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Have just put a barbeque into the garden - any ideas for fuel/recipes?

Charcoal bickettes, I find these easier to build a stack with. I used to start cooking food straight away - bad mistake - found it's better to wait until the flames go out ant the coals are just a grey colour, this cooks the food instead of turning the sausages into charcoal. And if you've got the patience, try some hicory chips (soak them the day before and drain a couple of hours before)this will add a nice smoked flavour to your food.. Yes! I like to BBQ..

Great care should be taken at all BBQ, Thankfully i don't like the taste. The utmost care should always be taken.
The health problem lies in the meat. Research has discovered two cancer-causing (carcinogenic) byproducts associated with barbecuing red meat, poultry, lamb, pork, and fish. The first is a carcinogen called heterocyclic amines (HCAs). The National Institute of Health, Department of Health and Human Services included HCAs on its reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen list. HCAs are formed due to the high temperatures occurring when meat is overcooked or char-grilled. Studies have shown that when HCAs were fed in the diet, rodents developed cancers in many organs, including the colon, breast, and prostate. Research is still underway to determine if this applies to humans as well. The second carcinogen associated with barbecuing is polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). They are formed when fat drips onto the coal or hot surface. The smoke carries the PAHs to the food. They can also form directly on the food when it is charred.

The recipe for healthy barbecuing is to follow some simple tips:

Don't get too hot: Try to avoid overcooking food by precooking it in the microwave or oven so it won't be on the barbecue as long; keep the heat down on the grill and flip the food frequently to prevent overcooking on one side; buy thinner cuts of meat so that they don't take as long to cook; and test the meat with a thermometer to see when it's ready. The USDA Recommended Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures are:


Steaks & roasts - 145°F
Fish - 145°F
Pork - 160°F
Ground beef - 160°F
Chicken breasts - 165°F
Whole poultry - 165°F



Trim the fat: Go for leaner cuts of meat; cut as much fat off of the meat when possible; and flip your food instead of stabbing it with a fork to avoid the fat dripping onto the coal.


Take time to marinate: Some research has shown the ingredients (especially vinegar) in marinades act can actually protect the meat and reduce the chances of carcinogenic compounds forming. One study found that a beef steak marinated with teriyaki sauce had a 45% and 67% lower HCA level at 10 minutes than the unmarinated steak and that lower levels of HCA were also observed in meat marinated with turmeric-garlic sauce.


Keep it clean: Keep the oil and grease off your grill by turning up the heat to high and closing the lid for about 10 minutes

On a lighter note, do you remember when we crapped outside and ate in the house, now we all crap in the house and eat outside, strange old world isn't it

The information on cancer causing chemicals is amazing - never heard this before. I do like the thought of marinating before cooking so will choose this. There's lots of marinating sauces around nowadays. I wonder where the hickory chips can be bought - this gives it a real authentic aroma for smoking the sausages. Thanks for the help everyone.

well when you think about it - charcoal - carbon - is carcinogenic. i'll echo camaroz - wait until coals are white and glowing. Reminds me of a food health ad a few years ago.

The ad showed sausages sizzling on a barbecue. When one of them is picked up with tongs, it breaks open to show uncooked pink meat in the middle. To illustrate the point that undercooked food can cause vomiting and diarrhoea, the 1973 Three Degrees hit song When Will I See You Again? plays in the background.

I always end up humming the tune at BBQs now

The only thing good about BBQS are the almighty piss ups that come with them

Another tip is to get a commercial sized tin can, cut the bottom out, and use it as a chimney when starting your BBQ coals.
Don't spread the coals out but make a stack with the firelighters in amongst them with a bit of wood, screwed up paper or whatever, light them and then stick the tin on top. It acts like a draw mechanism and sucks air through the coals and gets them going good style. When properly lit, spread the coals and wait for them to go grey on the outside, they are then ready to start cooking. Safety tip, use the BBQ tongs to remove the chimney and put it in a safe place so nobody touches it until it cools down. Just make sure the stuff is cooked through, the pink meat usually comes because people start cooking before the coals are ready. Keep turning the stuff over to get even cooking and to stop the charcoal effect on the outside. Also keep a water spray handy to damp the coals down a bit when they flame.
Enjoy
"The Bar B Meister"

Another tip Gloria, hard woods such as apple wood also does the same job as hickory. Soak the day before and sprinkle on the hot coals, lovely flavour. I know people who can dish up raw food from a gas/electric cooker. If you are a good cook you can sort anything out, if you are crap then get tinned stuff.

When using my WEBBER I always buy a pack of cheap burgers to throw on first. I dont eat them, I let them frazzle to nothing. I find that this settles the coals and gives them a enough fat to not burn out and prolong the heat. Then after an hour or so then start cooking. Your sausages should take 25 mins to cook and not be burned. Thats the perfect cooking heat!

When I was in Cyprus Kleftiko Chris, a legend in his own lifetime, always used to say that by the time the coals were just ready to start cooking on the Brits had cooked everything off, eaten and gone home. He was absolutely correct. The hour Sanchez waits is probably just the right time for the coals to be ready. Even the Cypriots all have different ways of doing things and they vie with each other to produce the best Souvla and Souvlaki and Mezze, they're all brilliant.