Ana Ortiz
The secret to great barbecue is …
Constant heat is key. At home, I would light the barbecue 20 to 30 minutes before cooking. Normally I use charcoal and logs – charcoal for heat, logs for smokiness. Make sure you use plenty of charcoal. You want the coals to get super hot and then to turn grey before you start cooking your food.
To maintain a constant heat, keep topping up the coals as you go. It’s a good idea to keep one corner or side of the barbecue free of food so that it’s easy to keep adding coals and logs. Flavour comes from the smokiness of the logs. I love to use applewood, or if I’m cooking fish, cedar adds a really nice flavour. Logs will also give you flames, which is useful if you’ve got a pan on the grill.
If your barbecue is small you may not have the space to add logs, in which case you will have to go with just coals. The main thing is to have it really hot, so that when you add your ingredients they cook properly. For instance, if you’re cooking fish, you want the fish to go straight on to a really hot barbecue. If you add the ingredients when the coals are still heating up, it’s not going to be the same flavour, it’s not going to be the same cooking process.
We use a barbecue that has grills at different heights, so if I want to cook something in a really hot place, I will put it at the bottom, and when it’s done I can put it higher up to rest. If you have a one-layer barbecue, like most normal barbecues at home, what you can do is put the coals on one side and keep the other side empty, so you have space to rest it after cooking.
Ana Ortiz is chef and co-founder of Fire Made, Somerset
Grilled mussels, lime-pickled onions and tomato salsa (pictured above)
Back home in the Galápagos my dad used to do this dish all the time while we were hosting an asado [barbecue] with friends and family. We would traditionally serve lots of different little tasters hot from the coals, before the actual feast. This mussel dish was always one of my favourites.
Serves 4
mussels 1kg
red onion 1 large
vine tomatoes 2 large
coriander ½ bunch, chopped
limes juice of 2
salt ½ tsp
Get the barbecue fired up with some really hot coals. We want to have no flames – this should take 15 minutes.
While this is happening, wash and prepare the mussels ready to grill, removing any beards and discarding any that are not closed.
To prepare the salsa, dice the red onion and tomatoes, and place in separate bowls.
The onion needs to be washed 3 times with salty water – this is a super important step as it removes the onion’s strong taste.
Now mix the onions, tomatoes and chopped coriander in a bowl, add the lime juice and the salt, mix well and set aside.
Place the mussels into a barbecue grill basket and put it straight on to the hot coals so the mussels have direct contact with the brasa [embers]. (If you don’t have a barbecue basket, put the mussels in a large metal sieve or straight on to the coals.) In a few minutes you will see the mussels open, and then you know they are ready.
Place the mussels on a serving platter immediately and top with a bit of salsa on each one. Don’t worry about the presentation too much. It is a perfect canape or starter.
To cook indoors
Extra ingredients:
garlic 2 cloves, finely chopped
fish stock 500ml
In a large deep pan, heat 2 teaspoons of sunflower oil, add the garlic, and cook until fragrant.
Add the mussels and stir them around, then pour in the fish stock and cover to let the mussels steam over medium-high heat for about 6-8 minutes until the mussels open (discard any that stay shut).
Butterflied mackerel and burnt tomato ají (homemade burnt chilli sauce)
Much of my childhood on the Galápagos was spent with my uncle who was a great fisherman. We would go out on his boat and were so lucky to always have the freshest fish on the table.
When I arrived in England I wanted to find something that was easy to get hold of, fresh, tasty and cheap – mackerel ticked all these boxes and I love cooking with them. The chilli sauce is something we always have a jar of in the fridge. It’s so simple and fresh and matches beautifully with any grilled fish.
Serves 4
vine tomatoes 4 large
red chillies 5
red pepper 1
garlic 2 large cloves
parsley 2 tsp, chopped
lime juice of 1
rapeseed oil 1 tbsp
mackerel 4 whole, butterflied
Light the barbecue with coals and wood to create a good heat section ready to cook on.
To make the ají chilli sauce, place the tomatoes, chillies, red pepper and 1 clove of garlic directly into the hot coals.
Leave until they are charred (a really quick process as you just want the colour, so 2-3 minutes maximum for the chilli and garlic, and 5-8 minutes for the tomatoes).
Once these ingredients are nicely charred, pop them into a pestle and mortar to bash into a sauce, or use a chopping board and chop over repeatedly to create a thick sauce. Then add the lime juice and the salt. The sauce is now ready. Spread thickly over a big bowl or serving platter for the table.
Chop the parsley very finely and the remaining clove of garlic and mix with the oil. Grill the mackerel for 10 minutes on each side, being really careful as it is a super delicate meat. Five minutes before the fish is completely cooked, brush the herby oil on to it.
When cooked, place the fish on the platter with the ají. This can be served with an array of other vegetables, salad or simply some good bread for mopping.
To cook indoors
If you don’t have a barbecue, you can cook the mackerel in a frying pan – simply coat the fish with a teaspoon of oil and season with salt.
When the frying pan is nice and hot, place the fish in it and cook on a medium-high heat for about 8-10 minutes until the skin is crisp, and then turn over for a further 3 minutes.
As with the barbecued version, 5 minutes before the fish is completely cooked, brush the herby oil on to it.
Helen Graves
The secret to great barbecue is …
I take a slightly different approach to barbecuing because I do it all year round and I see the barbecue as an extension of my kitchen. Rather than being scared of it, people should think about barbecuing as simply another way of cooking, albeit one that’s a bit less measurable. It’s not like turning the oven on and setting it to 180C. You do have to loosen up. So the secret is just to let go a bit and not worry too much about what you’re doing.
That said, there are some things that enable you to take a more relaxed approach. Always set up the barbecue for two-zone cooking, with the coals on one side and none on the other, which gives you a safe zone. With chicken wings, I make a little pyramid of coals in the centre of the barbecue and put the wings around the outside, so they’re close to the coals and sizzling away but not dripping down and causing flare-ups. The other thing you can do if you have loads of flames is just shut the lid, and you’re safe. Then you can open and close the vents to control the air – more oxygen means a hotter fire.
Another aspect of loosening up is expanding your range so it’s not just sausages and ribs. Some of my favourite things to cook are green veg. For sugar snap peas, I’ll get two long skewers and thread them on, so you’re not trying to turn individual peas and have them fall through the bars. Char them quickly then swipe them off the skewers to put in a nice salad, or serve with a creamy dip on top of some ricotta. I also love to do tenderstem broccoli, and asparagus when it’s in season. If it’s cookable, I will give it a go. The whole point of barbecue, for me, is to get that extra dimension of flavour, to get that char and that smoke. That’s why I find it so exciting.
Helen Graves is the editor of Pit magazine. Her new book, BBQ Days, BBQ Nights, is out now (Hardie Grant, £22). Order your copy from guardianbookshop.com
Grilled aubergine with grill-baked feta, harissa-tahini dressing and date salsa
The success of this dish lies in its layers of flavour. Soft slices of aubergine tinged with bitterness from the grill contrast perfectly with the sweet date salsa. Creamy tahini mixes with tangy, grill-baked feta. If you haven’t tried cooking feta this way you’re in for a treat – it is transformed into something squidgy-soft and sizzling inside its foil parcel.
Serves 4
For the feta
feta 200g
lemon zest of 1
pul biber 1 tbsp
za’atar 2 tsp
honey 1 tbsp
nigella seeds ½ tsp
extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
For the aubergines
aubergines 3 large, sliced lengthways into 1cm strips
vegetable oil for cooking
For the harissa-tahini dressing
rose harissa 1 tbsp
maple syrup 1 tbsp
garlic 1 clove, grated to a paste
tahini 50g
lemon 50ml of juice and the zest of the lemon
cold water 1 tbsp
extra virgin olive oil 3 tbsp
For the date salsa
medjool dates 100g, pitted and finely chopped
lemon juice 2-3 tbsp
maple syrup 1 tbsp
mint leaves a handful, finely chopped
coriander leaves a handful, finely chopped
extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp
Light the barbecue for cooking over direct heat. For the feta, lay out 2 sheets of foil in a cross shape and place the feta on top. Add all the other feta ingredients with a good drizzle of olive oil and close the parcel.
Brush the aubergine slices generously with vegetable oil and season with salt. Place directly over the coals and cook until charred and completely soft all the way through – about 5 minutes each side.
Place the wrapped feta on the grill and heat through while the aubergines are cooking. You should hear the oil sizzling inside.
To make the dressing, combine everything except the extra virgin olive oil and mix well. Add the oil in a stream, whisking, until well combined. Season with salt.
To make the salsa, combine all the ingredients and season with salt.
To serve, lay the aubergine strips on a large serving platter. Break the feta into chunks and scatter it on top, add plenty of the dressing (keep any unused in the fridge for a few days), then the date salsa on top.
To cook indoors
Cook the aubergine strips in batches in a griddle pan that has been preheated over high heat for at least 5 minutes. The feta can be baked in the oven for 10 minutes at 180C fan/gas mark 6.
Grilled potato salad with labneh, sweetcorn, chilli oil and tarragon
Grilled new potatoes are a revelation, rendered wrinkly on the outside, nutty flesh within. I’ve served them on billowy thick labneh, or strained yoghurt, but you could substitute this with thick Greek yoghurt to save time. Sweet, charred corn, crispy chilli oil and a fragrant tarragon salsa make this a showstopping potato salad quite unlike any mayonnaise-based version.
Serves 4
new potatoes 900g
vegetable oil for cooking
corn on the cobs 4
crispy chilli oil such as Lao Gan Ma, or your favourite crispy chilli oil (sliced green chilli is a nice alternative)
For the labneh
thick natural yoghurt 500g
salt a pinch
garlic 1 clove, grated to a paste
lemon juice 1 tsp
lemon zest of 1
For the tarragon salsa
tarragon leaves 20g
honey 1 tbsp
lemon zest of 1
lemon juice 2-3 tbsp
banana shallot ½, very finely chopped
extra virgin olive oil 3 tbsp
If making the labneh, you will need a piece of muslin or an unused (brand new) J Cloth. Combine the yoghurt with the salt and mix well. Line a bowl with the muslin or cloth and place the yoghurt inside, then tie the top with string to secure it. Place the muslin into a sieve over a bowl or, even better, hang it above a bowl and leave for a couple of hours or overnight. Once strained, add the lemon juice, lemon zest and garlic, and mix well.
Light the barbecue for direct cooking. Meanwhile, parboil the potatoes for 5 minutes, or until just tender. Drain.
Toss the potatoes with a small splash of vegetable oil and some salt and cook over direct heat on the barbecue for 8-10 minutes, or until charred all over.
Place the corn on the cobs over direct heat until charred all over. Remove and slice the kernels from the cobs.
To make the tarragon salsa, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and season with salt.
To serve, spread a serving platter with the labneh, then top with the potatoes, corn, a generous drizzle of crispy chilli oil and plenty of the tarragon salsa.
To cook indoors
Cook the parboiled potatoes and corn on a griddle pan that has been preheated for at least 5 minutes over high heat.
Genevieve Taylor
The secret to great barbecue is …
The number one ingredient is good, pure charcoal. It makes the biggest difference, and for environmental reasons we should be buying British. Good lumpwood charcoal is 95% carbon, so it’s a very pure product, and that makes it very responsive in terms of airflow, giving you much more control.
I’d go online to buy it. There are a lot of really good, small charcoal makers up and down the land, and House of Charcoal brings them all together. It’s a great resource with lots of info on the difference between good and bad charcoal. For wood, I buy from Love Logs.
Try to avoid charcoal from your local petrol station or supermarket if possible, as they will be sourced from the tropics. Farm shops are a better bet. But online is really the place.
I generally buy ash charcoal, from a company called Whittle & Flame (available via House of Charcoal). For me, it is the most sustainable – because of ash dieback disease, there’s a lot in the forestry system that might otherwise be wasted. I like the way ash charcoal cooks. Oak charcoal is more dense, which means it can be harder to light, though it will burn for longer. Ash charcoal lights easily and can burn quite hot and quickly, so you shut the air vents to give you less oxygen, which will make it last longer.
You don’t need a big, fancy barbecue to deliver results. I’ve got lots of different kinds and my favourite is a classic kettle barbecue. The lid gives you a way of controlling airflow, so you can control the temperature of the fire and make your charcoal last longer. Also you trap in the hot air. Nobody would think about trying to cook a cake in an oven with the door open. It’s the same with a barbecue. With a lid, you can make the whole thing much more efficient.
Genevieve Taylor is the owner of Bristol Fire School. Her new book Scorched (Quadrille, £25) is out now
Sticky sesame and sweet chilli chicken, ginger soy dipping sauce
I always begin cooking chicken over a gentle, indirect heat. It stays way more succulent and means there is no danger of an underdone centre and burnt outside. A final, high-heat grill adds the caramelised stickiness we all love.
A temperature probe is invaluable so if you have one do use it. You are looking for it to be about 65C before you move to the higher heat. It’s done when it’s over 74C.
Serves 4
For the chicken
chicken thighs 750g, boned and skinless
sweet chilli sauce 6 tbsp
sesame oil 3 tbsp
lime juice of 1
garlic 2 fat cloves, crushed to a paste
sesame seeds 75g
salt and pepper
For the dipping sauce
fresh root ginger 25g, grated
garlic 1 clove, crushed to a paste
soy sauce 6 tbsp
red chilli 1 long, finely chopped
caster sugar 1 tsp
A couple of hours, or up to 24 hours before you want to cook, marinate the chicken. Cut each of the thighs in half and place in a shallow dish in a single snug layer. Add half the sweet chilli sauce (reserve the rest), the sesame oil, lime juice and garlic. Season with a little salt and pepper to taste and toss well to coat. Cover and slide into the fridge until you are ready to cook.
Fire up your barbecue ready for direct and indirect cooking, so only lighting charcoal on one side or firing up half the burners if you are using gas. This will give you temperature control and create a “safe zone” should things ever look to be getting too hot. Moderate your air vents to give you a temperature of about 180C: more air gives a higher temperature and less will give you a cooler fire.
Make the dipping sauce by stirring everything together in a small bowl. Set aside.
Add a tablespoon of the sesame seeds to a small pan and toast until golden over the direct heat as the barbecue heats up. Set aside to garnish. Save the rest of the seeds for sprinkling over as you cook.
Lift the chicken on to the grill bars away from the fire and shut the barbecue lid. Allow the chicken to cook gently and indirectly for about 30 minutes until it is nearly cooked through.
Take the reserved sweet chilli sauce and quickly dip each piece of chicken into it, then set on to the grill bars, this time over the fire so they grill over a higher heat. Sprinkle over some of the untoasted sesame seeds and grill until caramelised, then turn over and sprinkle seeds on the other side. Keep grilling until the chicken is deep golden brown and cooked through. If any piece looks in danger of burning, simply slide it into the safe zone.
Transfer to a plate, sprinkle over the toasted sesame seeds and serve with dipping sauce.
To cook indoors
Cook in a heavy based frying pan on the hob, starting with a low heat to gently cook the chicken. Then dip into the sweet chilli sauce and raise the heat higher to caramelise the outside, sprinkling over the seeds as it cooks.
Grilled peach melba, whisky caramel
In the UK, peaches often seem to need a little help to sweeten – grilling them always helps. Taking a “slowly, slowly” approach when cooking will intensify the flavours.
This is a great dish to prepare just before you cook your main course on the barbecue, leaving the peaches and sauce to cool to room temperature before serving. Then it’s just a quick assembly job when you are ready to eat. Leave the whisky out for a booze-free version, or replace with brandy or rum if you prefer.
Serves 4
peaches 4 ripe
caster sugar 2 tsp
double cream 225ml
raspberries 225g
vanilla ice-cream 4-8 scoops
pecans 50g, roughly chopped
For the whisky caramel
dark brown sugar 125g
double cream 75ml
water 75ml
butter 50g
whisky 25ml
salt a pinch
Light your barbecue ready for direct and indirect grilling – so charcoal only on one side, or if you are using gas, only half the burners lit – and moderate the air vents to give you a lid temperature of about 180C.
For the whisky caramel, simply add all the ingredients into a small heavy-based pan and set over a medium-high heat, stirring as the butter melts. You can either do this by resting the pan on the grill bars over your fire or on the hob in the kitchen. Either way, bring to the boil and simmer steadily for 5 minutes before setting aside to cool to room temperature.
Slice the peaches in half and twist to separate. Flick out the stone as best you can – a combination of a small, sharp knife and a teaspoon will help. Sprinkle the sugar over the cut faces.
Set the peaches, cut-face up, on to the grill on the indirect side away from the fire. Shut the lid of the barbecue and allow to soften a little for 10 minutes. Then slide over the fire, still cut-side up, and grill until lightly caramelised, another 5 minutes or so.
Finally, turn cut-side down and grill for another 5 minutes or until they are soft and deep golden brown. Remove to a plate and set aside until room temperature.
When you are ready to serve, lightly whip the cream to soft peaks and divide between 4 plates or shallow bowls.
Take a fork and gently squish the raspberries in the box to crush lightly, then scatter over the cream. Top each with a couple of peach halves and add a scoop or two of ice-cream.
Finish with a generous drizzle of caramel sauce and a sprinkle of chopped pecans.
To cook indoors
Roast the peaches in a hot oven (220C fan/gas mark 9) until soft and lightly caramelised. Or you can “pan fry” on the hob – a lid on the pan over a low heat at the start will help soften the fruit, then turn up the heat to caramelise. Neither option will give you quite the same depth of flavour as barbecuing, but they will still taste great.
• This article was amended on 19 August 2024 to clarify when to add the red pepper in the recipe for butterflied mackerel.
