Barbecue

Landscape and Garden Product Directory

'Barbecue' derives from the Haitian word barbacoa which was taken into Spanish and meant a wooden frame on posts. It then moved into English to describe a method of cooking on an iron frame using the dry heat of charcoal. Then barbecue came to be used for an outdoor party where food is barbecued and eaten fresh-cooked, like a Middle Eastern kebab.

Most of us have enjoyed a barbecue - and most of us have suffered from ghastly mixtures of raw/charred meat and raw/charred onions. The hot grease which burns your fingers then becomes cold grease staining your clothes. The risk of such an experience can be lessened with good equipment. So the choices are:

• learn the necessary skills to manage an outdoor fire
• spend a lot on equipment
• suffer a lot

But never underestimate the primeval delight, and the danger, of an outdoor blaze.

Barbecues can be fueled by:

• charcoal
• butane
• wood
• natural gas

Barbecues can be portable, stored in a shed, or they can be permanent fixtures. Providing the structure is well made and positioned, a fixed barbecue is easier to use and will probably result in better cooked food.

Robert Dyas sell a good range of barbecues.