BBQ's

[Rob]

Has anyone, and i'm looking in particular at you SRD, any tips on how to light the coals.
I end up blowing and puffing to get the coal to glow and i know i could buy a gas barbeque but hey i'm a traditonalist.
Also any ideas on meat skewers.Is all meat and veg compatible on a skewer?

[peterd]

old fashion firelighters are the best way, put them under you coal when coals are alight spread them out

[Rob]

Thanks for the tip Pete.

[SRD]

I hate using any of the white spirit based lighters (including fire lighters, and those 'easy light' bags which are doused in a white spirit wax) as I think they can impart a flavour to the food as well as stinking out all and sundry whilst they're burning. I'm fortunate in that we have a large garden and understanding neighbours so I can make a camp fire out of a bit of paper, a lot of very dry tiny twigs and a couple of handfuls of larger bits of twig & kindling. Having fruit trees in the garden means I can use the offcuts from apple, pear and apricot which are reasonably fragrant when burning but most very dry kindling will do (don't use elder, it stinks of cat crap when burning). Then, when it's well and truly burning, even as it turns to glowing embers, carefully cover them with charcoal.
But even I with my phenomenal boy scout fire building abilities (it's the only boy scout thing I can do) resort to artificial aids occasionally. I find methylated spirit best but you have to be very careful, it really goes with a "WHUMP" when it's lit and beards, eyebrows, arm hair etc. are very much in danger. I pour about a quarter of a cup full over the charcoal, leave it a few seconds to soak in then light at arms length - spectacular. But be absolutely sure that there's no fire in the stack of charcoal - if the meth catches whilst your pouring it on catastrophe can occur, which is why you shouldn't pour it directly from the bottle but decant into a smaller receptacle, if you pour directly from the bottle and it goes up heaven help you.
A less spectacular way is to use a blow torch, I always have one in the kitchen anyway to caramelise creme brulee and the Simnel cake at Easter, not one of those poncey chef ones but a proper workman's one.
On a similar theme; if you have a very large BBQ you can use one of those calor gas pokers that the idle (like my mother) used to light coal fires in the house.

Elf & Safety warning: none of the above are recommended uses for the materials or objects used and none of the methods should be used when under the affluence of inkahol.

[Rob]

Thanks SRD i knew you could be relied on.Good song as well.
Anybody got any tips on marinading meat aand stuff like that? Oh what about fish on the barbeque?

[SRD]

This is going to get shifted to the cooking forum if we go too far but....
I cut lamb/pork/chicken fillet into chunks and marinade it with a mix of lemon juice, olive oil, coarsely chopped garlic & oregano for a Greek feel, I then skewer them alternately with similar sized chunks of green pepper, onion & mushroom before gently grilling the kebabs.
Or you can give a mountain feel by using garlic, rosemary, oil and a splash of red wine vinegar (or balsamic or sherry vinegar if you want to be posh), the same veg but add a bayleaf next to each piece of meat.
Commercially bought Tandoori sauce (or any other curry mix) mixed 50/50 with plain yoghurt works well with chicken fillets but burns easily. You can cut them into chunks and skewer with red pepper chunks.
I made my own (very fiery) chilli sauce when we were growing chillies, made up of pureed chillies, garlic, yellow peppers, sweet potato & vinegar all stewed up together which I mix with yoghurt to coat chicken fillets to give an African style.
I'll cook fresh tuna steaks (brushed with oil and seasoned with black pepper) direct on the grill so presumably similar structured fish like shark would work too. I've had oily fish like mackerel or sardines directly cooked on the grill; I generally find any skin on fish can be done but can easily fall apart. White fish fillets usually need cooking in a foil parcel.

[Rob]

Thank you SRD.I have printed this off.Most helpful.

[mikleed]

SRD........I bet you leave animal skin on everything how vile......do you eat raw meat as well ??
God when will this generation learn ? look up on net to see what raw food does to our bodies.

[mikleed]

SRD........That recipe.....what a mouthful...i'll have Fish & Chips......please plenty of Vinigar.....Iv'e heard of a sore A....e but that beats them all
do you give everyone a tube of Locan cream who eats it ????

[Northern Lass]

This is going to get shifted to the cooking forum if we go too far but....
I cut lamb/pork/chicken fillet into chunks and marinade it with a mix of lemon juice, olive oil, coarsely chopped garlic & oregano for a Greek feel, I then skewer them alternately with similar sized chunks of green pepper, onion & mushroom before gently grilling the kebabs.
Or you can give a mountain feel by using garlic, rosemary, oil and a splash of red wine vinegar (or balsamic or sherry vinegar if you want to be posh), the same veg but add a bayleaf next to each piece of meat.
Commercially bought Tandoori sauce (or any other curry mix) mixed 50/50 with plain yoghurt works well with chicken fillets but burns easily. You can cut them into chunks and skewer with red pepper chunks.
I made my own (very fiery) chilli sauce when we were growing chillies, made up of pureed chillies, garlic, yellow peppers, sweet potato & vinegar all stewed up together which I mix with yoghurt to coat chicken fillets to give an African style.
I'll cook fresh tuna steaks (brushed with oil and seasoned with black pepper) direct on the grill so presumably similar structured fish like shark would work too. I've had oily fish like mackerel or sardines directly cooked on the grill; I generally find any skin on fish can be done but can easily fall apart. White fish fillets usually need cooking in a foil parcel.

I like the Tuna Steaks suggestion SRD......never think of doing tuna steaks.

Thanks SRD for the ideas

[Rob]

SRD........I bet you leave animal skin on everything how vile......do you eat raw meat as well ??
God when will this generation learn ? look up on net to see what raw food does to our bodies.

Flippin'' 'Eck Micheal what are you rabitting on about?

[SRD]

SRD........I bet you leave animal skin on everything how vile......do you eat raw meat as well ??
God when will this generation learn ? look up on net to see what raw food does to our bodies.

Can't beat a good bit of animal skin - pork scratchings, can't beat 'em with a good pint of Batham's, and crisp bacon rinds, and a nice bit of crackling on the pork joint served with apple sauce, shame you don't eat pork. And that gorgeous crispy skin from a well roast chicken....

Raw meat, yes, good Jewish food is chopped liver. Then there's steak tartare but I'm not fond of the raw egg, too much like oysters, of course they're served raw. But I am very fond of beef or venison carpaccio. And then there's rollmops and cebiche, not exactly raw but not cooked with heat rather transformed with the acidity of the vinegar or citrus juices. Whatever meat I eat I always prefer it cooked rare, overcooking spoils virtually everything, removing vitamins and trace elements.

A few years back a neighbour, who happened to be one of the country's top pediatric doctors despite being in her 80s, never ate cooked food, she always said that our ancestors came out of the jungle eating raw food and it wasn't until we started cooking our food that our development stopped. Whilst being somewhat tongue in cheek she had a point, our systems are meant to cope with a wide variety of foodstuff and it has been shown that over-processed and cooked food leads to all sorts of disorders.

[SRD]

SRD........That recipe.....what a mouthful...i'll have Fish & Chips......please plenty of Vinigar.....Iv'e heard of a sore A....e but that beats them all
do you give everyone a tube of Locan cream who eats it ????

I never have trouble with bowel disorders (except if the beer's a bit past it), that's the benefit of a wide and varied diet. I had to look up Locan cream and I'm not sure I understand the relevance, why would I need a local anaesthetic? If you're talking about the afterburn of a good curry - well, the claw marks on the bathroom door are only testament to a job well done.

[mikleed]

Locan Cream is for Pruritis..........itching B m. I never get tummy or Bowel probs people usually get that in later life.....but I don't eat that crap you write about.
pint of booze and a Fag !!!
Shalom !

[Rob]

I think Rafa Nadal suffers from Pruritis. He's always having a scratch!!
But Micheal take heed of what my good friend Manny likes to say " A bird that you set free may be caught again, but a word that escapes your lips will not return. "
Oyvey oyvey