Amateur Gardening – 20 July 2019

20 JULY 2019AMATEUR GARDENING 43

Do’s & don’ts of

charcoal barbecuing

Do

✓Prepare carefully so you have all the kit you need

close to hand.

✓Use a lighter block to fire up charcoal – it’s a lot

easier than paper and sticks.

✓Take your time. Light the charcoal and wait until it’s

glowing hot with white ash covering it, before cooking.

✓Cook meat thoroughly. For larger cuts or bone-in meat

use a probe thermometer to check internal temperature.

Don’t
✗Use waste building timber or offcuts when cooking on a
fire bowl or chimnea. Only use seasoned firewood logs.^
✗Pile more charcoal onto the barbecue while you’re
cooking, as it takes a long time to light.^
✗Overload the grill with fatty meats, which will make flare-
ups more likely. Rake hot charcoal to one side of the
barbecue, and move meats to cooler side if fat flares.^
✗Allow children or pets near the barbecue.

1

Open lid, remove grill, place a

lighter in the base and pile a few

charcoal lumps or briquettes over

and around it. Set fire to the lighter

with a match.

2

Leave it a couple of minutes to

get burning. Put on fireproof

gloves, then pile a little more

charcoal around and over the

lighter using tongs or shovel.

3

Wait for five to 10 minutes for the

charcoal to start glowing then

pile more charcoal carefully over

the top. Wait 15 to 20 minutes.

4

When charcoal is glowing

and covered in white ash,

rake it gently over the base of the

barbecue. Replace the grill and

wipe hot rails with a wet cloth.

Fire up a

barbecue

Step

by step

The language of charcoal barbecues

Charcoal chimney:

Metal tube with air holes drilled in the

sides, a grate fixed a little above the

base, and a handle on the side. Used

for lighting charcoal.

Probe thermometer:

A thermometer with a long, slim,

pointed probe. Take cooking meat off

the grill and push the probe into the

thickest part of the meat to check that

it is hot enough to cook properly. This

is important for bone-in meat.

Charcoal barbecue:

Metal box or bowl on legs for burning

charcoal under a metal cooking grill.

Lump charcoal:

Made from burning wood slowly in the

absence of oxygen, then breaking it

into convenient-sized lumps. Burns fast.

Charcoal briquettes:

Made from compressed powdered

lump charcoal. Burn slower and longer.

Charcoal lighter:

Small, flammable block to start fire.

Charcoal barbecue basics

5. Lump charcoal or
   charcoal briquettes

8.Long handled tongs

to move cooking

food around

7. Heatproof gloves


8. Charcoal barbecue
   grill

Charcoal barbecue 5.

3.Barbecue lid for

smoking and slow

cooking

smoking and slow

cooking

Use a lighter block to

fi re-up barbecue

Use a probe

themometer to check

internal temperature

Don’t use waste timber

in a fi rebowl

4. Small fireplace shovel to
   move charcoal around


5. Charcoal lighter
   cubes

6.Charcoal chimney

7.Heatproof gloves

8.