The world’s most ancient form of cooking has become a trend, with top restaurateurs basing menus around it and home enthusiasts shelling out top dollar for ceramic smokers and grills. I’ve always been a barbecue enthusiast, and now, as the proud owner of four barbecues and editor of Pit – a magazine about live fire cooking – I definitely fall into the category of ‘obsessed'.
So what is it that makes barbecue such an appealing cooking method? Sure, we all like to cook outdoors when the sun is shining but it’s much more than that. There’s the practical appeal, of course, like the fact that it’s accessible (even the worst cooks or those without fancy equipment can have a go), and it’s sociable (people tend to gather around a grill and may even make a pass at the tongs).
There are the more romantic draws, like the crackle of wood as it starts to smoke and the swirling dance of golden sparks floating into a dusky sky. Ultimately, though, it’s about flavour. Smoke leaves its mark on the food and this, together with the caramelisation of fats and sugars on the grill, well, it’s pretty irresistible as a package.
All around the world right now, people are cooking over fire; whether it’s nyama choma (barbecued goat) on the streets of East Africa, spicy peri peri chicken in a Portuguese restaurant, or aubergines smoking on a grill in Israel, hissing and blackening to the point of delicious collapse. There’s a whole world of barbecue out there, so why not start exploring it, right in your own back garden.