MICHAEL'S TIPS FOR FLAMING GOOD MEAT

There's a couple of rules to follow when cooking whole meat joints, such as a boned and rolled shoulder.

■ Season or marinate well. It can be a big piece of meat and sometimes hard for the seasoning to penetrate the meat. If you are cooking a large piece of lamb, try marinating it in some lemon juice, crushed garlic, rosemary, salt, pepper, and a bit of oil. Leave it to stand overnight. The next day, cook it on the barbecue or a rotisserie stick. The lemon juice gets into the meat and tenderises it, leaving behind a lovely citrus flavour.

■ Soak the meat. Submerge beef, chicken, pork, or lamb in some buttermilk, which is like watery yoghurt and helps to tenderise it. You can buy it in most supermarkets. Place the meat into a bag and pour in enough buttermilk to thoroughly coat it. Add a bit of spice such as chilli sauce if you want a little kick. Close the bag tight and leave in the fridge for a couple of days.

■ When cooking any meat, season it well just before you start cooking for good flavour.

■ Get the barbecue hot at the start – colour is flavour! Then turn it down to around 150°C and cook at a lower heat.

■ Once cooked, allow the meat to rest for at least 15 minutes, perhaps more depending on its size. This is very important as the meat is under a lot of stress during cooking. Resting allows the meat to reabsorb juices, making it more tender.