BBQ Brilliance

I wrote some eight years ago about the great British BBQ. My views on outside cooking over hot charcoal have not changed. I still believe that the BBQ is a brilliant invention. Since that time I have learnt a lot about the art of this kind of cooking in that time and have been witness to watching and tasting some delicious grilled foods. 

As soon as the Sun looks like it’s going to show it’s face the BBQ’s across the nation start to come out from hibernation. First they need some tender loving care to clean off the rigours of the winter season, to clean off the burnt on pieces of burgers and sausages left from the previous September, to remove the spiders that have set up home amongst the old charcoal ashes and to wash off the splattered bird poo from the lid. 

Once this is done it is time to let the cooking commence. 

Lighting the BBQ is an art in itself. The interweb is full of examples of people setting themselves, their loved ones and their garden sheds alight using a poorly chosen inflammable liquid. As an aside what is the difference between flammable and inflammable?

I have discovered that a few pieces of kindling piled in an organised fashion and a firefighter gets seats the fire and then carefully adding the charcoal soon gets the coals ready to go. I have also recently seen the professional use of a homemade chimney to get the charcoal started. The important part of lighting is to get the air moving to provide the oxygen. As all good scientists know heat, fuel and oxygen are the three ingredients for combustion. 

It is interesting that around the country when the BBQ is ready to go it is predominantly the men of the household that grab a beer, don the apron and get cooking. Of course this is a massive generalisation so apologies to any households where this is not the case. I have learnt that the secret to a BBQ is to cook slowly over gentle heat but most importantly to spend time preparing the food before it gets anywhere near the grill. Trying to cook over too fierce a heat results in a blackened crispy inedible outside and an uncooked salmonella potential poisoning inside. You can get away with it if serving in the dark but it will come back to ‘bite’ you and your guests over the next few days. It is not a surprise that the incidence of food poisoning doubles over the summer months. 

Last night our BBQ was in action making a twist on a Tuna Niciose salad. The grill was used to cook strips of courgettes marinaded in olive oil, dill and tarragon and to lightly toast  pieces of sourdough. Then to cook pieces of tuna steak and corn on the cob as a side dish. This was cooked over charcoal and wood. The key to this fish is the smoky flavour that is absorbed by the food as it cooks over the burning wood. 

This was all then expertly assembled and served to the delight of all. 

Delicious.