Spring and autumn are perfect barbecue seasons. I was lucky enough to get invited to a gourmet BBQ gathering.

Beer-can chicken

This was just the appetizer, and it turned out beautifully. The host’s cooking skills are seriously impressive…

Quince

The weather was gorgeous too.

Today’s drinks lineup

Quite a few.

Beer

Better than I expected.

Bruschetta

Everyone came so well prepared that I felt a little embarrassed.

A fallen quince

I picked one up to take home.

Olives and chorizo

Both were the best you can find in stores. A gourmet meetup really is a different league.

Olives

It’s worth remembering the good products. And if I can’t remember, I’d better photograph them and put them on the blog so at least I can search for them later.

Bread

A baker brought this along, and it was delicious.

Salad

Mushroom soup

It looks ordinary, but it was genuinely delicious, bursting with mushroom aroma. The person who made it called it a failure, so I asked how a soup this good could possibly be a failure. Turns out they’d failed at judging the quantity… That’s how it always goes with us. Some was left over in the end.

The pickles are homemade too.

Salad, also homemade

The cheese, of course, was top-notch too.

Croissants came out too.

The main event: the meat finally arrives

Grade 2 Hanwoo beef, wet-aged for two weeks in a kimchi fridge. It’s the simplest way to age beef at home. Just look at it…

Close-up…

Scallops

Seasoned and onto the grill.

I’ll skip the details…

Cilantro salad

Once it’s nicely seared…

Close the lid.

Then check the temperature, so it cooks through to the middle.

The thermometer.

I’d never seen a barbecue like this in my life. Turns out there really are people in Korea who barbecue with the full kit. You’d need a yard at home to pull it off, though.

Done

The taste, needless to say, was superb. Now I know what a real barbecue is.

Boneless galbi (rib meat)

The contributions just keep coming.

Bacon

Cooked Thai-style.

Explaining roughly how it goes…

Coated well, then grilled.

An endless supply of protein.

Salad to the rescue

Marinated pork neck (moksal) goes on the grill too.

Grilled up and prepped as fillings

Wrapped and rolled in a tortilla, it looks like this.

So good.

Freshly picked vegetables

I had to leave partway through for work, but it was such a happy barbecue. I hope we do it again this year.

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