Barbecue basics

Choosing a barbecue

Once smitten by the barbecue bug, many find barbecuing the most enjoyable form of cooking, with its flexibility to be creative with simple ingredients, and its relaxed, outdoor approach. What style of barbecue to go for is a matter of personal taste. There's a profusion of designs but the best tend to be quite basic.

All a charcoal-burning barbecue needs are air-vents (preferably adjustable) in the lower part of the basin to ensure that the flames are drawn upwards and the charcoal burns well, and an adjustable rack so that the temperature food cooks at can be varied by height, as well as by the density of the coals.

Eco-grilling

Concerns about the the environmental impact of barbecues and the use of charcoal have been raised because about 97 per cent of wood charcoal bought in Britain is not from sustainable sources. It can come from some of the world's most endangered tropical rain forests and contribute to deforestation. Many of these unsustainable charcoal briquettes are also doused in petroleum solvents.

The most environmentally friendly option is to use sustainable British charcoal made from native managed coppiced woodland. This form of charcoal doesn't require or use fire-lighting chemicals. According to research undertaken by the BioRegional Development Group, which has developed this charcoal, it has a carbon-neutral footprint.This kind of coppicing is also helping to create new flower-rich woodland habitat for butterflies and nightingales. Look out for this type of charcoal in selected Co-op, Sainsbury's, Tesco and B&Q stores.

Perfect technique

There's a surprising amount of conflicting advice about grilling food, but here are a few tips to help you get the best results:

• Different types of charcoal burn at varying speeds and heats. The best guide to when they're ready is a visual one: the charcoal should be ashy grey on the outside and glowing red in the centre.
• Food will naturally stick when it first touches the grill, but will come away easily once the outside has seared. Make sure your grill rack is very hot, then sear your food on both sides over a medium-high heat close to the middle of the grill where the charcoal tends to be the hottest because it is more closely packed.
• Regularly move the food on the grill. If your ingredients are naturally fatty or too liberally coated in oil, the fat will drip onto the barbecue and cause flaring, which will give the food an unpleasant taste and a blackened appearance.
• Once your food is seared you then have to decide how to cook it. Quick-cooking foods, such as vegetables and fish, should be kept over a medium-high heat.
• Denser meats and poultry should be moved to a medium or medium-low area of the grill. Either move the rack higher or find a cooler spot such as closer to the rim.
• The food should be turned regularly until cooked to your liking. It's better to have golden, succulent food than perfectly burnt grill marks that taste bitter. Be absolutely certain that the meat is cooked all the way through.

Adding flavour

Simple cooking demands good quality ingredients. A well-hung, marbled steak, for example, will taste more delicious than a leaner, less mature steak when plainly grilled with a hint of olive oil, black pepper and salt.

Barbecues imbue food with a smoky flavour. This is caused by juices falling from the food onto the coals (even if they're imitation) and releasing smoke, which then flavours the food. This smoky flavour can be further enhanced by using a sticky marinade or a last-minute glaze, which then caramelises and captures that barbecue flavour.

Using marinades

Traditionally, marinades were used to tenderise meat, but modern meat is so tender that they're now mainly used to add further flavour. A classic marinade always contains an acid, such as yoghurt, lime or wine, to break down the meat's proteins; oil to help keep it moist as it cooks; and flavourings such as spices, herbs and vegetables. Fish and vegetable marinades need little or no acid.

If you want the flavour to permeate into the deepest parts of your cuts, such as skinned chicken legs, pierce or slash them with a sharp knife before marinating. Individual poultry portions need about 30 minutes to two hours marinating time.

Barbecue safety

Although they're fun, barbecues can have a downside in the form of food poisoning. Happily, a little knowledge, care and organisation can help to avoid such pitfalls.

Problems can occur when raw or partially cooked food is left sitting around at ambient temperatures, thereby allowing bacteria to flourish. Bacteria will double in number every 20 minutes on a fine summer day. Raw beef products, such as burgers, can contain E coli O157, while raw poultry can carry salmonella and campylobacter - all of these can cause severe illness. Cross-contamination is the other major cause of food poisoning.

• Never defrost frozen meat, fish or shellfish at room temperature. Bugs can start to grow in the outer tepid areas of flesh while the inner part is still defrosting. Use the fridge or microwave instead.
• Avoid cross-contamination. Keep cooked food and raw produce separate and use different utensils for each. Wash your hands after handling raw meat or fish. Keep raw food away from cooked food on the grill. Avoid 'hidden' cross-contamination, which can be caused, for example, by pouring a marinade used on raw meat onto partially cooked meat.
• Cook all barbecued food thoroughly. Never grill from frozen. Always defrost food thoroughly in the fridge before cooking. Chicken, turkey, pork and prawns, as well as sausages, burgers and other minced meat products must be grilled until they're no longer pink inside and are hot throughout. Even restaurants now have to make sure their burgers are cooked through to ensure they pose no health risk.