Get up in your grill
As forecasters predict a brief break in the clouds and a sliver of blue skies, we ask the experts what to throw on the barbie
Top chefs reveal the secret to a perfect summer barbecue
Surely, surely, the sun has to return at some point this summer and, when it does, Scots will be getting their fires started to enjoy our fleeting barbecue season. The guest list might be shortened, we may have to keep our plates and glasses to ourselves, and we’ll be socially distancing, but there’s always still an appetite for coal-powered food.
Sales of barbecues have soared, so, as we wait, spatulas at the ready, we asked some of Scotland’s top chefs for their tips to avoid rookie mis-steaks.
Nick has had a busy lockdown, experimenting with new menus, home cooking and firing up his garden barbecue to practise for opening a new outdoor cook school when we get the Covid all-clear.
“I absolutely love barbecues,” Nick said. “It’s definitely one of my favourite ways of cooking and I’ve been a fan for a very long time.
“In fact, just before lockdown we had just finished building a big outdoor space at the cook school in Port of Menteith so I can start a barbecue school.
“So I’m really looking forward to getting that open when it’s safe to do so. “But in the meantime, we’ve been having plenty of barbecues at home. My family are probably sick of them!”
Nick says first, it’s important to consider what type of grill to use. “I have both gas and charcoal. Gas is easier and more practical, but you
can’t beat the smokiness of briquettes. If it’s gas, make sure its at the right temperature, about 220 to 240 degrees. If it’s coal, put the lid on to get that smokiness, and make sure they’re white-hot.
“The best way to test it is put your hand over it. If you’re able to keep it there, it’s not hot enough. Then think about what you’re going to put on it. Burgers are brilliant for barbecuing.
“And the best are the ones you make yourself. Just get some good quality mince from the butcher, oil your hands, and squash it into a patty. You don’t need to add anything like onions, it is good as it is.
“The trick is not to move them on the barbecue until they have a crust, so don’t turn them too soon. My personal favourite is marinated chicken. Split a chicken breast horizontally, marinate in olive oil, lemon zest, chopped chilli, finely chopped garlic and lots of salt and pepper.
“I love to add a bit of fresh rosemary or a big bunch of marjoram, which grows all over Scotland, or oregano.
“Leave it for a couple of hours – or overnight – then slap it on the grill. It’s called a chicken paillard. It’s a Nairn family favourite. “Chicken on skewers is
nick nairn
CELEBRITY CHEF The best burgers? Squash mince into a patty then slap it on the grill. It’s not hard
great too, but make sure you cover the ends of the skewers in kitchen foil, otherwise all the meat falls off. And vegetables. Courgettes and aubergines cook really well on the barbecue, or fish in a foil wrap.”
Nick, currently appearing in BBC Scotland’s The Great Food Guys with Dougie Vipond on Thursdays at 9pm, says he doesn’t plan on opening his restaurant
Nick’s in Bridge of Allan, until at least next month. He had only opened a few weeks before lockdown but, while he is desperate to reignite the ovens, he is worried about opening too soon.
“I’m extremely concerned about going too early and then having to close again,” he said. “We want to be certain it’s safe for the staff and customers, so I think we’re going to see how things pan out in July and maybe wait until August.
“In Scotland we’re hoping it won’t be as much of a problem, but we have watched things open up elsewhere in the UK and around the world and then saw a new coronavirus spike, so it doesn’t take much to spark an outbreak.
“Furlough goes on until October, so, aside from not having any money coming in, there’s no great rush to get back until it’s safe to do so.” But the chef, who fears small, independent restaurants are most at risk as the pandemic impacts on the economy, is desperate to get back into the kitchen.
“I’m bored now,” he said. “In the past few months, I’ve done a lot of stuff, like takeout and social media videos, and I have done a lot of experimenting, creating new menus and getting ahead on all the things I’ve been meaning to get around to doing for years.
“In fact, it has been the perfect time to perfect my cheese scones. They are a thing of beauty.
“I have eventually picked up the mantle from my grandma who made the best scones on the planet. She used sour milk which you can’t get now. I tried yoghurt, but it wasn’t quite the same.
“I have worked out a way to do it, and it’s the method that’s important.”
He added: “I certainly didn’t pick up my cooking skills from my gran. She would put a nice topside and cook it in the oven for a day until there was about a teaspoon of meat left!
“I grew up on a diet of broth, and mince and tatties and veg… the things you had to eat. We were constrained in what we ate because my dad didn’t like spices.
“I joined the merchant navy straight from school and spent seven years there, many of them in the Far East. That’s where I discovered food and became a bit obsessed with it,” he said.
“When I got back to Glasgow, I decided to teach myself to cook. And I think, whether barbecues or a professional kitchen, that’s the key. You only really learn to cook by doing it.”