, parsley and lemon juice to taste. Dig in and mop up with crusty bread.