Barbecue Guide
Set up RIGHT
Get grilling in no time with our step-by-step guide to setting up your barbecue right, whether you're using charcoal or gas. Zone your barbecue with a hot side for searing, a medium-hot area in the centre and a cooler side for resting and keeping food warm.
1 How to light a charcoal BBQ
Light your barbecue (ideally use a charcoal chimney rather than fire lighters) 15-20 minutes before you want to cook, waiting until the coals just turn ash grey and are glowing – but see below for ideas of things you can cook while it’s warming up. Using tongs, bank the coals to one side and open any vents at the base of the barbecue.
2 How to light a gas BBQ
Preheat a covered barbecue with the burners set at the highest heat for 10 minutes until hot, then turn one burner to medium and leave one at high. If your gas barbecue doesn't have a cooling shelf, turn one burner off once preheated, so you have a cooler spot.
Warming UP
Take advantage of the gentler heat as your barbecue warms up to braise joints and cook veg.
3 Slow cooking
As soon as the coals are lit, you can put the lid on and use your barbecue as a slow cooker to braise large marinated cuts of meat: beef brisket, lamb leg or pork shoulder.
4 Potato salad
Save oven time by baking potatoes at the edge of the barbecue as the coals heat up – try them in this barbecued potato salad.
5 Baked beets
Treat whole beetroots like potatoes – wrap them individually in foil to slow-cook directly around the coals.
6 Aubergines & peppers
They can sit straight on the coals until blackened all over. Once cooked, remove the charred aubergine skin and mash the flesh to make a dip. Put the peppers in a covered bowl for a few minutes (to steam and release the skin), then peel and slice. Add to salads or sandwiches or whizz into a romesco sauce.
7 Carrots & onions
Nestle them unpeeled in the coals. Let the papery shells of the onions char and blacken – then peel off the skin to reveal the soft, sweet insides. Cut into pieces and add to salads, or finely chop and mix with a little red wine vinegar, olive oil and mustard. Use to make a sweet dressing to drizzle over barbecued meats.
8 Time to marinate
While the barbecue is heating up, it’s also a good time to start marinating meat or fish to be cooked over a higher heat later, such as whole mackerel steaks, pork chops and pork ribs, or foods to go on skewers, such as paneer, peppers and mushrooms.
Smoking HOT
When the coals are scorching, sear foods that cook quickly.
9 Quick-cook contenders
Sear sliced courgettes, halloumi, bavette steaks or veal escalopes, or those that just need an outer char, such as gem lettuce or flatbreads. (If you’ve been using the barbecue to slow cook, add more hot coals from the chimney starter first).
10 Cook first, sear after
‘Reverse searing’ is a cheffy trick for beef or lamb – you just need a meat thermometer. Gently slow-cook (or oven-roast) the meat, then sear it over high heat, ensuring a cooked core and caramelised crust. Luke French of Sheffield’s Joro says: “Roast beef at 60-100° until the inner temperature is 46°C. Season with salt and sear on the grill to form a dark bark. Rest until the core is 50-55°C."
WHITE-OUT
When the heat dies down a bit and the coals are white, it’s time to cook barbecue favourites.
11 Chops, sausages & burgers
Start grilling these now – they benefit from charring but need a lower, steady heat to ensure they cook through properly.
12 Whole fish
Robust, oily fish such as mackerel, trout or sardines stand up well to the heat of the barbecue – or try this stunning spiced maple salmon recipe.
COOLING down
Make the most of the last embers to cook desserts or dinners for later.
13 Get ahead
Once the sausages and burgers are done, use the remaining heat to cook any veg, beef or lamb that needs using up for speedy meals later in the week. Either cook straight on the grill or thread onto skewers, ready to add to pasta or couscous. Add a little more coal if needed.
14 Delicious dessert
The classic barbecued banana split can be cooked as the heat dies down. Cut a vertical slit down the skins and stuff with fudge, brownies or marshmallows, then wrap in foil and sit on the coals cut-side up.
MORE barbecuing tips
Become king or queen of the grill with our red-hot tricks of the trade.
16 Kebab know-how
Make sure all the pieces you’re skewering are roughly the same size – this helps everything cook evenly, and makes the kebab a bit more stable.
17 Sizzling skewers
Use metal skewers for kebabs if you can – the metal will conduct heat into the centre of the food, making cooking quicker and more even. If you use wooden skewers, soak them in water for at least 30 minutes before cooking to prevent them from burning.
18 Get the heat right
Buy a food thermometer to check that meat and fish are cooked through. It’s the easiest and most reliable way to make sure that everything is cooked through and safe to eat.
19 Calm the flames
If flames flare up while barbecuing, it may be due to excess fat getting too close to the fire. Remove the food until the flames subside.
20 Watch the sugar
When you’re marinating meat or veg, don’t add too many sweet ingredients such as honey or sugar – they can make the food burn on the outside before it’s cooked in the middle. Instead, brush the sweet ingredients on at the end of cooking to add a gorgeous stickiness.
MORE barbecuing tips
Become king or queen of the grill with our red-hot tricks of the trade.
16 Kebab know-how
Make sure all the pieces you’re skewering are roughly the same size – this helps everything cook evenly, and makes the kebab a bit more stable.
17 Sizzling skewers
Use metal skewers for kebabs if you can – the metal will conduct heat into the centre of the food, making cooking quicker and more even. If you use wooden skewers, soak them in water for at least 30 minutes before cooking to prevent them from burning.
18 Get the heat right
Buy a food thermometer to check that meat and fish are cooked through. It’s the easiest and most reliable way to make sure that everything is cooked through and safe to eat.
19 Calm the flames
If flames flare up while barbecuing, it may be due to excess fat getting too close to the fire. Remove the food until the flames subside.
20 Watch the sugar
When you’re marinating meat or veg, don’t add too many sweet ingredients such as honey or sugar – they can make the food burn on the outside before it’s cooked in the middle. Instead, brush the sweet ingredients on at the end of cooking to add a gorgeous stickiness.
