As the weather gets warmer and the nights get longer, you'll be cleaning up your gas or charcoal barbecue in preparation for family get togethers. Once you've stocked up on your favourite BBQ food, you'll need to know how to light a BBQ in a safe way.
The way you light a BBQ is important as you don't want to burn your meat or risk any accidents. Our helpful guide will help you light your BBQ in a flash so you can spend more time on entertaining your guests.
1) Set up your BBQ space
Make sure you're starting with a clean BBQ that's well balanced on stable legs. Position your BBQ in a safe open place in your garden away from fences and trees where pets and kids can stay far away. For safety reasons, it's a good idea to keep a bucket of water close by (or even a fire extinguisher if you have one). You'll also want to invest in a good BBQ utensil kit for safe grilling as long handles are essential for keeping your hands safe.
2) Finding the right charcoal
When shopping for your charcoal, aim to buy good-quality sustainably produced charcoal, that's ideally from the UK. There's plenty to buy online depending on how many people you're catering for or if you're wanting your food to have a smokey flavour. Ideally you should look for Forestry Commission-approved charcoal that won’t change the flavour of your food.
These all natural barbecue briquettes are formed from charcoal hardwood shavings, binded using a innate Maize starch binder to create even sized cushions of charcoal. They're easy to light, long lasting and give an even, consistent heat across the grill.
3) Starting your fire
There's a few different ways you can start your fire. You can do it the old fashioned way by pushing balls of newspaper or firelighters (you could also use natural firelighters like wood shavings or wool) between the charcoals. Take a match or long lighter and light the paper and firelighters, allowing the flames to catch. If you don't let the flames die down, your food will get burnt so you need to give your charcoal time to ashen before starting cooking. Make sure your coals are ashy white before starting to cook.
The second and easier way of lighting your fire is with a chimney starter. This is a great idea if you haven't got time to wait for the coals to ashen. Simply put your charcoals in your chimney (fill 1/3 for a low heat, fill up half way for a medium roasting heat and fully fill it for a high heat, ideal for steaks). After around 20 minutes, the flames should begin licking through the top, pour the coals into your BBQ.
4) Working out how much heat you need
Arranging your coals is important. By putting an even layer of coals, you'll get an even high heat which is great for cooking things like steak or burgers which you might want to leave pink in the middle.
If however you're cooking things like sausages or chicken, you'll want a low and slow cooking process so you're not burning the outsides and leaving the middles uncooked. One way you can do this is by sloping your coals from one side to the other so half of your BBQ is reserved for slower cooked meats and keeping things warm.
5) Use a thermometer
Always use a food thermometer to check your food is cooked properly before serving. Afterall, the last thing you want to give your guests is a nasty bout of food poisoning.