This week is officially National BBQ week. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t get the memo. That said, are you even a Mancunian if you can’t handle your dinner with a side of drizzle? This week we’re drooling over chargrilled octopus, hot ‘n spicy beef ribs and some golden crumb crispy jackfruit wings. Check out some of the best BBQ bites Manchester has to offer below…
If you’re not so much of a barbecue flavour kind of person, but still like a charcoal finish on your main, New wave Thai kitchen District might be just the place for you. Inspired by traditional Bangkok street food, the progressive chefs utilise the skill of modern barbecue cookery to offer a completely unique dining experience with a futuristic twist, right in the heart of the Northern Quarter.
Menu highlights include Pork Coppa (pork shoulder) with a spicy tamarind dipping sauce, red curry Hereford X Angus beef short ribs with pickled onions and ‘smoconut’, and this smoked, salt-aged Goosnargh duck. (Yep, we want it all too.)
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From the owners for Detroit-style pizza bar Ramona comes a brand new BBQ food offering: The Firehouse. Sitting right next door to its sister site, The Firehouse finds a home in a renovated empty warehouse, which offers the perfect setting for a relaxed rustic BBQ with your pals.
The Firehouse will be serving up an epic menu with help from a ‘Slow Fires Open Kitchen’. Alongside some indulgent home bakes and a full weekend brunch menu, guests can choose from a range of small plates, all cooked over a coal-roasted open flame to earn that charcoal aftertaste that we all know and crave.
And, in true Ramona style, the drinks menu is of course incredible. The bar specialises in Latin American spirits, with signature drinks using tequila, mezcal, pisco and rum. The cocktail menu also offers the perfect palate cleanser, as each drink on there is made with fresh fruit produce.
Inspired from the founders’ trips to Ibiza and California, the Firehouse hopes to extend the good vibes and relaxed atmosphere of Ramona onto the new site, while simultaneously feeding their guests something completely different (and damn delicious).
Soon to be open Thursday – Friday from noon until 12am, and weekend 10am til late on weekends. Keep glued to their Instagram for updates.
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Bring-your-own-beer joints are a firm favourite of ours, mostly because it means you can spend more money on food. But independent creative grill house Off The Grid doubles as an admirable BBQ restaurant too.
Throwing the [essence] of a ‘normal’ BBQ out the window, Off The Grid plates tables with dishes like grilled octopus served on a bed of sliced new potatoes, with garlic aioli, romesco sauce and smoked paprika, a pulled charcoal chicken and grilled chorizo burger, 24-hour brined piri piri chicken wings and chargrilled Atlantic red prawns.
Plant-based eaters don’t have to miss out either, as Off The Grid also offer their take on the Beyond Meat plant-based patty, seasoned with piri piri or lemon and herb, and served with vegan cheese, vegan mayo, gochca ketchup and fresh salad.
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For those who fancy barbecuing at home – you can still get your hands on restaurant-quality meat to spice up your portable BBQ. MeatCo, a zero waste meat delivery service from Greater Manchester, procures high quality, locally sourced beef, pork and lamb, and sends it right to your door.
Choose from the MeatCo BBQ Box – six lamb chops, a 500g flank steak, a 500g rump steak, 500g of sausages, and a KILO of salt ’n pepper spare ribs; the Breakfast Box – 12 rashers of home-cured back bacon, six slices of thick-cut black pudding and 12 homemade pork sausages; or indulge in the ‘Big boy Picanha’ – a popular Brazilian beef cut that can feed up to eight people. (Mic drop.)
Visit their website to see all of the different kinds of packages you can get your hands on.
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- Words:
- Sophie Cunningham
- Published on:
- Thu 8 Jul 2021
Red’s truly do BBQ like no one else. Lots of cheese, lots of sauce, and loads of meat. We recommend the Gochujang BBQ Brisket with crackling salt, but what we really want is the ‘BBQ Bin Lid’, which is essentially enough barbecued meat to fit in a garbage bin lid. Plus sides. And every Wednesday, you can get 30p chicken wings in four different sauces. What’s not to love?
If you’re a flexitarian household – Red’s have collaborated with vegan comfort food brand Biff to bring the non meat-lovers a vegan burger, crispy fried jackfruit wings and veggie corn ribs served with crab seasoning, chives and Alabama white sauce.
An ideal hangout for chargrilled plates and a smoky taste, you can find Red’s on Lloyd Street near St Peter’s Square, or on Wilmslow Road in Fallowfield. If you’re staying home, you can also now buy their ‘Almighty Sausages’ in Tesco!