6 Dishes You Didn't Know You Could Cook on Your Flat Plate Heatlie BBQ
Stuck in your ways, cooking the same old chops and sausages on your Heatlie? Don't fret, we're here to tell you that there are so many other things that a flat plate BBQ like a Heatlie is good for. There's a wealth of opportunity out there to expand your cooking repertoire and unlock the true potential of Australia's toughest, most robust barbecue. So enough mindlessly flipping snags and searing steaks, get your apron on and get cooking with these 6 fantastic flat plate bbq recipes from the team at Heatlie.
Breakfast on your Flat Plate BBQ
You wouldn't normally think to cook your breakfast on a BBQ, would you? For whatever reason BBQs have eternally been linked to lunch and dinner. Now, of course, you can easily cook a bacon and egg feast on a flat plate, but there are other options too.
Pancakes
A Heatlie hot plate is designed for optimal heat coverage, creating an even cooking surface that a pancake will cook perfectly on. It's as simple as pouring your batter on and flipping after a couple of minutes. The benefit of cooking pancakes on a Heatlie is you have so much space and you're not confined to a tiny fry pan. This means you can cook loads of pancakes all at once and have them all ready together, rather than having to cook one at a time and getting those dreaded cold pancakes at the bottom of the pile. It also means you can make your pancakes as big as you want. Do you want a pancake as big as, or even bigger than your plate? Go for it.
One thing to note, we'd recommend making sure your plate's seasoning ahs reached its peak non-stick potential before trying pancakes. This can take some time and work to develop. If you'd tried to cook pancakes first use it will end up as scrambled pancakes!
Scrambled Eggs
Eggs have so much more potential than a simple over easy fry up. Get creative and start scrambling them on your Heatlie for a flavoursome and delicious breakfast. Use two spatulas to chop and mix your eggs around, stirring in seasoning and spices as you go for an extra kick. Pro-tip, add a dollop of sour cream as your scrambled is nearing done to give an extra creamy, moist texture to your eggs.
Omelettes
A tiny bit more challenging but still just as viable, an omelette is a fantastic way to liven up your BBQ breakfast. Fry up your ingredients of choice to one side while you prepare your eggs to another. Rub a stick of butter over the area you'd like to cook your omelette on, then pour your egg mixture on. Try to contain it all and organise it into a nice rectangle. As its frying away and solidifying, add your cheese, bacon, and any vegetables to one side, then simply fold the other side over on top. Follow this recipe here for more details.
Crumpets
Crumpets! Nothing better than a moist, fluffy crumpet smothered in butter and honey. Well, you might not have known that you can make your own at home with your Heatlie. Whip up the mixture following this recipe here, then pour it into egg rings on your Heatlie for a perfect round crumpet shape. With powerful heat, you'll achieve the perfect crispy base, along with a fluffy, aerated top that crumpets are known for.
Fun fact, Sydney based business Crumpets by Merna cook all their crumpets on a Heatlie 1150. We're talking thousands of crumpets a day. Now that's how to utilise the true potential of a Heatlie.
Lunch & Dinner
Stir Fry & Fried Rice
For something a little more cultural, let's dive into Asian cuisine. Dishes like stir fry require a high heat, which is why woks are used as they get super hot, super fast to fry up all those flavours. Heatlie's work a lot like a wok in that they get very hot and develop a non-stick coating over time that is ideal for tossing and mixing ingredients around. Cook a stir fry like you would normally by taking some chicken, beef or tofu and cutting it into small strips, then frying it. As it has browned off, begin adding vegetables like capsicum, carrot, bok choy, baby corn, anything you want. Mix them all around together and add any sauce or pre-cooked noodles or rice to the equation. After letting all these flavours get to know each other on the plate, you'll be able to serve up a lovely stir fry dish. The same principles apply for fried rice, so have a play around and see what you can create.
Not a stir fry, but in a similar style of dish, we had a big Kottu Roti cook up here at the Heatlie office, check out the pics here to see how it's done.
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches & Paninis
Forget your store-bought flat press grilled sandwich maker, get the Heatlie out for a melted cheese extravaganza. Take some quality baked bread like sourdough and cut some slices, about an inch thick. Slather some butter on the outsides and fill the insides with some flavoursome cheese like mozzarella, gruyere, American, gouda or swiss. Any of these, or a combination of them, will not only give you that lovely tangy, cheesy taste but also the beautiful melted pull apart we all desire.
While you do that, place a heavy fry pan on the hot plate to get it nice and hot. After placing your grilled cheese down on the plate, place the hot fry pan on top and use an oven mitt or thick towel to push down on the frying pan and the sandwich. This will flatten it and help the cheese melt. For an optional extra step, once nearing done, cover the sandwich with something heat resistant like a deep fry pan or a lid. This will help to create a little Dutch oven that will melt the cheese fully without burning the bread. Follow the same steps for a panini by filling some panini bread with whatever you like. All that will be missing is those grill lines, but they're only cosmetic anyway.
Start Experimenting with BBQ Recipes Today!
There you have it, you've got no excuses now, put away the snags and chops and start experimenting with your Heatlie. At the end of the day, anything you normally cook on a fry pan can be done on a Heatlie. You lose the security of a walled pan, but gain a whole lot more space to play with.
Consult our spare parts and accessories page for any extra bits and pieces you think you might need to help you on our way, or if we've convinced you that you need a Heatlie in your backyard, order online directly with us or visit your nearest stockist and you'll be cooking up a storm in no time.