If you’ve ever received a grilling about your barbecue technique from your partner, read on. As the nation basks in scorching temperatures, one of Britain's best BBQ chefs has offered up her top tips – and has explained that we've all been doing it wrong.
Jackie Weight's cooking has been recognised on the international stage, even securing a prestigious title in the US years ago. The talented chef, 58, owns 21 grills and says you can barbecue pretty much anything if you know how.
Jackie cooks everything from bacon butties to brownies in her signature style – and even her Christmas turkey. Now she has shared some of her expert tips on how Brits can impress guests with a knockout spread in today's sizzling weather.
Jackie said: "There is a whole art to barbecuing which Brits don't realise. It’s so much more than throwing a few sausages on the grill and burning them." Her top tip is to put your coals on one side of the grill, then your food on the other side before shutting the lid. Jackie said: "The majority of people think the lid is only there to keep the rain off, but it's there for a reason!
"By closing the lid, you create a bbq oven so you can leave it to cook without standing over it and finding yourself overheating. You get all the lovely flavour without worrying about it burning because you're circulating the heat and cooking it indirectly."
Jackie says Brits should also bin their chemical firelighters as it taints the food. Instead, she said anyone struggling for a flame should get their hands on a chimney charcoal starter – a metal device from DIY shops costing just a few pounds, which will make your life easier. She said: "If you need help lighting your fire, always use a natural firelighter so your burgers don't end up tasting of chemicals."
She recommends spacing out your food rather than piling everything on at once. This way you ensure air can get between the different items to cook everything evenly.
Jackie said: "Rather than packing it all on the grill at the same time, cook a course at a time. That way it'll be cooked properly and people can enjoy lots of food over the course of the sunny afternoon."
She added that this is the best way to prevent food being left out in the sun for hours, allowing bacteria to grow and potentially making people ill. Any leftovers should be popped in the fridge as soon as possible - and could be used in a dish the next day to prevent them going to waste.
Her example is using crumbled up leftover burgers to make a chilli con carne for dinner the next day - or even to top off hot dogs using your leftover bangers. But although it was meat which won Jackie her BBQ awards, she finds vegetables can be overlooked.
Jackie first tried her hand at American barbecuing in 2003 after her late husband bought her lessons at a school in Lynchburg, Tennessee for her 40th birthday. At the time she wasn't too keen on the idea, but as soon as she tried it, she fell in love.
She began entering and winning national and international competitions, sometimes beating as many as several hundred cooks. She cooked in around 15 competitions across the US between 2004 and 2013 – and her top dish to cook was melt-in-the-mouth beef brisket.
Her highlight was The Jack Daniels World Championship Invitational BBQ Competition in Lynchburg, Tennessee, in 2004 – the most prestigious international BBQ competition in the world. She beat around 80 others teams to secure the title of 'Grand Champion'.
She said: "Vegetables on a barbecue are fabulous - it's not all about the meat. You can play with different flavours and marinades which make them taste great. Cauliflowers are usually cheap around this time of year so would be great sliced into steaks.
"Grilled asparagus is also great – they're coming to the end of their season so today is the perfect time to cook them before they're gone."
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