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Getting Started
Cooking outdoors, the smell of wood smoke, delicious cuts of meat, spankingly fresh seafood, and vegetables, you've got to love it. But if you're stuck in barbecue first gear, hopefully this section will get you thinking of different techniques for cooking seafood outdoors.
It's great to be able to take a simple fish, and turn it into a special feast for your family and friends. I believe you can make use of your BBQ year round (just wrap up warm).
Equipment
You don't need a whole load of kit to bbq seafood, but there are a couple of items that will make your life a bit easier, without spending too much.
A barbecue with a lid is essential for some of the recipes, especially for larger fish, where you want your bbq to act like an oven instead of a grill. A lid keeps the heat in and makes it easier to control how quickly the food cooks. In my opinion quality lumpwood charcoal is preferable, but gas will do.
One of the big benefits of cooking your fish outdoors is that you avoid any fishy cooking smells that will linger in the kitchen, (not that you will need much convincing once you get to grips with cooking fish on the BBQ).
An essential is a digital probe type thermometer such as a Thermapen, so you can check the temperature of the food you're cooking, and ensure that it is perfectly cooked and safe to eat.
For a charcoal BBQ, a chimney starter will get your coals hot and ready to cook on in 10-15 minutes.
How to Set Up Your BBQ
A simple kettle BBQ with a lid is all that is needed for the BBQ recipes here, the bigger the better, a 57cm diameter kettle bbq is perfect to get started.
Once your coals are lit and covered in ash, push them to one side of the BBQ, so that the coals cover no more than half of the base of the BBQ. this will then give you options to cook directly over the coals, or indirectly where the coals are not, once the lid is on. This setup will also give you a safe are if the coals start flaring up when cooking oily fish such as mackerel and sardines.