Cooking Outside

22 Jun 2025 · BBQ · Smoking · Grilling

Outside Cooking

I assume it's the inner caveman, but cooking outside is great. The food tastes better, the cooking is fun, naturally encourages socialising. BBQing, smoking, slow grilling, hot plate over fire, chiminea, trangia, gas stove even marshmallows on sticks, they all count and are all excellent. I guess there's an environmental question about outdoor cooking, but this is neither the time nor place to have that discussion.

Starting the fire

Outdoor cooking for me starts with getting the fire going. If you're using a trangia or a gas stove, then this bit doesn't count. I think the best way to do it is with a starter chimney. I like lumpwood charcoal, my current favourite (yes, I have a favourite charcoal) is Big K Restaurant Charcoal. It comes in massive 15kg bags, is easy to light and burns for ages, it's also got a warning on it which makes me laugh every time I see it.

Warning — Does this really need to be printed on here?

Throw a few chunks of charcoal into the starter chimney, then chuck in some dry kindling, then more charcoal, few more bits of dry kindling then top off with charcoal. Then light it, I use one of those gas weed burner things. When the kindling is lit, set it on top of the grill and leave it to get going - usually 10 to 15 minutes, can be quicker if it's windy, or you went crazy with the weed burner.

Then put some charcoal in the fire box, this is the bottom of my smoker, but it works the same for a BBQ. If you're doing anything fancy with the coals, now is the time to get your fancy bits ready. I'm just cooking, so it's just a few bots in a pile in the middle of the grate.

When your starter is ready you'll have a good amount of hot coals, they'll be glowing red with and the flames will have mostly died down. Then carefully (the starter and contents will be hot as anything) pour the hot coals onto the waiting coals and spread them around so you have a good even spread of hot and cold charcoal.

Let them sit for 5 minutes or so and then you're good to shut the lid (with the vents open). Once you've shut the lid, feel free to have a seat for 10 minutes and prepare yourself for the cooking stage. When the grill is nice and warm, ready for cooking (read:when you've had a good sit down) get your grill cleaning weapon of choice and give the grill a good going over. I use a wire brush, not a plastic one that might shed bristles onto your grill, but a spring steel one wound with wire because they're much less likely to shed bristles into your grill. One of my pals brushes the grill with oil but I just slap the food striaght on. Do whatever you think is right.

Smoking

I use a Webber Bullet smoker. It's three sections, bottom is the charcoal box, middle is the smoker, water bowl & grills, top is the lid. The water bowl keeps the temperature nice and stable, and gives off steam to keep things nice and moist. Some people don't like using water & they fill it with sand, but I just use water. The big silver door allows you to keep your eye on the lower grill without having to unload the top grill.

As soon as the grills are loaded I like to chuck on a couple of chunks of apple wood to add some light smokey flavour to the food. We're not a fan of too much smoke flavour, so two medium sized chunks of apple is perfect for us.

Once again though, you do you. The wood just smoulders and gives the food a lovely light smokey taste and blush red smoke ring. When the wood is all burned up the easy heat from the coals finishes cooking the food.

The big benefit of the smoker over the traditional grill is that you can just throw food in and it cooks it beautifully. As you can see in the picture we've got chicken kebabs, burgers, tuna and foil wrapped corn on the cobs. Just shut the lid and enjoy the summer sun (or rain, or chilly winter air depending on when you're cooking).

Magic number — If you're smoking, use the vents and make sure the temp stays in the smoke zone.

After about 15 to 20 minutes get your temperature probe out and start checking temps. When your food is up to your preferred temperature you can either pull it off the grill, let it rest for 5 mins then dive in or you can take the upper sections off the bottom section and then put the grills directly over the coals for that seared look. If you're choosing to sear them, they're already cooked, you're just making them look like they've been traditionally BBQ'd.

Spend the next hour or two enjoying your food, chatting to your family & friends, enjoying the evening light etc. You might want to toast some marshmallows over the coals when you've made room for them in your belly. Kebab sticks, marshmallow sticks and little twigs can all be thrown onto the fire to make loads of smoke, the perfect way for kids to finish up the BBQ. Before you put the BBQ away it is vitally important to make sure the coals are cool. The best way to do this is with a super soaker.

Extinguisher — Mitch putting out the coals.

Chiminea Cooking

If you're having a little fire in your chiminea you've got the perfect place to cook some jacket potatoes. This couldn't be easier. Get a good sized bed of coals, and move them away from the edges of the chiminea in as many places as you have spuds - three spuds, three spaces. Give your spuds a wash and a good grinding of salt. Slice a nice deep X in the top side of the spuds. Then rip off spuds x 2 (three spuds, 6 pieces of tinfoil) pieces of tinfoil big enough to wrap the spuds. Lay the tinfoil out on your counter top double stacked. Three sets of two pieces of tinfoil.

Then put a knob of butter in the middle of the tinfoil. Put your spud on the knob of butter & put another knob of butter on top of the spud. If you're into rosemary, you can chuck a sprig of it next to the lower butter knob too. Then wrap the spud, using the first piece of tinfoil make the first wrap pretty tight. You're not trying to mash the spud, but make sure it's pretty tight. Then loosely wrap the second tinfoil piece round the first.

Next take your spuds to the chiminea and put them in the spaces you made. Feel free to add more wood and enjoy the fire. Crack on with whatever autumn garden job you've got going on for an hour or so. When you're good and hungry temperature probe the spuds, when they're hot, they're ready. If you want to speed things up, after 30 minutes or so drag the spuds into the middle and toss on some more wood.

Using grabbers get the spuds out of the fire and put them on a tray, they'll be covered in ash, if you put them on a plate, you'll make a mess. Using the grabbers again, take off the first layer of tinfoil and put it into the recycling. Get your plates ready, unwrap the spuds and plate them. Squeeze the spuds in the void of the Xs you cut in them and the spuds will open up like flowers blooming. Pop in a good knob of butter, if you're into cheese, grate in your cheese of choice. If you prefer rather than butter, maybe a drizzle of infused olive oil?

Take you spud outside, grab a seat and enjoy it while it's piping hot. A proper autumn treat.