BBQ sardines with chermoula sauce

Ingredients

Corn with Cajun spices

Grilled Clams with Spiced Paprika Butter

Grilles Salmon 

This grilled salmon is coated in a flavorful marinade then grilled until golden brown. A super easy dinner option that will earn you rave reviews! This salmon can also be baked, broiled or pan seared.

This grilled salmon is coated in a flavorful marinade then grilled until golden brown. A super easy dinner option that will earn you rave reviews! This salmon can also be baked, broiled or pan seared.

Learn How to Build a Barbecue Fire In a Wood and Charcoal Grill

Making a wood fire in your barbecue pit instead of using charcoal takes a bit more time, but with patience and the right tools it can easily be done. How you build the fire depends somewhat on the style barbecue pit you have, but the general fire-building rules are the same. A wood fire provides a longer, slower cooking process that produces juicy, tender meats and vegetables with a distinct smoky flavour.

Setting Up

Remove any grates or grills covering the top of the barbecue pit. If your pit has a door to the fire pit and the grill surface to one side, open the doors.
Make a pile of small kindling in the center of the pit. Shredded paper, cardboard, wood shavings, and dry grass all work well for kindling. The bigger the pile of kindling, the better: the longer the kindling burns, the more time it has to catch the twigs on fire. Over the pile of kindling, arrange small sticks and twigs in a teepee shape. The idea is for the kindling to catch the small sticks on fire, which will burn longer than the kindling, and then transfer heat to the logs.
Squirt some liquid or gel lighter fluid on your bigger logs before placing them in the pit. Put on enough lighter fluid that the logs catch in various places, but don't saturate the wood. Arrange wood pieces around the small sticks, again in the teepee shape. You can also lay the logs flatter; just make sure they touch the smaller teepee without squashing it. Anything from dried tree branches to standard fireplace logs, or even scrap wood from building projects, works for your major wood pieces. Place the wood on the stack gently so you don’t collapse the previous layers.

Lighting the Fire and Keeping It Lit

Wearing a heat-safe glove, carefully light the kindling with a barbecue lighter, or light the end of a stick on fire and hold it to the kindling until it catches. Light several spots in the kindling to get the fire going faster. Do not to ignite the lighter fluid on the logs; the flames will shoot up and burn you with little warning.
Blow gently on the kindling to re-ignite the embers. A bellows can also be used to do this. Allow the kindling to burn, giving it enough time to heat and catch the twigs. If your kindling burns up too quickly, carefully add more, wearing the heat-safe glove.

Allow the twigs to catch fire, then carry the flame up to the logs. The lighter fluid on the logs should increase the fire's intensity enough that the logs eventually catch fire. You can strategically add more lighter fluid to the logs to help them catch. However, simply dousing the logs with lighter fluid indiscriminately only wastes fluid, as it burns off quickly without properly igniting the logs.

Once the fire is burning steadily, the logs have caught, and parts of them are glowing red, you can replace the barbecue grill top, if you plan to cook over the flame; leave it open if you want to toast marshmallows or simply warm your hands while you’re outside. If your fire pit has a door, shut the door and open the grill top, which should be receiving heat by this point.

Add a log to the fire about once every hour. Do not smother the embers in the fire's center when you add new logs.

How to cook meat on the BBQ

The barbecue is a versatile cooking tool, it’s an oven and smoker as well as a fierce grill, and we don’t think we’ve been harnessing its true potential. With a bit of planning and care, you can create something truly magical – and here’s how.

🔥 Start early. Light the coals or get the gas barbecue up to temperature, and tend it. The trick with low and slow barbecuing is to keep the temperature even. Brits tend to throw a whole bag of coal with a pack of firelighters and cook when it’s raging hot. Don’t. Start with a third of a bag, or find the right level on the gas and keep it there. This is an exercise in restraint and patience. Find your inner Zen. Use breathing techniques. Calmly does it.

🔥 The meat is also important. Most cuts of brisket in the USA have been trimmed of almost all fat. You need this fat when cooking low and slow. It’ll keep the meat beautifully moist.

🔥 Buy a meat thermometer. There are some people who can tell how the inside of a piece of meat is cooking from 1,000 yards away, most can’t. A meat thermometer lets you know exactly how the meat is cooking and when it’s ready.

 S.: Olvide Magazine

The best BBQ burger. The full works burger

We like our burgers piled sky-high with ‘the works’ – that means EVERYTHING including our secret sauce (made from four very simple ingredients), sweet and sour onions, emmental cheese, gherkins, frilly lettuce, and more…

We like our burgers piled sky-high. This version comes with our secret sauce (made from four very simple ingredients), sweet and sour onions, emmental cheese, gherkins, frilly lettuce, and more.  

🔥 STEP 1  Mix the burger sauce ingredients together. If you have time, leave the sauce ingredients for a few hours or even make it the day before.

🔥 STEP 2 To make the sweet and sour onions, mix the vinegar and sugar in a bowl and toss the sliced onions in it. Stir now and again while you make the burgers.

🔥 STEP 3 Put the mince in a bowl. Grate the onion on the course side of a box grater.The tougher outer layers will refuse to grate, so just discard these. You just want the grated purée. Add the grated onion to the mince bowl along with a splash of Worcestershire sauce, celery salt, and chilli flakes. Mix everything with your hands and divide into 8 equal portions.

🔥 STEP 4 Flatten each portion into a very thin patty.They will spring back in the pan so make them much thinner than you think you should.

🔥 STEP 5 Heat a non-stick frying pan on a high heat.Turn the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Fry the patties for 2 minutes each side.You won’t be able to get all 8 in one pan, so as you finish, transfer them to a baking tray.When you have 8, top each with a square of cheese and put in the oven for 2-3 minutes until the cheese melts.

🔥 STEP 6 Put some sauce on each bun base. Add lettuce and a couple of slices of tomato. Stack up 2 patties with cheese, then add sauce, the onions and gherkins. Add more sauce, the bun tops and skewer each to hold it together.

Ingredients

steak mince 500g

red onion ½ Worcestershire sauce celery salt 1/2 tsp

chilli flakes a pinch

brioche burger buns 4 (Waitrose and M&S sell brioche-style burger buns), toasted

vine tomatoes 2, sliced to serve

emmental 8 slices

gherkins sliced to serve

frilly lettuce to serve

SWEET AND SOUR ONIONS

red wine vinegar 2 tbsp

golden caster sugar 2 tsp

red onion ½, very finely sliced

SECRET BURGER SAUCE

mayonnaise 2 heaped tbsp

French’s American mustard 2 tsp

gherkins 1 tbsp, very finely diced plus 1 tsp vinegar from the jar

ketchup 1 tbsp 

S.: Olvide Magazine

Ultimate Grillable Vegan Burger

Make our easy black bean burger recipe for a vegan burger alternative. It’s ready in under an hour and a great vegetarian BBQ idea.  Also try more delicious vegan burger recipes such as our vegan mushroom burger, pulled jackfruit burger and Shiitake seitan burger.

For more meat-free options, check out our veggie burger, vegan meatballs, vegan chilli and vegan bolognese.

Method

STEP 1 For the pickled onions, mix the vinegar and sugar with a pinch of salt until the sugar dissolves. Add the onion, cover and leave to pickle. To make the chipotle ‘mayo’, put all of the ingredients into a small bender (or use a stick blender) with a pinch of sugar and whizz until very smooth. Add 2 tbsp olive oil, whizz again until it looks like mayonnaise. Season, tip into a bowl, cover and chill.

🔥 STEP 2 Mash the avocado with a fork, then stir in the onion, chilli, and coriander. Season and stir in the lime juice, then chill.

🔥 STEP 3 To make the burgers, tip all the ingredients into a blender and pulse until combined. Divide into 4 and shape into burger patties. Put onto an oiled baking sheet or plate and chill until you need them, at least 30 minutes.

🔥 STEP 4 Heat the barbecue or a griddle pan to high. Brush the burger patties with a little olive oil, then put onto the grill. Cook for 3 minutes then flip, and cook for 3 minutes more. Don’t keep moving the burgers or they will be more likely to break up, and you want a good crust on them.

🔥 STEP 5 Lightly char the burger buns on the grill, then spoon in a dollop of the ‘mayo’ to the base. Add a few lettuce leaves. Top with a burger, then add a spoon of guacamole, and a few drained picked onions. Add another spoon of mayo to top, some tomato slices, and sandwich on top. Secure with a skewer if you need to. Serve with mustard or ketchup, if you don’t have your full fix of sauces and toppings!

Ingredients

olive oil


BURGERS

black beans 400g tin, rinsed and drained well

cooked brown rice 100g from a pouch

onion 1, finely chopped or grated

fennel seeds 1 tsp, crushed

garlic salt ½ tsp

smoked paprika 1 tsp

panko breadcrumbs 25g

flat-leaf parsley finely chopped to make 1 tbsp

PICKLED ONIONS

red wine vinegar 2 tbsp


golden caster sugar 2 tsp

red onion 1, finely sliced

CHIPOTLE 'MAYO'

silken tofu 100g

cider vinegar 1 tsp

lemon juice 1 tsp

English mustard powder a pinch

chipotle paste 1 tsp

GUACAMOLE

avocado 1, peeled and stoned

red onion 1/2 small, finely chopped

red chilli 1/2, finely chopped

coriander chopped to make 1 tbsp

lime 1/2, juiced

TO SERVE

vegan or regular buns 4, halved

curly lettuce leaves

beef tomato slices

ketchup

mustard

Next level BBQ chicken

Discover how to cook BBQ chicken like a pro. The meat falls off the bone, and the marinade has a lovely balance of sweet, salty and spicy flavours

Method

🔥 STEP 1 To prepare the meat, tip all the ingredients, except for the chicken and ketchup, into a blender or mini processor. Add a pinch of salt and blitz to a rough paste. Tip two-thirds of the paste into a large bowl with the chicken, and massage the marinade into the meat. Cover and leave for at least 1 hr at room temperature, or up to 48 hrs in the fridge.

🔥 STEP 2 Meanwhile, make the barbecue sauce. Tip the remaining paste into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cook for 5 mins until it thickens and becomes darker, then add the ketchup and cook for 5 mins until sticky. Tip into a container and set aside.

🔥 STEP 3 Light the barbecue, ensuring the coals are piled up at one end and leaving only a couple of coals on the other side. Lay the chicken on the emptier side. If you’re making the smoke mix, carefully scatter all of the ingredients directly onto the piled-up coals. Cover the barbecue (with the vents open) and cook the chicken for 20 mins. Remove the lid and turn the chicken, then cover again and cook for a further 20 mins.

🔥 STEP 4 Remove the lid and move the chicken across the grill so it’s above the piled-up coals, then baste with some of the barbecue sauce, keeping enough aside, in a separate container, to serve later. Cook for 10 mins, adding a few more coals if you need to and turning often, until nicely charred and cooked through – a digital thermometer inserted through the thickest part of the meat should read at least 65C.

🔥 STEP 5 Put the lime halves on the grill, over the coals, cut-side down for 3-4 mins until charred. Serve the chicken with the lime for squeezing over and reserved barbecue sauce for dipping.

Ingredients

2 red chillies , tops removed and reserved for the smoke mix (see below)

8 spring onions , roughly chopped

thumb-sized piece of ginger , peeled and roughly chopped

8 garlic cloves , roughly chopped

2 tbsp chopped thyme

1 bay leaf

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp paprika

3 tbsp dark brown soft sugar

4 tbsp soy sauce

4 limes , 2 juiced, plus 2 halved to serve

1.5kg mix of chicken drumsticks and wings, lightly scored

200ml ketchup

For the smoke mix (optional)

handful of thyme sprigs

handful of bay leaves

1 tsp ground allspice

reserved chilli tops (see above)

Pulled pork

The easiest pulled pork recipe you'll ever make. No tricky measurements involved, minimal ingredients and a mouth-watering smoky barbecue result

Method

🔥 STEP 1 Mix together 2 tsp each smoked paprika, ground cumin, pepper, and brown sugar, plus 1 tsp salt. Rub over the 2.5kg boneless shoulder of pork.

🔥 STEP 2 Put the pork in a big casserole dish, skin-side up, and pour in 2 medium mugfuls of cider.

🔥 STEP 3 Cover with a lid and cook in the oven at 150C/130C fan/gas 2 for anywhere between 4 and 8 hrs until falling apart. Check every few hours in case it gets dry – if it does, add another mugful of cider.

🔥 STEP 4 Take it out of the oven and put the meat in a big dish, leaving the liquid in the casserole.

🔥 STEP 5 Cut the skin off, then shred the meat using two forks. Ditch any fatty bits, and skim any excess fat off the surface of the sauce.

🔥 STEP 6 Add a mugful of a good smoky BBQ sauce to the casserole, mix it in, then ladle some into a bowl for dipping.

🔥 STEP 7 Put the pulled pork back in the casserole with the juices so it stays moist. Season to taste. Can be made one day ahead.

🔥 STEP 8 Serve in soft white rolls with coleslaw and the bowl of juices on the side for ‘French dipping’ the sandwich while you’re eating.

Ingredients

2 tsp smoked paprika

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp pepper

2 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp salt

2 medium mugfuls of cider

boneless shoulder of pork (about 2.5kg)

a mugful of a good smoky barbecue sauce

soft white rolls

coleslaw (see 'Goes well with…' below)

The Science Of BBQ - Caramelization

When you put flames and meat together on your barbecue, magical things like the Maillard Reaction happen; creating the brown crust of deliciousness you love. But with the addition of barbecue sauce, things can go from delicious to disaster fairly quickly if you don’t know about the science of barbecue sauce, and the chemical reaction that is called Caramelization.

WHAT IS CARAMELIZATION?

Caramelization is what happens when sugars are heated causing them to turn brown. Well, that is the definition in the most simplistic of terms anyway. But let's go deeper. Caramelization is when sugar is oxidized through heat. The amount of heat needed depends on the sugar that you are using. That is why it is very important to know what sugars are in your barbecue sauce and rubs and when it is appropriate to use them