Barbeque Delight

The weather’s turning pleasant. Everybody’s out in their gardens more, and so are the barbeque sets. 

BBQs are a very social way of cooking. Clearly not a one-man show, these require everybody’s involvement, from lighting the coals, to fanning them with a newspaper or magazine (or just blowing, or rather, wheezing, through your mouth!), to turning the food over on the grill.

I’ve become used to cooking in an open kitchen where there’s some activity around, like chatting or even listening to music. This makes the task more fun, and seem less laborious. I quite like the idea of BBQs, though of course on most days I have to cook alone ... I do so silently and accomplish whatever needs doing in a more organised way, planning my little preparations spread over the day so all the work doesn’t have to be done at once. Of course I have a habit of cleaning and washing as I go along because I dread cleaning up the mess at the end all at one go.

Last weekend we decided to do a barbeque. We’re not equipped with a barbeque set (i.e. grill stand) though we’ve been thinking of getting ourselves one. But two things have so far put us off, one the hassle of getting everything ready ... more so the lazy-bug inside (we rather order out and be done with it, less hassle), and secondly, buying a decent barbeque set. Not only the cost but deciding what kind (since this can be gas-based or electric, the pros and cons of each, etc.), there are so many choices these days. So to get around these two elements we’ve just found another way to do this.

We buy a disposable BBQ. It consists of a tray made of thick aluminium foil, contains a small bag of charcoal and a grill all fitted into one neat pack. Does not cost very much at all, and is the right size for a family of four. AS and I marinated some chicken on skewers that afternoon, we then looked forward to the evening.

The charcoals were lit, and once the flames subsided the fanning started in real earnest. Watching us IS got a brilliant idea to generate breeze with a portable vacuum cleaner ... Of course we realised that the machine only sucked air and didn’t blow any .... With all the engineering ... a hair-dryer would probably have been perfect!

After all the commotion the coals were just right and we laid out our skewers, fanning continuously. The chicken didn’t take long and was soon done near-perfect.

We got out our plates and served ourselves. The thrill of eating out in the open and literally straight off the fire was enthralling. Food cooked on coals has a taste of its own. The disposable BBQ worked ... and how! Of course, having more people would mean greater involvement, though also more interaction ... More fun. I think we should go in for a larger set ....... or maybe not, just manage with more of these little 'jugaads'!