Kitchen Essential

Barbeque Chicken

There are various bits of chicken that can be cooked over the fire varying from whole chickens to kebabs. The greatest danger with chicken is over-cooking, resulting in dry, stringy meat, or burning the outside while the meat is underdone closer to the bone. To avoid this, cook it fairly slowly over a moderate fire. Prepare a marinade for the chicken and baste it frequently while barbeque. A whole chicken cooks in roughly 45 minutes, chicken pieces in 20 minutes and kebabs in 10-15 minutes. When you suspect that the chicken is cooked, prod it with a fork or knife; if the juices that flow out are clear, your job is done.

Barbeque Fish

Considered a bit of a speciality by most people, we have to concede that fish is more tricky than meat or chicken. Then of course we have several kinds of fish, all with their own specific needs, bless their scaly tails. Following these foolproof guidelines will, however, save you from sure embarrassment.

Use a grid that can close (securely — you don’t want your snoek diving into the coals) and prepare the grid by rubbing it with oil or raw onion. This will prevent the fish from getting stuck to the grid.

If you are using a marinade for the fish do not leave it in the marinade for more that two hours as the taste of the marinade will overpower that of the fish.

Make a few incisions in the side of a large fish. This will allow the flavour to get absorbed in the meat and result in even cooking. A very important fact to keep in mind is that when removed from the fire the fish is still cooking from the inside because of the internal heat, so remove it from the fire just before it is ready. The greatest danger is overcooking, resulting in dry and tasteless fish.

Always cook it with the skin-side down first to seal it and protect the meat from the heat. Keep an eye on the thickest part of the fish; it will go from transparent to a milky colour. When fish is cooked it will flake easily. Lower the grid towards the end to brown the fish, Test it regularly and remove from the fire immediately when you think that it is done. Serve straight away.

It is traditionally said to barbeque fish over moderate to slow coals but this theory has changed in recent times. Apparently fish does not dry out as easily if cooked fast over hotter coals. So use moderate to hot coals for any type of fish.

One of the most popular barbeque fish is snoek. Use a butter, lemon and garlic basting sauce and cook for roughly 15 minutes. Another favourite is yellow tail. It is firmer that snoek and should be cooked in 15-20 minutes. Use a butter, apricot jam, garlic and lemon juice basting sauce for a lovely sweet-sour flavour. You may also want to try cooking yellow tail in foil. Naturally it will not have the crispness on the outside or the flavour of the actual barbeque since it is basically steamed, but the risk of serving dry fish is far slimmer. When cooking in foil simply place some garlic, lemon juice and butter in the foil when wrapping the fish. Cook these foil wrapped portions for 20-25 minutes, turning every 5 minutes. There are many other types of fish suitable for barbeque. If you want to go into this, get yourself a good book on fish and seafood.

Barbeque Veggies in the Fire

Now that you have the fire going, why not have it take care of the side dishes as well. Vegetable kebabs are becoming increasingly popular and should be cooked over slow coals and turned regularly. More traditional, and easier, are foil-wrapped veggies in the coals.

Butternut takes the longest and should be placed on the side of the fire as soon as coals start forming. Potatoes and onions can be added soon after with corn on the cob left for last. It is crucial that you turn the vegetables regularly to ensure even cooking.

If you feel slightly adventurous, try a whole cabbage in the fire. Don’t question us, just do it. Take the whole cabbage and quarter it, but do not cut straight through. Melt about 125 g butter or margarine and stir in a packet of brown onion soup. Add a good dollop of chutney and spoon this into the cabbage. Rub the outside of the cabbage with some Marmite and more butter and drop in a few garlic cloves for good measure. Cover your piece of art with foil (shiny side in, dear) and place in fire — yes, turning regularly.

Barbeque Herb basics

• Garlic is just the best all-rounder. We cannot think of any food that tastes better without garlic than with garlic (with the possible exception of chocolate fudge ice-cream).
• Basil is best for tomato dishes and anything Italian.
• Oregano is essential for pizza and many pasta sauces.
• Parsley is an excellent all-rounder; and chopped parsley makes anything look tastier.
• Chives are excellent in fresh salad, cream-cheese dips and scrambled eggs.
• Dill is to fish what garlic is to everything else.
• Mint perks up any fruit salad and elevates freshly cooked peas to the realm of the exotic.

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