How to cook on a Fagou

Health Implications of cooking on a barbecue

Cooking Tips

Fagou Cooking Tips

If the term 'barbecue' conjours up images of burnt sausages and frazzled burgers, the time has come to consider a whole new cooking experience. Let our handy cooking tips guide you to better barbecuing!

There is no rule book that says barbecued food must be black on the outside and pink in the middle, and cooking with a Fagou helps prevent this. The key is in the cooking, so read our do's and don'ts below for tasty barbecued food, and stay safe with our helpful food safety tips on avoiding any nasty bugs!

Do marinate

Marinating prior to barbecuing helps tenderise, imparts flavour and keeps meats and vegetables moist throughout the cooking process.

Do let things hot up

It takes at least half-an-hour for the coals to reach the desired temperature - they should be a dusty white colour and have a reddish glow before you even venture near them with a steak.

Do take your time

Contrary to popular belief, barbecuing is not all about lots of flames and quick cooking. Scorch-and-torch' barbecuing is out, as cooking like this will produce charred and under-cooked results. For best results, find out the correct cooking time for all foods. Cooking time depends on the cut of meat and whether you prefer rare, medium or well-done. In general the larger the cut, the longer you cook it. Use a timer for best results.

Do cut the fat

Keep food light and healthy and reduce flare-ups by trimming excess fat from meat and minimising fats and oils in marinades.

Don’t prod

There is a common misconception that food must be constantly prodded with various utensils in order to cook properly. If you constantly pierce your steaks and chicken legs, juices will escape and you'll end up with a tough piece of leather.

Don't cook meat on top skewers while the bottom skewers are full.

While you can cook using both sets of skewers at the same time, it is not recommended to load up cuts of meat on the top and bottom skewers at the same time. Load meat up on the bottom skewers and veg on the top or cook large cuts of meat by themselves on the top skewers

Don't resort to tinfoil

Using tinfoil in an effort to reduce the washing-up is a bad idea. Adding anything to a barbecue is a fire hazard, and sheets of tinfoil flapping about will obstruct the airflow and interfere with the cooking process.

Don’t use petrol or lighter fuel

Only use non-toxic firelighters - you want to be able to taste the food not the fuel!

Barbecue food safety tips

Enjoy your barbecues by taking a few simple steps to ensure the food you cook is safe to eat.
 

• When you're cooking outside, it's harder to keep hot foods hot, cold foods cold, and keep everything clean. The two key things to remember are that you need to minimise the opportunities for bacteria to multiply, and avoid cross-contamination.
• The threat of E.coli O157 comes particularly from beef products and the risk of salmonella and campylobacter particularly from chicken. Bacteria flourish in warm temperatures and double in number every 20 minutes. But the good news is that if you handle your food with care and cook it thoroughly, you can avoid them all.
• Light the barbecue well in advance to ensure it's as hot as possible before you start cooking. This will help avoid the problem of your food being charred on the outside and raw on the inside (not very tasty or safe). Use enough charcoal and wait until the coals are white and glowing red before you start to cook.
• Only pre-cook chicken in the oven or microwave if you can take it straight to the barbecue to finish it off. If half-cooked chicken is left hanging around, any bacteria will multiply.
• Always make sure that chicken is cooked through, there are no pink bits inside and the juices run clear.
  Cook sausages and anything containing minced or chopped beef until they are piping hot through and have no pink bits. Never eat these processed meats rare (it's OK to cook a beef steak as rare as you like).
• Defrost frozen meat and poultry thoroughly before cooking, either in a microwave or in the fridge, but not at room temperature.
• Keep raw meat and cooked or ready-to-eat foods apart to prevent cross-contamination. Don't handle cooked foods with the same utensils that you're using for raw meats.
  Store meat that you're marinating in the fridge or a cool bag with ice, to help prevent the growth of bacteria. Avoid contamination by using a fresh marinade to baste the cooking meat, and not the marinade that the raw meat was sitting in.
• Keep hot food hot - make sure meats are thoroughly cooked and piping hot.
• Keep cold food cold - leave all perishable food in the fridge until you are ready to serve or cook.
• If you're having a picnic, store it in an insulated cool box, and try to eat within a few hours of leaving home.
• Clean the barbecue well after you’ve used it.

Health Implications of barbecuing food

Cooking on very high heat, and specifically charring or over-cooking meat can create two cancer-causing substances: HCAs (heterocyclic amines) and PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons).

HCAs are created when amino acids from muscle meats such as pork, beef and poultry are burned at high temperatures. PAHs enter the meat through smoke that's created when fat drips on the hot coals.

There are a few ways to avoid these problems.

• First, trim the excess fat from your meat before you put it on the grill. This will help keep the fat from melting and dripping onto the hot coals.
• Second, avoid putting meat on the grill as soon as you fire it up. Instead, let the coals burn for a while until the initial flames die down completely and the embers are glowing. This will ensure the temperature is hot enough to cook the meat thoroughly without being so hot that it creates HCAs.

Another way to keep HCAs down is to marinate your meat. Studies have shown that marinated meat contains less HCAs."
 

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