BEFORE YOU START BARBECUING:

• Makesureyourfirst-aidkitistohand.It’sagoodideatohaveaburnssprayinit.

• Putabucketofwaterorsandnearbyjustincasethebarbecuegetsoutofcontrol.Itisalwaysbettertobeonthesafeside.

• Makesureyourbarbecueissetupproperlyandisstableandsecure.Putitinaplacewhereit’snotatriskofbeingknockedoverandisn’tnearahouse,fenceoranythingelsethatmightcatchfire.

• Beforeyoustartbarbecuing,setupatablenearbywithallyourplates,cookingutensils,seasoningsandspacetolayeverythingoutsothatyouareorganised.Thismeansyoudon’thavetokeeprunningintothehousetogetthingsyou’veforgotten.

• Neverusewhiteormethylatedspirits,petroloraerosolstolightyourbarbecue.Theyarereallydangerousnearanakedflame,andhavecausedcountlessaccidentsanduncontrollablefiresintheUK.Andalso,ifthereareyoungchildrenaround,makesuretheydon’tgonearthebarbecueortouchanypartofit.

BARBECUE FOOD HYGIENE

Frozenmeat:It’sOKtobuyfrozenmeatandchickenforyourbarbecueaslongasyouthoroughlydefrostitbeforecooking.Ifyoudon’t,you’llstruggletocookitthroughproperly.Itwillbemorelikelytoburnontheoutsidebeforeitcooksontheinside,andwillputyouatahigherriskoffoodpoisoning,whichisneveragoodthing!

Handlingrawmeat:Itisreallyimportanttouseseparateutensilsforrawandcookedmeat.Ifyoudon’t,bacteriafromtherawmeatcaneasilycrosstothecookedmeat(seeFood safety: avoiding cross-contamination).Makesureyoualsohaveplentyofboardsandplatesonhandsoyouneverhaverawandcookedmeatsrestingonthesamesurface.

Onthegrill: Don’tovercrowdthegrill:iffoodistooclosetogetherittakeslongertocookandincreasesthechancesofcross-contamination.Cleanthegrillwithastiffwirebarbecuebrushorscrunchedupballoftinfoileverytimeabatchoffoodcomesoffbeforeaddingthenextlot;thiskeepsthingshygienicandalsohelpstopreventfoodfromstickingtothebars.Thisisespeciallyimportantwhencookingmeatandveggiesonthesamegrill,orbarbecuingfruitfordessert.

©JamieOliver.IllustrationsbyPeterHamilton.JAMIESHOMECOOKINGSKILLS.COM

Cookingmeatthrough:Havingfoodthatisblackandcharredontheoutsideandrawinthemiddleisacommoncauseoffoodpoisoning.Thisnormallyhappenswhenthebarbecueistoohotandthefoodburnsbeforetheheatcangetallthewaythroughthemeat.Ifyou’vesetupyourcoalswell(see Barbecue cooking guide for further information),youshouldbeabletocontrolthetemperatureandcookthemeatalittleslowerandmoreevenly.

Whenyoutakefoodoffthebarbecue,itshouldbepipinghotrightthewaythrough.Ifindoubt,transferonepiecetoacleanchoppingboard,cutitopenandhavealook.Ifyou’recookingchickenorpork,thereshouldn’tbeanypinkmeatleftinthemiddle,andanyjuicesshouldrunclear.

Otherfood:Bacteriacanmultiplyreallyquicklyonwarmsummerdays.Leaveallofyourdips,dressings,accompanimentsandsaladsinthefridgeuntilyou’rereadytoserve,andkeepbreadandrollscoveredandawayfromthebarbecue;thatwaythey’llbeprotectedfrombugsandbirdsandyouwon’triskthemcomingintocontactwithanyrawmeat.For more safety tips, check out:

http://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/barbecue.aspx

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Summerhealth/Pages/Barbecuefoodsafety.aspx

©JamieOliver.IllustrationsbyPeterHamilton.

JAMIESHOMECOOKINGSKILLS.COM