Melissa Thompson’s Summer Barbecue Recipes
You don’t need much to start barbecuing apart from a grill, fuel, and a lighter. However, today’s barbecue scene is quite advanced, offering numerous tools to enhance and simplify the experience. When selecting a barbecue, it is advisable to choose one that supports various accessories. This allows you to gradually expand your collection and explore endless cooking possibilities.
Essential Kit
Temperature/Thermometer Probe
As the saying goes: cook to temperature, not to time. A temperature or thermometer probe provides accurate information about what is happening beneath the appealing exterior of your food.
Wire Brush
Cleaning your grill indoors is messy and unnecessary. A wire brush efficiently cleans the grill; simply let the oil burn off when lighting the barbecue, then give it a thorough scrub.
Metal Tongs (Ideally Long-Handled)
Kitchen silicone-tipped tongs are not suitable for grilling as food tends to slip off them easily. Metal tongs, preferably with long handles, provide better grip and control.
Chimney Starter
A chimney starter accelerates the lighting of coals by concentrating ignition beneath a column of coals. Lumpwood charcoal can be ready in under 10 minutes, making quick cooking feasible with a charcoal barbecue.
Firelighters
Avoid petrol-based firelighters and opt for those made from wood wool and wax. These can burn for up to 10 minutes, giving your fire ample time to establish.
Helpful Kit
Fireproof Gloves
Having a dedicated pair of fireproof gloves for barbecuing improves safety and efficiency during cooking.
Basting Mop/Brush
Basting is frequent in barbecuing. Mops and brushes come in various forms, from wooden-handled miniature floor mops to silicone brushes. Any type is better than none.
Metal Skewers
Choose skewers with flat and twisted sections to better secure food compared to thin round ones.
Grill Basket
Grill baskets rest on the grill and are excellent for small items such as prawns and vegetables that might fall through the grill bars.
Pro-Level Kit
Rotisserie
A rotisserie cooks food evenly, resulting in moist, flavorful dishes.
The Set-Up
Choosing the right barbecue setup depends on the type of food, cooking duration, and required temperature. A common mistake is placing a large amount of lit charcoal directly on the grate and hoping for the best. This approach generates excessive heat and lacks a cooler area to rest cooked food while other items finish cooking.
The solution is to create "zones" on your grill, establishing different temperature areas for direct and indirect cooking.
There are three primary charcoal setups commonly used:
50:50 Method
This is the most common and preferred method. Coals are placed on one half of the grate, leaving the other half empty.
Clear Channel Method
Coals are arranged on either side of the grate with a clear channel running through the middle. This method suits foods composed of many small pieces requiring indirect cooking and is also effective for long, slow cooking in a pan.
Bullseye Method
Coals are piled in the center of the grate for direct cooking to achieve a sizzle in a pan, then pushed to the sides for indirect cooking.
"You don’t need much to start barbecuing apart from a grill, fuel, and a lighter. However, today’s barbecue scene is quite advanced, offering numerous tools to enhance and simplify the experience."
"As the saying goes: cook to temperature, not to time. A temperature or thermometer probe provides accurate information about what is happening beneath the appealing exterior of your food."
"A chimney starter accelerates the lighting of coals by concentrating ignition beneath a column of coals. Lumpwood charcoal can be ready in under 10 minutes, making quick cooking feasible with a charcoal barbecue."
"Avoid petrol-based firelighters and opt for those made from wood wool and wax. These can burn for up to 10 minutes, giving your fire ample time to establish."
"Having a dedicated pair of fireproof gloves for barbecuing improves safety and efficiency during cooking."
"Basting is frequent in barbecuing. Mops and brushes come in various forms, from wooden-handled miniature floor mops to silicone brushes. Any type is better than none."
"Choose skewers with flat and twisted sections to better secure food compared to thin round ones."
"A rotisserie cooks food evenly, resulting in moist, flavorful dishes."
"The solution is to create 'zones' on your grill, establishing different temperature areas for direct and indirect cooking."
"Fired Up" by Melissa Thompson is published by Carnival at £22. To order a copy for £19.80, visit the publisher's website.
