{"id":76554,"date":"2025-05-05T13:30:16","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T13:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/76554\/"},"modified":"2025-05-05T13:30:16","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T13:30:16","slug":"meatopia-2025-londons-top-bbq-chefs-share-their-tips-for-cooking-over-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/76554\/","title":{"rendered":"Meatopia 2025: London&#8217;s top BBQ chefs share their tips for cooking over fire"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/newsletter_going_out_embed_desktop.png\" alt=\"Going Out\" width=\"158px\" height=\"158px\" class=\"sc-eBfVOF giUMco\"\/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.standard.co.uk\/topic\/meatopia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Meatopia<\/a> has been one of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.standard.co.uk\/topic\/london\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">London<\/a>\u2019s most popular <a href=\"https:\/\/www.standard.co.uk\/topic\/food\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">food<\/a> festivals since it was established in 2013, bringing the best of US barbecue culture, drinks and live DJs. <\/p>\n<p>This year the \u201cfire-powered\u201d event returns to Tobacco Dock between August 28-31 and with it come a host of chefs, brewers, mixologists and musicians. <\/p>\n<p>Here, three chefs on the roster share some of their expert tips for barbecuing at home. <\/p>\n<p>Leyli Homayoonfar, Bab Haus <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Bab-Haus.jpeg\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" alt=\"Bab Haus\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"sc-eqUAAy kRUyJB\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Polly Thomas<\/p>\n<p>My top tip for barbecuing meat is always brining. Brining meat is better because it helps the meat stay juicy, tender, and flavourful, especially during long cooking times over dry heat. <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Brining involves soaking meat in a saltwater solution (often with sugar and spices). The salt causes the muscle fibers to absorb water. During cooking, especially on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.standard.co.uk\/topic\/bbq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BBQ<\/a>, meat naturally loses moisture, but because it started with extra, it stays juicier.<\/li>\n<li>Salt partially breaks down some of the proteins in the muscle, especially myosin. This reduces toughness and results in a more tender texture after grilling or smoking.<\/li>\n<li>The brine carries salt and other seasonings into the meat, improving its flavor beyond the surface. This is especially useful for thick cuts where a dry rub might not penetrate deeply.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Understanding your fuel is also important: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Knowing when to add meat to the is key. If the coals are too hot then it will burn quickly on the outside with the middle still being raw. If the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.standard.co.uk\/topic\/bbq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BBQ<\/a> is not hot enough then it can stick to the grill, it will take longer to achieve a good crust which will then lead to your meat being over cooked.<\/li>\n<li> Do use the best quality lump wood charcoal you can find, I highly recommend Whittle and Flame, think of the charcoal as another seasoning for your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.standard.co.uk\/topic\/food\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Food<\/a>, the purer the coal the better the flavour \u2013 coal that is this good you can even be cooked directly on \u2018cooking dirty\u2019 giving a deeper smoky flavour to meat and veggies.<\/li>\n<li>Clean out your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.standard.co.uk\/topic\/bbq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BBQ<\/a> before each use to ensure good air flow, ash can clog up the vents which will stop air from feeding your fire.<\/li>\n<li>Make sure your meat or fish come up to room temperature before cooking on a hot grill. It\u2019s harder to control the heat when cooking over fire as opposed to turning a knob on your hob, if the heat from your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.standard.co.uk\/topic\/bbq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BBQ<\/a> is high then the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.standard.co.uk\/topic\/food\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Food<\/a> will look cooked on the outside can still be cold or raw on the inside as a result you\u2019ll be forced to continue cooking &#8211; resulting in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.standard.co.uk\/topic\/food\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Food<\/a> being burnt in order for the middle to be cooked.<\/li>\n<li>Have hotter and cooler parts of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.standard.co.uk\/topic\/bbq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BBQ<\/a> so you can move ingredients when required.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Ruben Dawnay, Ruben\u2019s Reubens <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Throw a wood chunk on the coals and close the lid. This will essentially smoke whatever you\u2019re cooking.<\/li>\n<li>Use briquettes instead of charcoal for a more controlled and a longer lasting heat.<\/li>\n<li>Chimney starters are a great investment to get the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.standard.co.uk\/topic\/bbq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BBQ<\/a> going as quickly as possible.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Decatur.jpeg\" width=\"1440\" height=\"1796\" alt=\"Decatur\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"sc-eqUAAy kRUyJB\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Decatur<\/p>\n<p>One tip I learned is from the masters of grilled meat in London, the Turkish ocakbasi grill chefs of Green Lanes and Stoke Newington High Street. As charcoal burns a layer of ash develops around the briquette\/lump wood. This ash serves as a dampener for the intense heat of grilling close to the coals and is perfect for bringing meat up to a perfect temperature. But when you want that hard sear, char and caramelisation, disturbing the coals to knock the ash off unleashes the real intense heat of the charcoal and is perfect for that barbecue char we all love. <\/p>\n<p>When you\u2019re cooking hot and fast, the natural smoke of charcoal doesn\u2019t have the time to penetrate the meat you\u2019re cooking. The way to get the flavour and char on anything quickly is by letting fat hit the coals and smoke up into the meat. If you\u2019re cooking a lean protein that doesn\u2019t have a whole lot of fat to render, keep some olive oil in a cheap perfume diffuser from a pharmacist and be sure to liberally spray your meats on the grill to get that all important taste of the barbecue.<\/p>\n<p>George Husband and George Brown, Gorka<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Our biggest tip would be to render any fat caps in a pan either in the kitchen or in pan on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.standard.co.uk\/topic\/bbq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BBQ<\/a> before searing. This helps to reduce flare-ups during grilling. Further, we recommend to save the fat and infuse it with your favourite flavours (hard herbs like rosemary, sage and thyme; these alongside garlic and chilli work well) to be used when basting and finishing your meat.<\/li>\n<li>The attractive shimmer that you see on \u201crestaurant quality\u201d proteins is often a result of brushing the meat with these fats after carving. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Liam Barker, Caribbean Chef<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>If it&#8217;s white meat then a brine of salt and sugar solution will ensure meat stays moist.<\/li>\n<li>Set up coals with a searing hot zone and a medium zone. Start on hot and finish on the medium.<\/li>\n<li>Do not use a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.standard.co.uk\/topic\/bbq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BBQ<\/a> sauce glaze until the last few minutes as the sugar burns quickly.<\/li>\n<li>Use a spray bottle of herbs\/vinegar\/water solution to keep meat from drying out.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Meatopia has been one of London\u2019s most popular food festivals since it was established in 2013, bringing the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":76555,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[10656,748,393,1203,4884,257,37682,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-76554","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-bbq","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-food","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-london","14":"tag-meatopia","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114455473359494204","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76554\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}