Good people of Mumsnet, please help me with my BBQ skills.

[BoffinMum]

Now I know I cook on TV from time to time, and write cookbooks and stuff like that, and I am never happiest than when rustling up food for 50, or recreating some bizarre 18th century recipe with a forgotten cut of meat and a vegetable that looks like someone out of a man's pants, but I have a cooking blind spot, and that is BBQs.

I realised how mad this was when I did the first BBQ of the season. DH was not there, and I was feeding four boys of various sizes.

Reader, I annihilated the food, I was so scared of poisoning everyone.

Please help me.

I think the best way to handle a BBQ is to think of it as a really good grill, that cooks from underneath rather than above. You need the heat to be fairly high, and consistent. That's really the key - making sure you don't wait too long until you put the food on. Don't turn too often. And apply similar timings and approach as with any other grilling approach! Good luck!

I am not great at grilling either, tbh.

My best tip is to get a kettle BBQ with a lid and treat it as an oven. 'Indirect method' is far easier, safer and less messy than 'direct method' grilling straight over the coals. Arrange the coals either side, place a tin foil drip tray in the middle and sit the food over the drip tray. Put on the lid and bake/roast the food rather than trying to grill it. I do everything this way from sausages and stuffed peppers to whole chickens and legs of pork. Never fails

Agree with Cogito.

A lidded BBQ is the only way as far as Im concerned.

The one I used to have was an oil drum one, but same thing, just a different size/shape to Cogitos pic.

Worst thing to do when BBQing...putting food on the grill when the flames are still high. Wait till the flames have died down and the coals are ashy.

I did a whole leg of lamb on my old oil drum BBQ with the lid down, they are that good.

Chicken? I always precook. Just finish off on the BBQ.
Halloumi skewers. Can't poison anyone!!!

I use a professional temp probe, meat is cooked just enough to be safe, it's really improved my meat and fish cooking both on the BBQ and on the hob/oven.

Yes to halloumi, I love it. Also corn on the cob. Add some lovely salads, potato salad, nice bread and I wouldn't notice if the burgers were well done

The trick with steak is not to fiddle with it. Season it, put it on, leave 5-7mins turn for another 5-7mins, do not keep turning it over, you will get tough steak.

We currently have a gas BBQ with two levels. The coals are at the bottom and you have to put a litre of water into their container to use it. All the fat drips down there. Then the heat comes out both sides and it is quite adjustable. It's a much older version of this Homebase one:

Montana two burner

I think the meat probe thing is inspired and I will get one, if I can find something a bit cheaper. I inherited an oven with one built in, and it transformed my roasts, like Blackjackcrossed says.

I do fiddle with everything a lot which may contribute to the caveman style toughness of the end product and it seems to get badly stuck to the grill thing. I wonder if I should oil that before starting?

What do people do about marinating, incidentally?

Luckily the boys were happy to eat anything as I had allowed cheap white fluffy burger buns, so they smothered them all with ketchup in there and scoffed it all down with some Coke. Not exactly discerning.

What do we think to this BBQ probe?

£3.99

With that design, you're only ever going to be able to grill over a fierce and uncontrollable heat. If anything drips down onto the coals you'll get flare up, burnt patches etc and the temptation will be to overcook rather than risk anything being raw. The grill should develop a patina of baked on grease which should stop things sticking. Yes to marinades i.e. oil the food rather than the grill.

Seriously.... get one with a lid.

But the heat turns up and down, and it has a lid that you pull down while you are cooking. The water stops the flare ups, I think. Not sure what the problem is.

Another kettle fan here - and the indirect method and this book is fabulous for bbq recipes and tips www.amazon.co.uk/Webers-Complete-Barbecue-Step-step/dp/0600621111

We had a bbq yesterday - just a cheap chuck away thing....

Open bottle of wine
oil the food - or marinate it with oil/herbs/spices
light the bbq
wait 20 min (make salad, cut bread rolls)
put burgers/sausages/skewers/steak/fish whatever on - open another bottle of wine

when food starts to smell nice turn it over and do it the same amount of time on the other side
cut one open, check, eat....
never seems that complicated to do...

that may be because of the wine ...

I have seen this BBQ cooking school and if it wasn't for the fact it was full of pensioners, I might be tempted. Grill Academy. MNHQ should get them on here to do a special web chat/online lesson, I reckon.

I have seen that Weber book in the garden centre, may go up and buy it later.

I always do marinated chicken skewers on a bbq, much nicer and less likely to go tough than boring burgers and sausages and steak.

I use chicken breast, cut it into chunks, marinate in garlic, paprica, olive oil, basil, juice of two lemons and greek yoghurt overnight, then thread onto skewers and cook over the hot coals , turning a few times, until lightly browned and cooked through.

Serve with salad, pita bread (preferably the big flat round ones, not the greek thick ones) and tahini sauce.

Watching other people use bbqs, I think a lot of the time the problem comes from putting the food on too soon, when the coals are still flaming, rather than once they have turned grey ith a red glow and no flames are still burning. Then kave the grill set high enough over the coals that any flare ups don't touch the meat.

I think people incinerate food rather than risk anything being undercooked. Yesterday I cooked 2 ribeye and 2 flat irons, high heat, perfectly rare at 54C in the centre, really tender and juicy - yes to oiling and salting the meat rather than the BBQ. To be honest I hate BBQ food at other people's houses it is usually bloody awful cheap, overcooked meat, dull salads and pappy rolls....I just focus on the alcohol. I am however an awful food snob.

I am thinking I should assemble half a dozen or so fool proof recipes and also up my game on the salads too, and I could probably do this OK. I think the chicken skewer recipe for a start, and the halloumi would be another suitable one. Proper butchers' sausages would be another one I could manage fine, especially cumberland whirls. Any good fish recipes out there?

Best way to cook fish in a bbq is to wrap the fish in tin foil parcel and let the heat steam it. Salmon darnes are lovely done like that with a squeeze of lemon juice, white wine and fresh parsley.

Get a throw away foil tin, holes in the bottom for the fat to drain and put that on the grill with the food in it. Any flames wont reach the food so you shouldnt get the burnt bits.

Throw in a couple of homemade fresh relishes, they make all the difference. Things like salsa verde, guacamole, Mango, avocado and chilli, Spicy tomato, smokey BBQ, they aren't difficult but they are surprisingly good - the shop bought equivalents are horrid.

i bbq at least once a week all year around - have done for years
my tip?
put it on the bbq
shut the lid
go and do something else, come back and turn
shut lid
wander off
cook

a good salad book is the bbc 101 salads book - on amazon

agree bbq the pitta then brush with garlic butter
OM