Barbecue time!

Late spring time is ideal for barbecues. Favourite way of preparing meat in the Balkans is, according to local customs, suitable for lunch, dinner, even breakfast! I adore barbecues and family often gathers in restaurants or in their cottages to enjoy it. In local Balkan culture, it is accompanied by large quantities of beer, wine and brandy, and with loud popular music.
To have a good barbecue one has to insure quality meat. We often have minced meat for kebabs and if you can provide it from local butcher, rather than big market stores, you’re on right way to have barbecue feast. Cutlet is best prepared on grill and from pork one should use neck, ribs and haunch. If one plans to grill beef, than it is beefsteak and cutlet, from lamb chump and leg, poultry gives us wings and drumsticks. In some instances it is good to grill liver, kidneys and hearts. All hard meat should be marinated and softened, preferably overnight. Very nice is to grill vegetables with meat.
If you don’t know how much to grill, here are some instructions:

Beef cutlets 10 – 15 min, high temperature
Lamb cutlets 12 min, middle temperature
Pork cutlets 25 – 35 min, middle temperature
Beefsteaks 8 – 12 min, middle temperature
Chicken 20 – 30 min, middle temperature
Mix minced 10 – 12 min, middle temperature
Sausage 5 – 10 min, high temperature
Hamburger 8 – 12 min, high temperature

And now something very easy and so delicious. Chicken in gremolata!
4 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of pepper
8 tablespoons of olive oil
3 pieces of chicken breasts
For gremolata: 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme, 2 garlic cloves and 1 teaspoon of grated lemon peel
Mix in bowl lemon juice, pepper and salt and slowly add oil to make marinade. Every piece of chicken breasts soak in marinade, cover it and place in fridge for 30 minutes. In meantime, chop garlic and thyme and mix it with lemon peel. After half an hour, grill chicken for some 3 to 5 minutes on both sides and cover it with gremolata.