Light the barbecue before the guests arrive
Even have some grilling under way - maybe just a few bites. At the very least, your guests will arrive to the tantalising smell of the debris burning off the barbecue grills.
Be en place
The chef's term for having everything in place ready to go. Get marinating the day before and prepare everything to as advanced a state as you can. This will leave you with less washing-up and more time to set up drinks and create the party atmosphere on the day.
Be organised around your barbecue
Have enough work surface. Work out how many grill-loads of food you have to cook. What other equipment will you need? How will you keep raw meat separate from cooked?
Stay with your barbecue
Stay for as long as you are grilling, for the best results and for safety's sake. You won't get lonely. Chefs never do. There are always a handful of - invariably male - guests who huddle around giving their chefs advice. Barbecuing is theatre.
Use great basic ingredients
The summer months, when most barbecue bones are tickled, coincide perfectly with the season of fruit and vegetable gluts, leaving you spoilt for great ingredients both to barbecue (sweet corn, courgettes, plums, apples, etc) and to throw together into great salads to accompany your grilled meats, birds and fish. You should always wash vegetables before use, particularly if you aren't peeling them.
Season
Seasoning is often neglected. This is one of the first lessons any chef learns. Only add salt to a marinade if you are marinating for no more than 2 hours. Pepper is fine overnight, but salt never. Always season with salt just before barbecuing and don't be afraid to season well. Flaked sea salt, such as Maldon, will just fall off through the barbecue grill. Either blitz Maldon in your spice grinder, or use fine sea salt.
Lose fridge chill
Always give enough time out of the fridge, at least 20 minutes, for raw barbecue dishes to lose their chill and to be approaching room temperature. If the meat, chicken, fish or vegetable is too cold in the centre, the outside may well burn before the inside is cooked.
Temperature control during grilling
Control the proximity of the food to the coals. If you can, use a rack system with three different heights and moveable grills and hinged sandwich racks. If not, shuffle your grilling food around from hot patches to cooler parts of the rack, or place the food on foil to slow things down.
Test for 'doneness'
Using a small sharp knife, cut into the centre of the meat (down to the bone if there is one), to check that the flesh is cooked and juices are running clear. For flaky fish, such as salmon, press the flesh with your finger or a fork to check that the flakes come apart, indicating that it is ready.
Rest the meat
Resting meats after barbecuing is as essential a part of the barbecuing process as any other. If you were to eat a steak directly off the barbecue, it would be tough and juices would flow out the moment you prodded it with your steak knife. Leaving it to rest for a few minutes allows the meat sinews to reabsorb the juices. Rest the meat on a warmed tray on the top rack or away from the direct heat covered with perforated foil.
Magnificent marinating
If you have a fantastic piece of well-hung organic beef from a farm down the road, then maybe just brush it lightly with a little oil, season it with some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and barbecue it over the coals as is, serving it with any of our sauces. Otherwise, if you have just bought a piece of meat, some chicken, fish or vegetables from the shop, marinating is essential.
Marinades don't only flavour meat, but they also tenderise. Overnight marinating gives the best flavour but some more delicate fish and shellfish will not benefit from overnight marinating - and never use salt, or lemon and lime juices in a marinade for longer than two hours. Avoid pineapple juice, as it is very destructive, breaking down meat and fish fibres totally. Don't hesitate to bring out any flavour more strongly by adding an extra teaspoon or so of a seasoning.
If you don't have some of the ingredients, check your shelves and fridge to see what you might use as a substitute. This is how great recipes are created.
Five top tips for marinating
Marinate overnight whenever possible for maximum flavour (unless stated otherwise in the recipe).
Extra virgin olive oil is great, but you should never use it in marinades. It burns and smokes on contact with the barbecue. Use light olive oil, or vegetable oil instead and save the extra virgin bottles for your salads and sauces.
Marinate in strong plastic bags, tied securely to prevent leakage when you turn them. Otherwise, always cover food tightly with clingfilm and use non-reactive containers such as glass, or stainless steel.
Before placing on the barbecue grill, rub or shake off any excess marinade, particularly if there is any oil in it, to prevent burning or flaring and the consequent smoky bitter flavour.
Never put cooked meat back onto the same dish you used for marinating. Always use a clean serving dish or plate.
All set? Good, then you're ready to turn up the heat ...
To light the fire without resorting to firelighters, scrunch up three or four double pages of newspaper and place in the barbecue trough under a good handful of kindling. Place a few chunks of charcoal on top and light the paper. When you have a flame from the wood, sprinkle charcoal on the top in a pile like a bonfire.
Let this burn for 15-20 minutes with your barbecue rack above it. You are ready to grill when smoking has abated and the embers are glowing. Good-quality charcoal will last up to an hour.
The temperature and grill times are just guidelines. Grill times are dependent on factors including weather conditions, the age, type and dampness of charcoal and the core temperature of the food.
Once the charcoal has been burning for 20 minutes or so and is smoke-free and glowing, hold your hand directly over the grill bars and consult the table (left). If the temperature does not fall exactly into one of these categories, but is good and hot nevertheless, rake the coals around a little, but don't waste too much time trying to adjust it; just alter the grill time accordingly and test whether it is done as described above.
Testing the temperature
Temperature terminology
Slow or 'holding': Indefinitely, but warm
Medium or 'cook': 6-7 seconds
Medium-high or 'sizzle': 3-4 seconds
High or 'searing': 1 second