“If I could have only one barbecue, it would be a kettle,” says Genevieve Taylor, live fire cook and author of Scorched. “They don’t take up a lot of space, don’t cost a fortune and are easy to move .” Plus, you can do pretty much anything on a kettle that you can on a kamado. Sure, you’ll need to pay attention to fuel management, adding more as you go for low and slow cooking, and work out where to put food in relation to the fire, but otherwise the barbecue world is your oyster: “Big pots of stew, slow-roast pork, bakes, yorkshire puddings.”
The key is to not get too carried away. “There is no other meal where you’d be expected to eat wings, kebabs, steak and sausages all in one go,” Taylor says, so pick a central star and build salads or charred veg around it. And it’s with the vegetables that you can really have some fun, anyway. “I’ve yet to meet one that doesn’t benefit from a bit of barbecue action,” Taylor adds. Carrots are an excellent example: “Blanch them, marinate in cumin, chilli and garlic, then grill and layer into a lovely warm salad with nuts, ricotta and olive oil.”
Leeks, meanwhile, are a staple at Acme Fire Cult in east London, where chef and co-founder Andrew Clarke cooks them directly on the coals: “They blacken on the outside and steam in their own juices; when they feel soft, lift out and leave to go cold.” Peel back the blackened outsides and you’ll find a lovely, sweet middle. “All you need then is a nice, zesty gremolata or salsa verde,” Clarke says. Aubergine is another cracker, especially when cut into “steaks”, rubbed with oil and garlic, and grilled. “Serve that with a mole made from leftover sourdough, chillies, nuts, sunflower seeds, garlic, tomato paste and spices such as smoked paprika and cumin,” Clarke adds.
Then, proving that everything is better with Marmite, there is Helen Graves’ cabbage, which she parboils and wraps in foil with “a load of Marmite butter”. The author of BBQ Days, BBQ Nights roasts this whole on the barbecue, “until soft and buttery”, and adds that it’s excellent with sausages. Alternatively, she might char veg – whole courgettes, peppers or tomatoes, say – then chop and stuff them into tacos with feta and all the usual suspects.
For something meatier, Taylor leans towards a joint of pork marinated in lemon zest and juice, chopped fresh bay leaves, crushed garlic and crushed fennel seeds, AKA a riff on the classic porchetta flavours. “Marinades never penetrate more than 3-4mm into the meat, so if you’ve got a big surface area, you’re going to get more bang for your marinade buck.” That said, the marinade also works on kebabs, Taylor says.
Finally, don’t forget to use the last blast of barbecue heat for something sweet, Graves says: “Halfway through the main course, get a load of stone fruit in a roasting tin with a splash of white wine, a bit of sugar and vanilla.” Leave that on the dying barbecue until the fruit is nice and squishy, add a few scoops of ice-cream and job’s a good ’un.
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