The time for BBQs & outdoor living is upon us. In this short article I’ve gathered together 20 important tips to help you enjoy to the full your outdoor cooking.

1. You have a choice when cooking outdoors, will you use gas or charcoal? Chose charcoal if you love those wonderful flavors that come from the smoke; chose gas if prefer cleanliness, control and convenience. If you go for charcoal always start the fire naturally, never use lighter fuels or you’ll pick up those ugly chemical smells, no matter how long you wait!

2. Ask yourself, are you making an investment for the future when buying your outdoor cooking equipment? Cheap equipment just won’t last and it will disappoint! Make it an investment, go for quality.

2. Ask yourself a simple question when buying outdoor cooking equipment. Is my money going towards an investment or something that just won’t last. If its an investment you’re after, don’t go for something cheap, it simply won’t pay off in either the short or long term; and maybe worse, it will soon become a great disappointment! Go for quality; you know it makes sense.

4. Think ‘practicality’ when choosing your outdoor cooking equipment. Portable grills are great but not for a large family gathering! Often when buying its far better value to select a kit, such as turkey fryer kit, rather than buying the individual components separately.

5. Think about ‘where’ you’re going to be cooking outdoors and buy your kit accordingly. Ask yourself, will we be cooking on the patio, or taking it outback, or wherever; this makes a big difference to your choice; indeed usually folk decide that they need quite separate cooking equipment for different situations.

6. Decide what style of cooking best suits you because the kit you’ll need will change with your preferred style of cooking. i.e. if you’re into Jambalaya cooking then you should buy Jambalaya pots, if your going to be frying whole turkeys then a turkey fryer kit will be ideal.

6. Think about what type of cooking you and the family prefer when deciding on your outdoor cooking equipment; don’t try and mix and match, you need kit that meets your needs. If Jambalaya is for you then get a Jambalaya pot; if your passion is turkey frying then it has to be a turkey fryer kit.

7. If cooking with LP have a second cylinder in reserve; what is worse than a meal cooking on the stove, friends awaiting your creation and the gas goes out…… and then you remember that you’ve forgot to get a reserve!

9. Share recipes & cooking tips and you’ll benefit in return from others. Avoid piercing food on the BBQ as the juices will escape and the food will dry out; ceramic grills are a good choice as their cooking process retains moisture & flavor; never cook meat that is not fully defrosted; generally speaking, try to cook slower rather than faster when cooking outdoors, except with steaks of course; avoid cooking meat too long on the grill as it easily dries out try to let meat rest once its cooked, without cutting it up, this allows juices to settle and the flavor to come out and marinating is great for meats & fish, especially when barbecuing, ideally overnight if you can for meats and just one hour for fish.

9. Share cooking tips & recipes and your friends will share their’s in return. When barbecuing, never pierce food as the juices will run out and it will start to dry out; ceramic grills are great buy as they are superb at retaining moisture & flavor; cook meat only when it is fully defrosted; generally speaking, cook more slower rather than faster when cooking outdoors, [except with steaks]; try to let meat rest after cooking without cutting it up. This allows the juices to settle and the full flavor to mature; try marinating your fish & meats before barbecuing, one hour is fine for fish but ideally overnight in the refrigerator for meat.

10. If you have a grill with a lid open it as little as possible or the ideal cooking conditions within will be lost.