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Irish Daily Mirror

Get grilling with our guide to the best big bank holiday weekend barbecue

The sun is out - time to get grilling. It's rare we get a chance to cook outdoors in the Irish weather, so the decent summer we're enjoying has us breaking out the barbecues. The August Bank Holiday weekend is a great time for it, but many of us don't have much experience of barbecuing. So how to start? One of Ireland's top BBQ experts is John Relihan, head chef at Pitt Bros, Ireland's leading BBQ restaurant in Dublin's George's Street. The grill king told us all we need to know about hosting the perfect barbecue. He said that when it comes to barbecuing food, there are all kinds of meal combinations and a wide variety of meat cuts to choose from. Relihan suggests a starter of grilled mozzarella cheese, watermelon, tomatoes and prosciutto. 'You can add some almond nuts you've smoked and finish it off with a side salad, drizzled in lemon dressing,' he says. 'It's a lovely refreshing starter.' As a main course, he'd opt for a juicy sirloin steak, doused in Pitt Bros seasoning, before being cooked. 'Keep it simple: grill the steak and make some fire-roasted potatoes, sprinkled with seasoning and wrapped in tin foil before they're cooked - an easy option.' He recommends an Italian-style mezze bowl of grilled aubergine, courgette, red onion and peppers. Grilled tender stem broccoli and grilled corn on the cob, served with butter, are also easy sides. For dessert, he suggests grilling stoned fruit like peaches, nectarines or plums. 'Take out the seed, grill the fruit and add a little vanilla flavouring, some brown sugar and a pinch of ginger. Serve it with some vanilla ice cream, a little caramel sauce, and a dash of whiskey.' Here are John Relihan's tips for getting your grill on: Invest in a barbecue There are a wide range of barbecues on the market, which vary in price. 'You can pay thousands of euros, or you can buy something mid-range for €100 or €200,' says Relihan. 'But the cheaper it is, the less time it will last. For example, if you spend €100, it should last about a year, but by paying €300 you will get a few years out of it.' He suggests buying from a garden centre. 'The Arboretum in Carlow or The Orchard in Celbridge, Co Kildare offer affordable charcoal options.' Alternatively, you can cook using a gas or an electric BBQ. Ninja do a range of affordable air fryers which are also barbecues that smoke and grill. 'They're built for outdoors and they work really well,' says Relihan. 'You just plug it in and off you go.' Buy good charcoal If you opt to use charcoal, be sure to invest in a good quality product. A lot of the charcoal sold by big retailers has chemicals that cause toxic fumes and release smoke, which can be damaging to the lungs. 'That's why some people are afraid to barbecue,' he says. John Relihan from Pitt Bros Goodwood Fuel in Drogheda and Fuego Fuels are two companies that sell natural charcoal, made of real wood. Relihan suggests using a small amount of charcoal at first to avoid smoke. 'It's like salt on food: if you use too much you can't take it away,' he says. 'Start by using just a little charcoal, and as the barbecue heats up, you can add more using tongs.' Use quality meat We have some of the best meat in the world in Ireland, so whether it's sirloin or rib-eye steak, hamburgers, sausages or chicken wings, it's perfect for the BBQ. 'It's worth investing in good quality meat from your local butchers as you can taste the difference,' says Relihan. 'In addition, the seasoning you use is important.' The chef has created his own range of barbecue seasoning called Pitt Bros Sauces and Seasoning. 'They go on meat, chicken wings, spicy buns and Buffalo wings. The spicy mustard seasoning is just amazing,' he says. 'You just douse it on your meat and cook it.' Wood gives meat flavour Wood makes all the difference when barbecuing – whether you're smoking the meat or grilling it. Relihan recommends using cherry wood for steak and oak wood for pork. 'You can buy pellets or small chunks from Amazon online,' he says. 'It's also available in Good Wood Fuel and Fuego Fuels. I love cooking with orange wood. The key thing is not to use too much wood and to let the smoke smoulder. It makes all the difference to the flavour.' Make sure the grill is hot before you start Once your meat is prepped and ready to cook, make sure the grill is hot. 'Barbecuing is all about heat and control,' says Relihan. 'Cooking outside is the same as cooking with an inside oven. It has to be hot,' he adds. 'You'd never put a meal into the oven cold and it's the same with a barbecue.' Stay safe while barbecuing If you're cooking with charcoal, position the barbecue in the garden, a good distance away from anything that could catch fire. Be aware too that certain parts of the charcoal are hotter than others. Barbecue in the garden during summer 'There's a cold zone, a medium zone and a fire zone. If the meat starts to flare up and smoke while you're cooking it, simply remove it and put it gently in the area of the barbecue which has no fire underneath it and then add a cover,' says Relihan. Be patient and enjoy the ride As with any skill, practice makes perfect. 'The reality is you're going to make mistakes at first but be patient with yourself when you start,' he says. 'It's like when people were making banana bread during the pandemic, the first few attempts probably didn't work out, but if they stuck with it they got results. 'Barbecuing is very easy and people typically complicate it, but it should be an enjoyable, sociable experience, so open a bottle of beer, take it slowly and enjoy the ride!' The Top Five BBQ Food Safety Mistakes For BBQ season, Safefood released its barbecue safety tips, including the most common mistakes. Chef Adrian Martin said: "Getting the barbecue right is all about enjoying great food safely. "Simple steps like using a meat thermometer and keeping raw and cooked foods separate are key to a delicious and worry-free summer feast. "Follow Safefood's advice, and you'll be grilling with confidence." 1.A dirty grill: Grease and food residue can harbour bacteria. Clean your grill thoroughly with a brush and hot, soapy water before you use it and once it's cooled down afterwards. food in the sun: Perishable foods like salads, dips and raw meat should be kept refrigerated until they're served. Cooked leftovers should be refrigerated within two hours. frozen meat: Always defrost meat and poultry fully in the refrigerator overnight before grilling it to ensure that it's cooked evenly. raw and cooked meats: Use separate utensils, plates, and chopping boards for raw and cooked meat. Wash your hands thoroughly before and after handling raw food. Food on a barbecue 5. Undercooking meat: Don't rely on the appearance of meat. Use a meat thermometer to ensure that chicken, burgers, sausages and kebabs reach an internal temperature of 75°C. Alternatively, ensure meat is piping hot thoroughly with no pink meat remaining and that juices run clear. Additional Tips: Check your refrigerator before shopping and discard any expired items past their use-by date. Pre-cooking meat in the oven can save time. Ensure it's fully cooked before grilling for flavour. For more information on cooking meat safely and using a meat thermometer, please visit Meanwhile.... Irish families waste over €20 worth of food after every BBQ or picnic, a new survey has found. Summer is the peak season for food waste, with 52 per cent of Irish households saying they are most likely to go overboard with food that gets uneaten in the hotter months. Some 32 per cent report tossing out leftovers from BBQs and picnics, with salad being the most commonly wasted item. According to a survey conducted by One Poll for Too Good To Go, over half of respondents throw out leafy veg after dining Al-fresco. Out of 1,000 adults across the country, 61 per cent cited overestimating how much food they need as the primary cause of waste. In order to reduce waste, shoppers are encouraged to buy with realistic portion sizes in mind and track what gets eaten to improve future shopping. Freezing leftovers and getting creative with cooking is also a great way to use up any uneaten food. Too Good To Go partners with supermarkets and restaurants, including Aldi, SuperValu, SPAR and Offbeat doughnuts. Through its app, customers can buy surprise bags from these stores for a discounted price. This allows food businesses to sell their leftover stock at the end of the day and eliminate waste. Speaking about the survey, Machaela O'Leary, sales manager at Too Good To Go Ireland, said: 'Summer is a time to enjoy great food and company, but it's also when many households unknowingly waste food and money. 'With an average of over €20 being thrown away after each BBQ or picnic, there's a real need to plan smarter. Using tools like Too Good To Go to rescue surplus food can help families enjoy summer meals without the guilt.' Avid user of Too Good To Go Jackie Beecher, from Cork, said the experience inspires how she shops and plans meals. She said: 'Since I started using the app, I'm saving at least €20 a month on groceries all thanks to Surprise Bags from local award-winning Cork stores like Cameron Bakery, Davidsons Craft Butcher, Pana Bread and Ruairi's Kitchen. 'Beyond saving money, there's a great feel-good factor in reducing food waste and shopping sustainably. Whether it's planning a Sunday roast from a Butchers' Surprise Bag or discovering new spots while on holiday, the app is a key part of my routine." The sustainable shopper has some top tips for those using the app for the first time. To get the best surprise bags, she says users should set their catchment area to their postcode plus 25 kilometres, and favourite everything first then narrow down your choices. Jackie plans her weekly meals around what she gets in her surprise bag and then freezes what she doesn't eat, even leftovers from the bakery. While the Cork woman loves a good bargain, she encourages others to only buy a Too Good To Go Bag if they really need it - and not just for the good deal. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here. The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. 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