Top tips for a safe and enjoyable barbecue
As we enjoy long summer evenings, many of us choose to cook
and dine outdoors with family and friends. Below are some tips
on preparing and cooking food on the barbecue to ensure that
your family and friends remember you for the fun evening they had and not for the
nasty bug they brought home with them!
1. Before its first use this season, give your barbecue a thorough clean by
scrubbing with a damp brush dipped in bicarbonate of soda or suitable oven
cleaner and rinse with warm, soapy water.
2. Always buy your meat and poultry from a reputable butcher or shop. For all prepacked food, check the ‘use by’ date.
3. All perishable food should be kept in the fridge (or in a cool box) until you need
it. Raw meat and poultry should be stored in a sealed container preferably on
the bottom shelf of the fridge.
4. Make sure that all frozen food has been fully thawed out, on the bottom shelf of
the fridge. Allow 24 hours to thaw each 2.5kgs of meat or poultry. Try to cook
raw meat within 24 hours of defrosting.
5. Always wash your hands properly before handling all food and after handling
raw meat, poultry and fish.
6. Light the barbecue well in advance – the flames should have died down before
you start cooking. Be sure to have plenty of clean utensils and platters.
7. Keep raw meat and poultry separate from cooked meat and ready-to-eat foods
like salads. Use separate utensils for raw and cooked meat. Never put cooked
food on a plate that has been used for raw meat or poultry.
8. If you are marinating your meat, do not use the marinade used on raw meat to
coat vegetable or cooked meat. Marinate food in the fridge, not on the counter.
9. When barbecuing, it is essential that all food is fully cooked the whole way
through. Sometimes barbecued food can look cooked, and even slightly burnt on
the outside, but the inside can still be raw. For cooking burgers, sausages,
kebabs, pork, poultry and any skewered meat or fish on the barbecue, make
sure to keep turning them, move them around the grill and when they are
cooked, run the ‘done test’:

Is it piping hot all the way through?

Is there no pink meat left?

Do the juices run clear?
If you are cooking for large numbers, it is best to pre-cook the meat in the
kitchen and toss it on the barbecue for the barbecue flavour. Food should go
straight from the kitchen to the barbecue to complete the cooking. Steaks or any
whole cuts of meat can be served rare as harmful bacteria are on the outside
only, and not in the centre.
10. All hot foods should be kept hot either by sitting them to the side of the grill
rack or in the oven and cold foods should be kept cold in the fridge until ready
to use. Keep all food covered until you are ready to start eating.
11. If there are leftovers from your barbecue, allow the food to cool fully before
refrigerating. Food should be refrigerated within two hours of cooking and eaten
within three days. Never reheat foods more than once.
How to have a healthy and tasty barbecue

Chose lean cuts of meat. Trim off fat and remove skin before cooking.

Marinade meats with ingredients such as citrus juices, herbs and spices.

Butternut squash is ideal for the barbecue. Simply drizzle with a small amount of
olive oil, BBQ and serve with black pepper.

Wrap a whole onion, or potato or sweet potato in foil (complete with skin) and
cook on the barbecue until soft.

Try fruit kebabs or cook a banana in its skin on the barbecue for 10 minutes or
so. Serve with fromage frais or yoghurt.

Pasta salads and potato salads are great BBQ staples. Use whole grain pasta and
leave skins on potatoes where possible and use low-fat dressings and mayo.

Opt for a variety of breads such as granary, seeded rolls, whole grain pita bread,
baguettes, wraps and rye or soda bread.

Move away from salads in oily dressings, potato salads with high fat mayonnaise
or rich coleslaw. With a few clever changes, you can prepare options that taste every
bit as good. Fill your plate with lots of fresh vegetables, such as baby sweet corn,
spring onions, peppers, cherry tomatoes and beetroot. Why not make a refreshing
coleslaw that's so much tastier than the bought versions? Just finely shred some hard
white cabbage, add a grated carrot, some finely chopped red onion, a couple of
sticks of sliced celery and a chopped, cored apple. Add a little finely grated lemon
zest, then dress in low-fat natural yoghurt.
Spicy Chicken Kebabs
Low in fat and salt but full of flavour!
Ingredients (for 4 people)
4 chicken breasts
8 bay leaves
2 medium red onions, peeled and quartered
8 green chillies, halved and de-seeded
Black pepper
4 skewers
For the marinade:
275mls of low-fat, natural yogurt
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp turmeric
Small bunch of fresh coriander
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 tbsp fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
Black pepper
Method
1. Mix all the ingredients for the marinade together in a bowl and season with
black pepper.
2. Cut each chicken breast into 5 pieces and place in the spiced yogurt, mixing
around so that the chicken is fully and evenly coated.
3. Cover with cling-film and refrigerate for at least a few hours or overnight.
4. Prepare the barbecue.
5. To assemble the kebabs, thread a bay leaf onto each skewer, then a piece of
chicken, an onion quarter, another piece of chicken and half a chilli. Repeat
this again and finish off with a piece of chicken and another bay leaf. There
should be 5 pieces of chicken on each kebab when finished.
6. Press all the pieces tight together and season well.
7. Barbecue on a high heat on all sides until fully cooked.
8. Serve on a bed of basmati rice or with some crusty bread and a green salad.