Light the barbecue before the guests arrive

​

A basic tip but a well fueled traditional BBQ could take well over an hour to heat up. The best heat comes when the charcoal has turned white and it has that red glow in the centre. Cooking on black flaming coals will make your food scorched on the outside but maybe raw in the centre.

 

Get organised

​

Have you enough space around you to work with. Remember keep raw and cooked meats apart, set your BBQ so it has hot sections and cooler sections. This is easier on a large BBQ, on a smaller one just build up the coals on one side.

​

Don’t leave the BBQ

​

This is not just a safety thing, flames leap up from sizzling fat can soon turn thinks black! Anyone cooking on a BBQ will find they have plenty of company, especially the chaps who like to gather around a fire!

​

Use great basic ingredients

​

This is obvious and because you are reading this on our website we know you are looking in the right place. Take a look at our gallery on this page to see some tasty options.

​

Don’t cook from the fridge.

​

This relates to all cooking, you should lose the chill from the fridge, give it at least 20 minutes, getting to room temperature before cooking is not going to be harmful – you are about to place it on a sizzling hot BBQ after all.

​

Timings

​

This falls into the organising bit, if you slap everything on at the same time you risk turning some ingredients into tough chewy lumps and others may not be cooked. Plan your timings and think about using different heights from the coals to control the cooking.

​

Test it’s cooked

​

Using a small sharp knife, cut into the centre of the meat (down to the bone if there is one), to check that the flesh is cooked and juices are running clear. We all love a BBQ – being overdone is better than raw.

 

Rest the meat

​

Here’s the top tip, how many times have you served straight from the hot coals? Resting the cooked meat makes a world of difference. By resting the meat it tastes better, it is more juicy and more tender. I would recommend getting some foil poke some holes through it and loosely wrap it – if you can’t keep it away from high heat than leave it to rest in a warm oven whilst you get the rolls and salad ready and top up the glasses. 5 minutes makes a world of difference. Enjoy your BBQ