What is it that makes a meal cooked over burning coals so appetizing? Is it the fresh air or the sound of food sizzling on the cooking rack, maybe it’s the smell. Whatever it is there is no doubt the Barbecues are very popular and there is such a wide variety of dishes that can be cooked over charcoal. The days of sausage and burgers were the staples of a barbecue but now there is so much more that we can do for the barbecues, dips, marinades, tangy sauces as well as vegetarian dishes it is also a healthy way to cook and you can make some interesting deserts as well.

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Which barbecue or grill do you need, well you don’t need anything flashy to make great food though once you get into it you may want to get a larger one, barbecues are only an open fire with a wire rack over the hot coals which you put the food on to cook, you can make one simply by piling a few bricks up and putting a oven rack over them. Mainly you would use a purpose made one and these come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes some powered by gas, you can get portable, semi portable and build in barbecues the smaller ones tend to be portable some have stands or folding legs and if you have a small one and you are cooking for large numbers the you are best to cook the food in rotation. If you are wanting to a whole joint of meat you need a barbecue that has a lid that can be closed so that it can act as an oven. The temperature is controlled by the flow of air through the vents, but when used with the lid open it is just the same as your traditional barbecue. The gas barbecues usually heat volcanic coals but the flavour is still good because most of the flavours come from the aromas of fat and juices burning on the coals.
Equipment besides the barbecue itself you only need a couple of items, long handled tools are best saves yourself from getting burnt they are not expensive to buy you can get special racks for fish burgers and even for sausages. You will need a set of skewers for cooking kebabs it is best to get flat ones as these stop the food slipping around as it cooks. Wooden skewers are a much cheaper option but they do not last long and you need to soak them before use and wrap the ends in foil to stop them burning.

Lighting the Barbecue charcoal is the most popular fuel but you can use wood. Charcoal you can get a few varieties lump wood is the easiest to light, briquettes burn for longer but are harder to light. You need to light the barbecue about an hour before you want to start cooking the way to do it is stack the coals and use either a special solid fuel or a liquid lighter fuel do not use the house hold fire lighters as these will affect the food do not use petrol or paraffin as these are very dangerous. The barbecue is ready to use when the flames have died down and the coals are covered with a white ash once they are ready spread them evenly across the base of the barbecue to give an even heat.
Before you start to cook oil the rack this stops food sticking to it.