How do you make a great BBQ

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A.� The secret to a great BBQ is making sure the meat is properly cooked, the charcoal is hot enough and�following some simple hygiene precautions to ensure everyone's safety.�A warm sunny day helps too.

There are some simple rules you can follow:

• Do keep an eye on the time; it's not all about flames and quick coooking. The scorch-and-torch technique can mean burnt on the outside and pink in the middle
• Make sure the charcoals are white with a reddish glow - at least half an hour before the BBQ is supposed to begin, ensure it is properly lit

Q.� What are the golden rules

A.� Don't prod the meat too often with utensils. If you keep piercing the chicken legs, the juices will run out and they will get tough. Don't keep flipping the meat over, you should only need to turn the meat once. Don't rely too heavily on tin foil - it's a fire hazard; and don't continually peek at the food - if it's under a lid, the air will fan the flames and it will overcook.

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Q.� What food safety rules are there

A.� Minimise the opportunity for bacteria and avoid cross contamination. The threat of e-coli 0157 comes particularly from beef products such as burgers, and the risk of salmonella and campylobacter comes from chicken. Bacteria flourishes in warm temperatures and doubles every 20 minutes.

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• So, light the BBQ well in advance to ensure it's as hot as possible before cooking. This will help avoid the problem of food being scorched on the outside and raw in the middle.
• If you pre-cook chicken in the oven or microwave, make sure you can put it immediately on the BBQ outside.
• If cooking chicken, ensure the juices run clear and there are no pink bits in the middle.
• Beef products and sausages should be piping hot all the way through.
• Defrost frozen food thoroughly and keep raw meat well away from prepared foods to avoid cross contamination.
• Baste meat with fresh marinade, rather than the marinade it has been sitting in
• Keep all perishable food in the fridge until it's needed

Q.� Can you suggest a great BBQ menu

A.�Offer a wide variety of simple, but interesting foods. For example, simple beefburgers with fresh baps, fresh tuna burgers with salsa, BBQ chicken with coriander or butterflied leg of lamb cooked over hot charcoals.

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Offer focaccia with tomato and olive or Irish soda bread, baby roasted vegetables in their jackets and asparagus salad with Jersey Royals or an anything-goes salad with honey and mint dressing.

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For vegetarians, try vegetable kebabs or chargrilled aubergine with parmesan. Fish makes an interesting addition - chargrilled trout, BBQed prawns, grilled scallops or marinated monkfish.

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Even dessert can be done on the griddle - try tropical fruit kebabs or BBQed bananas in their own skins with vanilla ice cream.

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Q.� How do you make a simple marinade

A.� For a great BBQ sauce that serves meat, poultry or fish, try this:

1/2 pint tomato ketchup

1oz butter

�3tbsp vinegar

1/4 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp celery salt

1/2 tsp dried mixed herbs

Put all the ingredients in a saucepan, bring slowly to the boil stirring. Cover the pan and simmer gently for 15 minutes, and use to baste meat on BBQ.

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by Katharine MacColl