There's a stretch of June where the forecast finally settles, the back garden fills up, and someone - usually a brother-in-law - wheels the BBQ out from behind the shed. We've been feeding Essex families from Barleylands since 2001, and the most common Saturday-morning question on the counter from May onwards is always the same: what should I put on the grill? Here's our honest, butcher-counter answer for an Essex summer.
Start with the meat
The meat is the bit people remember, and it's also the bit that's easiest to get wrong. Cheap supermarket burgers shrink, plain chicken breasts dry out, and thin pork chops curl. From our butcher counter we'd point you towards three workhorses for a summer BBQ in Billericay:
- Marinated chicken thighs - bone-in or boneless, they stay juicy even on a fierce grill, and they cook in 10–12 minutes.
- British pork shoulder steaks - better value than chops, more flavour, and they take a barbecue rub beautifully.
- Sirloin or rump for the centrepiece - one larger cut, sliced after a 10-minute rest, feeds a table of six more impressively than a tray of burgers.
We're an NHS supplier as well as a farm shop, which is the long way of saying our meat counter is held to a tighter standard than most. Whatever you grab, ask the team behind the counter what's freshest that morning - they'll tell you straight.
Sausages - don't overthink it
A good thick British pork sausage is still the kindest thing you can put on a grill. Slow heat, lid down for the last few minutes, and you've got something every age at the table will eat without a fuss. Our sausage selection rotates through traditional Lincolnshire, Cumberland rings and Essex-blended bangers depending on what's coming in fresh.
One trick we'd quietly suggest: pick up a pack of plain cooked sausages too. If unexpected guests turn up - and in our experience they always do - a quick four-minute sear gets you sorted without firing the BBQ back to full heat.
Salads, sides and bread
The fastest fix for a BBQ that feels homemade rather than panic-shopped is a proper salad bowl. Fresh leaves, tomatoes and a stir-fry pack from our salad range handle three plates of side at once: a leaf bowl, a tomato-and-basil plate, and an herby slaw if you've got time.
For carbs, fresh brioche or seeded buns from our bread shelves beat the supermarket versions on day-of softness. A bag of new potatoes from the veg counter, boiled the night before and tossed with mustard and chives, gives you potato salad that's actually worth eating.
Charcoal, beer and the bits that get forgotten
The number of Sunday-afternoon visits we get for “we ran out of charcoal” is genuinely funny. Buy your fuel with your food: lumpwood charcoal, briquettes and kiln-dried logs are all stocked in our charcoal & logs section, and they live near the door so you can grab a bag on the way through.
While you're at it, foil, kitchen roll, BBQ sauces and a few cold beers or a bottle of something for the cook are all under one roof. If you're delivering food from Barleylands across an Essex postcode the same week, drop everything into one online order and we'll save you a second trip.
An order-the-night-before plan
The simplest BBQ in Essex looks like this. The night before: order meat, charcoal and a salad pack online for next-day collection. The morning of: pick up bread, drinks and a punnet of strawberries while you're in the shop. Two hours before guests: light the grill, prep your bowls, and pour yourself something. That's it - the rest is weather, and there's nothing we can do about that.
However big or small your garden, we're here at Southend Road in Billericay six days a week. Come and tell us what you're cooking - we love helping plan a summer plate.
Hero image alt suggestion: “Selection of Barleylands Farm Shop butcher meats, sausages and salad on an Essex back-garden BBQ”.