Apart from the fat that now needs burning off of the grill. :(
Idea of doing a BBQ was that because we have a smallish house, it was simpler to cater for 9 that way, and clearing up would be kept to a minimum - disposable beakers/plates etc. The grilling added back on a lot of effort we could have done without.
There is something lovely about going and taking the last, cremated burger too! :-)
I think the answer lies in the charcoal. I've used the self-lighting bags, and they are quick and easy but I don't think they get too hot (or certainly, not for a long period of time).
I have a bog standard BBQ - a tray with no vents, nothing fancy. I line it with foil (for easy cleaning), then a couple of sheets of newspaper rolled up and tied into a know. Then some small twigs, then some short wood about 1.5in thick (mainly old privet cuttings from when we moved into the house). Then pour on top lumpwood charcoal. One match to the paper, job's a good-un. When the wood and charcoal are quite well lit, tip another load of charcoal on, wait for the majority to get lit and spread it all around.
Lasts a good while, not had any complaints!
Matt
Might have been poor charcoal. I currently have a brick built barbi using inset trays and rack etc - so probably slightly more cooking area than on a kettle type. I usually place two self lighting bags on it side by side, and then pour on the equivalent of about another half bag of lose coals. Light the bags, let it burn for 20 mins or so, and then spread it out and start cooking. Plenty hot enough to do enough food for five or six people.
yup - IIRC from my one of these, you pour the coals onto the bottom grid. If you just fill the bottom of the kettle, then they can't breathe, and the heat is also further from the food.
Well if you get the technique right, then you get nicely cooked food with a flame grilled taste that is difficult to replicate via other methods. Controlling the distance to the heat seems to be the key to avoiding the burnt on the outside, raw in the middle result seemingly beloved by so many.
There is also the social aspect that if you have guests etc sitting about in the garden, you don't need to have the cook shut away in the kitchen.
Cheers John. With my last remaining bag of self-lighting stuff, I am going to try it that way, without food, just to see how it burns.
JW
Hear hear! Only savages and foreigners eat outdoors.
-- Halmyre
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Lobster saying something like:
I thoroughly agree.
Ditto. What I do is cook the stuff in the m'wave firstly then lob it on a barbie for the burnt/crispy/firewood taste and appearance. That way I can be reasonably sure the bloody food is cooked.
You can make one at home for nothing.
MBQ
And the lovely smell.... hmmmm.....
I'm with you there mate! To my palate at least, everything on a BBQ just tastes of charcoal. Lamb chop, pork chop, beef steak - can't tell the difference as the overriding taste is charcoal. Cook inside on your normal everyday cooker, eat outside - therein lies the path to deep joy :-)
You've been the victim of clueless cooks. It's not unusual, blokes who know shit about cooking tend to think they can barbecue without having a first clue about cooking rather than burning stuff.
John Rumm wrote on Sep 6, 2010:
I often cook on a barbecue just for myself - summer and winter. I think the taste of charcoal grilled food is incomparable. I can never get the same effect on a gas or electric grill.
I once met a German chef in Africa who was in charge of an outdoor buffet area of an international hotel. He told me that he'd insisted on installing a proper charcoal grill as opposed to the management's preference for something more 'modern'.
I've been told that a scientific explanation for the difference in taste is that the food on a barbecue is being cooked in a reducing (as opposed to an oxidizing) atmosphere.
To take this to the next level, are we talking charcoal or gas?
I've been using a gas BBQ for years and have been an advocate because of the speed of heating up. Having eaten at a charcoal BBQ recently though, I've changed my mind and am going to replace my gas BBQ with a charcoal jobby.
In theory its the vapourised fat that adds the flavour, so it shouldn't matter - but I now reackon it does.
Thoughts?
I have a gas BBQ, but I rarely use it
My weapon of choice is my "schwenkbraten" which maximises the potential for play
Watch
We bought a gas one a couple of years ago to replace our ancient, battered, rusty charcoal one. It's an Outback GTx (I think. It's in the shed.) What a PoS. Blows out. Doesn't get that hot. Tiny cooking area. Had to buy more lava rocks because they only provide a few. Awful. I'm going back to charcoal.
The Medway Handyman wrote on Sep 7, 2010:
I agree absolutely. As I wrote in another thread, I often cook on charcoal - nothing to do with all the 'al fresco' business, it's the taste of the food. I cook outside and bring it indoors to eat in comfort.
I'm surprised no one has suggested something like:
John
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