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Cue tips: Honey & Co’s grilled figs.
Cue tips: Honey & Co’s grilled figs. Photograph: Patricia Niven/Pavilion Books
Cue tips: Honey & Co’s grilled figs. Photograph: Patricia Niven/Pavilion Books

Honey & Co’s 10 rules for foolproof barbecuing

This article is more than 2 years old

For such a simple cooking technique, it’s astounding how many get the grill all wrong. Here are 10 tips for an easy day over the coals

If we had one piece of advice for the novice griller, it’s simply not to fear the fire. So many of us think there is a mystery to cooking on a grill but, in fact, it is the opposite – cooking over live fire or hot coals is the simplest, most elemental form of cooking. We’ve been doing it a lot longer than we’ve been cooking on stoves, and it’s much simpler than using a smartphone or a spreadsheet. All you need is fuel (that’s charcoal) and oxygen (that’s air). You can use a fire starter, gas flame or make a little fire from kindling and paper; whatever your initial heat source, just put a mound of charcoal on top (heat always goes up), wait for the coals to heat and you are ready to cook. On our travels, we have picked up a few simple rules that’ll make your grilling life that much better.

1 Take your time You don’t light up a grill to get a quick dinner on the table – the whole point is to slow things down and gather lovely people for a leisurely while. Make a day of it, or at least half.

2 The hardware We have grilled in a tin bucket, a wheelbarrow, a disused sink and a hole in the desert sand. The little brazier you buy from the petrol station does the same job as the fancy backyard grill that’s the size and price of a Vespa. The world is your grill.

3 The software We love a gadget as much as the next person (probably more), but our essential barbecue tool is half an onion stuck on a fork. Dip the cut side in oil to clean the grate before and after cooking, or use it to baste. A piece of cardboard to fan the flames is also essential, as are sticks to thread the kebabs. Add a pair of metal tongs, a grill brush and a metal spatula, and that’s about as fancy as we get.

Honey & Co’s whole burnt aubergine with charred egg yolk, tahini and chilli sauce.

4 The space On our trips around the Levant we have seen people grill on traffic islands and by the side of highways, on balconies, laundry lines and windowsills. There is no garden too small, no balcony too narrow, no roof too steep that you can’t set up a grill on. Please be safe, though.

5 Use your senses The main difference between your hob and a grill is that little dial with the numbers that don’t really mean anything but lets you adjust the heat. On the grill, you have to rely on your senses – feel how hot the coals are, hear the sizzle, smell the smoke and make some judgment. You can easily adjust the heat on a grill by shuffling coals from side to side (with a spatula: see above) or by adjusting the distance between the coals and the rack. The rule of thumb is that small pieces of meat or veg need a fierce heat, while larger cuts and whole vegetables need the low and slow treatment – just like at home.

‘On the grill, you have to rely on your senses – feel how hot the coals are, hear the sizzle, smell the smoke and make some judgment.’

6 Baste Be it a sweet barbecue sauce or a simple lemon and oil number, hold back some marinade for basting to ensure a juicy, glistening result. For whole fish, we like to make a saltwater solution to brush it with. This seasons the fish, crisps the skin and keeps it from drying out.

7 The potatoes Wrap potatoes in foil or wet newspaper, then, as you light the fire, place them on the side of the grill near but not on the coals, and turn them every so often, until a skewer goes through easily. These will be the best potatoes you’ve ever had. Serve with olive oil, butter, soured cream or nothing at all except good, crunchy salt.

8 The aubergines No barbecue is complete without them: lay them whole on a hot grill, turning every so often, until they collapse completely, then cut in half, dollop on some tahini sauce and serve with crisp bread or flatbread to a very grateful crowd as they wait for more goodness to come off your grill.

Honey & Co’s grilled cabbage with chilli garlic butter.

9 Don’t forget the veg If you think the last two points covered that, think again. Smoke does amazing things to everything that grows: onions, tomatoes, broad beans and peas in their shells, courgettes, broccoli and all cabbages. We’ve seen and tasted everything fresh off the grill, from pumpkins, lettuce and desert truffles to loquats and watermelon, and we loved every mouthful. You will, too.

10 Don’t forget the trimmings, either For our Middle Eastern palate, at least one fresh salad is a must, but usually there are more, as well as a stack of fresh flatbread, copious amounts of tahini sauce and lots of herby, spicy condiments. Lighting up a grill is never just about a plate of food; it’s about how much fun you can have with it.

Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Packer’s latest cookbook, Chasing Smoke: Cooking over Fire Around the Levant, is published by Pavilion at £26. To order a copy for £22.62, go to guardianbookshop.com.

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