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.

Lol at cook on tv. On what show?

We have a fail safe. Butterflied leg of lamb started in oven and finished on BBQ (we have gas one with lid). Produces more portions per square inch of BBQ, is very forgiving on how well done it is too. I do minty yoghurt to go with it. My recipe is an ancient clipping from a magazine, but if you google Jamie Oliver barbecue lamb leg you'll get something similar.

Also have a holey basket thing for roasted veg. Very easy.

We bbq a lot too. It's a way of life here some people have 2 a day! I wanted to find out what the secret marinade was especially for souvlaki but apparently it's just lemon juice and oregano nothing else.

I do sometimes make a chilli sauce though and use that as a marinade. Works with steaks of any kind and in the foil fish parcels mentioned.

I just prepare the food and dh cooks it and he's very good never burns anything or undercooks it. Halloumi falls through the grill sometimes. But you get round that by cutting it in thicker chunks. We find the kettle type is best too. We were given an outback gas bbq but we both hate it!

Unsupervised I have used the gas bbq on my own but I just did traditional souvlaki. Just pork in the marinade I mentioned. I covered the grill in foil so I didn't make a mess. Tasted ok and didn't burn them but they were just the same as if I'd done them on the griddle pan on the hob.

Coincidentally I have ordered a bespoke butchered lamb to be collected next week, and I think he is going to butterfly two of the legs for me for the BBQ. It was his suggestion. Now I see why!

Tbh I only have one rule - which is to not barbecue big bits of chicken. I do skewers and stuff, but only wee chunks. Nothing else is going to poison us. And like all cooking, once you stop worrying about it, it turns out ok.

I swear by an oil drum lidded bbq with adjustable holes in the sides. Pile up coals in the centre have coals lower around edges to create less intense heat. Close the lid!

One of my favourites, soak corn on the cob in the husks in water for an hour before cooking. Peel back husk, slather in butter plus whatever seasonings you fancy, put husks back in place and stick on the bbq. Cook until black and they will be perfect! I don't pre cook anything.

Also have a water spray handy for flare ups.