Handy hints that will ensure your barbeque is a success time after time

                                                                    Barbeque Secrets

During the month of May as the weather improves we quickly forget the long, cold winter, with its log fires and winter roasts and casseroles and switch our attention to eating outside with our barbeques and a diet of sausages, burgers, kebabs etc.

To ensure your barbeque is a success follow our simple hints and tips to get the most out of the experience.

• Get yourself the right equipment, long handled tongs, long metal spatula, metal skewers, wooden skewers, basting brush, and a stiff wire brush

• Before starting clean your grill with a stiff wire brush or metal spatula to get rid of any burnt bits from last time. Then lightly brush the grill with olive oil.  This will stop your food from sticking.

• Use the right fuel, use briquettes. These may require to be lighted a good 45  minutes before you want to start cooking,but they will create a better flavour than those fast lighting bags which do not keep a high enough cooking temperature for long enough. Only start cooking when the coals are white, or glowing red and the smoke has died down. For extra smoky flavour you can add small chips of well soaked aromatic wood to the fire. ( such as hickory or apple wood)
• Spread the coals evenly over the bbq for an even cooking area or pile them higher to one side to make a hot and cold area.
• Raise or lower the grill if the heat is too high/low.
• Keep the meat moist. This can be done by applying oils or marinades to your meat. Marinade for as long as possible, ideally overnight and baste with the juices before cooking. Remember to scrape off excess marinades that will cause flaring during cooking and spoil the food.
• Never prod or stab your meat. Always use tongs to ensure the flavour rich juices remain in the meat and are not lost to the bbq.
• Pre-soak wooden skewers for at least 45 minutes before using to prevent them from burning.

Barbequing Meats

Do not turn your steaks too often. Ideally steak should only be turned once. Sirloin, rib-eye or rump steak are particularly well suited to barbequeing. Fillet steak is less well suited. Lamb steaks are also well suited to barbequeing. They are better on the bone as the bone helps conduct heat and makes them easier to handle. Larger joints should be started in the oven and finished over the bbq to give them a smoky taste. A butterflied leg of lamb is a particular favourite. These can be marinaded first, are easy to cook and look particularly impressive.

                                                       Barbequing Vegetables

Some vegetables go really well on the barbeque too. Try par boiling baby new potatoes then making a bag out of some tin foil, add olive oil, seasoning and some fresh rosemary and pop them on the BBQ. The same technique can be used with most vegetables. Timing of these vegetables can be quite difficult, as it will depend on the size of the vegetable and the temperature of the oven but a general rule of thumb is that they should take the same time as they do in the oven.