Tom Kerridge gives his top tips for a successful barbecue

Virgin Radio

11 May 2022, 10:46

With a sunny weekend forecast, Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge joined the Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky to give some handy advice about how to make your barbecue a winner. 

Before Tom chatted about Pub in the Park - the UK’s biggest food and drink festival - which kicks off this weekend, he gave some handy tips for anyone thinking of busting the bbq out over the next few days. 

When talking about what to put on the barbie, he suggested: “It’s a marinade and it’s things on skewers,” explaining: “Things like a chicken that’s been marinated in some yoghurt and some spices, then you can go, like, Indian-style spices, or North African spices, mix it all together in the yoghurt.”

Tom also said that it is better to use chicken thighs rather than breast meat. He explained: “Thighs have got a little bit more moisture, they cook deliciously. And low and slow. So stick them onto a skewer, with the yoghurt mix on it, leave them to marinade, and then the next day that yoghurt kind of tenderised the meat, and then you just brush it off, just a little bit, not too much. And then grill it on your outdoor barbecue, on a medium heat, not high. Not so there’s the big flames or it's super hot.”

The chef said that cooking on a medium heat is best, explaining: “The biggest problem that so many people have is they try to cook too early on the barbecue. They get it so it’s super hot, and then they put it on. We’ve all been there. We all grew up as children in the 80s where we had burnt sausages on the outside and raw in the middle.”

He added: “Get it to a medium heat and cook it nice and gentle. Lower and slower is fine.

When Chris asked about using wood chips on the bbq, Tom said: “If you’ve got a barbecue that’s not one of those egg-style ones where the lid goes on, but you’ve just got a grill one with the coals underneath, get some wood chips, soak them in beer or cider and leave them for about an hour, then take them out, drain them off, put them on, throw them on, and then on top of that, put some sort of metal bowl so that it kind of captures the smoke. So just that sort of last-minute smokey flavour will roll around everything and give it this wonderful outside crust that’s absolutely delicious.

“Rosemary is really hard, it’s got these great little branches. You want the hard stuff. That smokes as well. Throw that in as well.”

Tom continued: “It’s like everything. It’s all about practice, isn’t it? It’s understanding flavours, it’s understanding temperature control. It’s playing around with things, getting used to it.

“You can create all sorts of flavours, and you just have a go at it, and it doesn’t really matter if the lamb chops are overcooked. If you’ve got those really smokey flavours going through it, it’s great. 

“Barbecues work because they’re super friendly to do. You’re not worried too much about what it looks like on the plate. It’s a case of everyone helping themselves, and that outdoor flavour, the smoke, the energy, the atmosphere you get when the weather is great. It’s just amazing to be around.

There will be plenty of outdoor cooking at 2022’s first Pub in the Park this week, with Michelin-starred chefs heading to Marlow. “We’ve got loads of chefs cooking, and they’re doing normal cooking, like you would at home, but then also we’re getting them involved in the fire pit cooking. So, the understanding of what you can do with flames, what you can do with smoke and coal and how you can cook outdoors."

Pub in the Park returns tomorrow, as the first of a series of events around the country over the summer. Speaking about what will be happening in Marlow, Tom said: “There’s so many great chefs. Obviously Atul Kochhar’s there. Paul Ainsworth’s is there, Andrew Pern is there, Steve Terry is there. Some great, great cooks coming and doing some beautiful cookery demonstrations. The food that you can buy is absolutely stunning. The weather this weekend is going to be incredible.”

And it’s not just about the food. There are some amazing music acts playing live too, including Rag ‘N’ Bone Man, McFly, Melanie C, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Sister Sledge, The Feeling, and Sister Sledge. Tom said: “Sunday night, Happy Mondays are playing. And what a way to finish Sunday!”

He added: “We’re so looking forward to this weekend.”

For tickets and information about Marlow's Pub in the Park and all of the other events around the country, visit pubintheparkuk.com.

For more great interviews listen to  The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky, weekdays from 6:30am on Virgin Radio, or  catch up on-demand here.