Barbecue recipes to enjoy on your picnic

Food on fire!
Simply season and sizzle

Burgers are sometimes the first thing we think about when we haul the BBQ out of the shed for another summer. Yes, of course we can buy some nice fat ones in the shops these days but those you make yourself taste a thousand times nicer and you know exactly what you’re putting into your body! - not always the case with commercial ones.

Yes, you can make hamburgers quickly and easily! Steaks are also fantastic for quick and easy barbecue recipes.

Moving on to pork – always a favourite on the BBQ are sausages - especially with children. Buy the best quality you can afford – and with the most meat content. You’ll please more people more of the time if you choose classic sausages and let them add flavourings in the way of mustards, sauces and salsas.

The grown-ups might like to try more exotic flavourings in the form of homemade Thai pork burgers.

Of course you can also barbecue pork ribs, chops, fillet or tenderloin and joints. I’ll leave the whole suckling pig for another day! Like chicken, make sure you cook pork all the way through. It’s only beef and lamb that should be ok rare.

As for poultry barbeque recipes, again there are a myriad of choices to be made. You can have chicken , guinea fowl, turkey or duck and do you prefer breast, leg or wing? Just make sure it is cooked all the way through with no pink meat (unless it's duck).

You can make burgers out of poultry too, such as my husband's favourite, low-cal turkey burgers.

Lamb is perfect for barbecue recipes because it needs intense heat and again there are choices of cut to suit any size of picnic.

Fish barbecue recipes are just wonderful too. One thing to remember about fish is to always salt it before you grill. With meat the reverse is true. You should never salt meat before cooking because salt will release all the juices and make it dry.

Fish is quite simple to barbecue as long as the flesh is fresh and firm. Don't handle it too much as the delicate flesh breaks up easily. A grill rack with a handle is useful as the fish can be turned without trouble and removed from the heat if it's too hot. Don't overcook or it'll become dry.

All types of oily fish are ideal because they are such a healthy option as well as being easy to barbecue.

Seabass, grouper and sea bream (dorada) are also good because these fish have firm flesh and tough skin so they don't fall apart on the grill.

Mediterranean red mullet can also be barbecued but I think you should choose large ones. I find the small ones have far too many small bones and therefore become annoying to eat! That's a pity because they are a superb and pretty fish with a very distinctive flavour.

You can even barbecue fish cakes and you'll find them extra tasty grilled this way.

Seafood on the barbecue is quite special. Barbecued squid is a fast and fun starter or try barbecued lobster if you want a real (and expensive!) treat, or crayfish, langoustines or king prawns.

And then there are vegetables. Many are perfect for barbecue recipes – things like corn-on-the-cob, aubergines, onions and big flat mushrooms.

For vegetarians you can add a cheese like Halloumi and make wonderful vegetarian kebabs.

And herbs – don’t forget them! Not just for barbecue recipes but also for the fire. If you have a rosemary bush in your garden (and I suggest you grow one if you have the space because they need no looking-after and grow very fast) then throw a bunch onto the embers to make delightfully fragranced smoke.

Other herbs can work too but its normally rosemary that you’ll have in abundance.

I normally find that when we've finished cooking all the meat and/or fish and vegetables that the embers are still hot. It seems a pity to waste them so why not finish with some barbecued fruit for desert?

BTW - looking for a "fold-up and go" barbecue? Check out two really great ones at IWoot.

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