Elevate Your Summer Barbecue: Expert Tips for a Tasty Feast
Summer barbecues are a beloved tradition, but they can often feel a bit predictable. If you're looking to spice up your grilling game, here are some expert-approved tips to elevate your barbecue experience, from poaching sausages to using a sieve for vegetables.
Get Ahead with a Chimney Starter
Jamie Oliver, the renowned chef, recommends using a chimney starter to make your grill life easier. This inexpensive tool lights the coals evenly and quickly, ensuring a consistent heat for your barbecue. Simply remove the grill, place the chimney filled with coals over a lit firelighter, and wait for the coals to glow amber at the top. Then, transfer the hot coals to your grill using a brush or tongs, and put the grill back over them. For an extra speed boost, pop the lid on the barbecue for five minutes before cooking to preheat the grill bars.
Set Up Your Barbecue for Two-Zone Cooking
Helen Graves, author of 'Live Fire' and 'BBQ Days BBQ Nights', suggests setting up your barbecue for two-zone cooking. This involves piling coals on one side to create a 'hot' zone and leaving the other side clear for a 'cool' zone. This technique offers total control, allowing you to manage flare-ups caused by dripping fat by transferring food to the cooler side. It also provides a designated area to keep cooked food warm while the rest catches up.
Shake Up Your Sausages
Graves encourages experimentation with sausages. Instead of serving them in a bun with ketchup, try transforming them into burgers. Remove the meat from the skins, add extra flavors like harissa, finely chopped coriander, and preserved lemon for a North African twist, or fish sauce, puréed garlic, shallot, and sugar for a Vietnamese touch. Just ensure the existing flavors in your sausage don't clash with the additions.
Poach Your Sausages First
Richard Turner, a butcher and co-founder of the Meatopia barbecue festival, suggests poaching sausages before grilling. Poach them in simmering water at around 80°C for five minutes, then cook them over smouldering charcoal, low and slow, to avoid burning. Alternatively, start your sausages high above the charcoal and finish lower down over a higher heat to achieve a perfect color.
Finish with Some Spice
Graves emphasizes the importance of adding spices to grilled food after cooking. Consider using an Egyptian dukkah blend, which includes toasted nuts and seeds, for a flavorful and textural boost. For seafood, a fennel-seed version with pistachios, sesame, and cumin, along with za'atar and chilli powder, is a great choice. Dust these blends over prawns, white fish, or squid for an extra layer of flavor.
The Best Approach for Burgers
Turner recommends creating homemade burgers with a 20% fat content for optimal moisture and flavor. Remove the burger from the fridge at least two hours before cooking and cook thicker patties over charcoal to create a perfect smoky Maillard coat. Aim for a medium-rare doneness, allowing the fat to render and the flavors to shine.
Use a Meat Thermometer
Genevieve Taylor, the founder of Bristol Fire School, suggests using a temperature probe for barbecuing meat. Two probes are ideal: one standard probe for general checks and a wired probe that stays in the meat, linked to a display unit. This allows you to monitor the cooking process from a distance, ensuring precise results, especially for larger joints and slow-cooked dishes.
Bring a Sieve to the Party
Ana Ortiz and Tom Bray, the couple behind Fire Made grills, suggest using a metal sieve to grill small vegetables like chillies and tomatoes. Fill the sieve with whole chillies and tomatoes, set it on the grill bars or directly on the coals, and grill until blackened and charred. This technique keeps the flavorsome charred skin on and allows for easy mashing with the flesh and seeds, creating a delicious South American chilli sauce.
Harness Hardy Herbs
Ortiz recommends using rosemary stalks to create skewers for strips of beef and lamb. Select woodier sprigs and remove any lower leaves before spearing the end through marinated meat. The rosemary flavor enhances the dish beautifully.
Use a Clamp for Fish
Jun Tanaka, chef-patron of The Ninth in London, suggests using a fish-shaped metal clamp to cook fish on the barbecue. This clamp allows for easy flipping without the fish falling apart. Additionally, Tanaka recommends leaving whole fish uncovered in the fridge for 24 hours, turning it over after 12 hours, to ensure a crispy skin when grilled.
Eke Out More from Your Embers
Ortiz and Bray advise cooking directly on the embers for a strong, smoky flavor. Carefully remove the grill bars, and cook scallops in the shell over the white-hot coals for a fantastically strong, smoky taste.
In conclusion, these expert tips offer a range of creative and practical ways to elevate your summer barbecue, ensuring a memorable and delicious feast for your guests.
