OT ish: Best method of doing a BBQ

[Joe]

A hair dryer works well enough. A bit less trouble than the carbon arc torch I used to use. Photographs aren't as funny, though.

[Phil L]

couple of sheets of newspaper, few small sticks very thin, made itno a small fire with lumpwood charcoal on top, no accelerants of any kind, unless you like the taste of wax / oil / residues etc. Leave for 5 mins until a few pieces of charcoal are caught, then fan with a piece of carboard so that it becomes like a blast furnace, then add remainder of charcoal and wait until it's ready...from start to cooking takes around 30 mins.

Another BBQ essential which appears never to have caught on in this country, presumably because; A) we are all lousy cooks, or B) we are all still new to barbecuing, is the use of a water spray gun, this is used to fine mist the coals so as to cool them down and therby increase the cooking time and avoid the black exterior/bloody interior of most British BBQ food, as a society we seem to have this bizzare notion that something is done, 'when it looks done' - it isn't - a burger 'looks' done after about 20 seconds on each side, this is always because the heat is too high.

[Brian L Johnson]

Phil L wrote

Beer -- shaken, not stirred -- does the same thing and adds a certain piquancy to the food.

[The Medway Handyman]

But we get to eat when we want to :-)

BTW it's the vapourised fat wot adds the BBQ flavour, not the charcoal............

[Frank Erskine]

What an unhealthy, and environmentally-unfriendly existence.

|-)

[Jon]

Speak for yourself sir - I use a spray gun regularly. Gotta keep it down a bit!

[Bob Mannix]

I like the sound of the beeswax. OTOH it must be said that, although firelighters do stink, they disappear and there is no taste of paraffin if you wait for them to burn out. If there are still any flames/smoke, don't go near it with any food is the golden rule - wait for them to go and then some. Chill, have another glass of wine! The same goes for the self lighting bags (where the charcoal is impregnated with paraffin). Mind you sometimes you are not in control - I did attend a BBQ where they started cooking before the flames died down - eeeeuurrgh!

[Brian L Johnson]

Frank Erskine wrote

Not so! We all know that beer-calories evaporate when they get hot, and the CO2 which is sprayed into the air by the de-gassing beer doesn't go instead into the chef's body where it might produce much more ozone- damaging methane. :)

[Mary Fisher]

N o, but while it's burning you get the smell and it's pervasive.

Good Heavens! I didn't know that ... all these years of cooking over various fires ...

by the time the flames have gone I'm on my second bottle.

I trust you changed their ways.

Mary

[Mary Fisher]

Speak for yourself.

Here endeth the lesson.

You're wrong in your assumption of totality, we've been using a mister all our lives. Learned about it in cubs/brownies, when it was a modified brass spray gun.

You're obvious too young.

Mary

[Bob Mannix]

back - you may know that but wet-behind-the-ears'es don't always and they read our posts too (well I think they do, one never knows!) - that's kind of the ng point!

[Mary Fisher]

OK, you were right and I was wrong as you so often are ...

Mary

>

[Bob Mannix]

Crikey :o) . Mind you we'd probably be better off actually BBQ'ing with whatever's to hand than talking about it! Still like the sound of the beeswaxy paper though - do they smell of honey?

[Guy Dawson]

Weber also do charcoal BBQs with gas starters :

1. Load charcoal into BBQ
2. Turn on gas
3. Press piezo igniter button
4. Wait 5 minutes

3a Turn off gass 3b Wait 15 minutes

1. Cook

5 Eat

Guy

-- -------------------------------------------------------------------- Guy Dawson I.T. Manager Crossflight Ltd [e-mail]

[Mary Fisher]

...

I hope you read it properly :-)

Beeswax is made in glands in the honey bee's body. Honey bees only eat honey. Therefore everything which comes out of their body (yes, EVERYTHING - that makes the kiddies giggle) smells of honey. That's why beeswax smells of honey.

Mary

[Phil L]

I'd rather speak for everyone, it saves time and is more entertaining

glad to be of assistance.

I never mentioned totality, I said it 'never caught on' - I'm not saying there's only me in the UK who uses one

obviously?

[Mary Fisher]

Must be if you think, "

[Andy Hall]

Jean-Marie LePen, you mean.