Say No to Cremated Sausages – Tips for a Healthy BBQ
(For recipes, see below)
Looks like we finally are getting to proper summer here in the UK! This Bank Holiday weekend has been lovely, albeit mornings can still be a bit chilly. After the long harsh winter, I couldn’t be happier!
I just love this time of year! The garden is looking lush, I’m in my element when I can take my shoes and socks off and start my barefoot gardening again!
And of course, with warmer weather comes outdoor cooking. With flame! Men’s hunter-gatherer-primal instincts resurface and they get interested in cooking, there is fire involved after all! (Sorry for the stereotyping! Maybe it’s just us!😉)
Barbies are lit in most gardens with sausages and burgers going on to the grilles. Everyone is looking forward to enjoying delicious food al fresco…
Oh the anticipation! The delicious smells… The eye-watering smoke everywhere… 😉
Finally the food comes out of the BBQ….and everything looks black!!! Cremated! Singed! Flamed! Not a great look or taste! And definitely not great for your health!
Or was this just us, again?
Well, that’s how it used to be most of the times we lit our old barbie and that’s why I didn’t like doing barbecues very often (of course the British weather played a role too)! It’s all changed here now! Last year we treated ourselves to a ceramic kamado BBQ and it’s completely changed the way we do BBQ now. We’ve really enjoyed using it so far but we are still learning to make the most of it. But it really has made a real difference!
But no matter which kind of barbie or flame you are using, my healthy BBQ hacks (see below) will help you enjoy your dining experience al fresco.
Healthy BBQ
How to health-proof your barbecue meals
Yes, barbecues can be healthy! It’s all about the context! Or what you are serving the BBQ’d food with. And it’s about learning a few tricks that help reduce the charring to minimise those carcinogenic (or cancer-causing) and mutagenic (DNA-damaging) compounds that are formed when the food (particularly meat and fish) is cooked with high temperatures and when the flames touch these foods and the food burns.
Two of these compounds are called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heterocyclic amines (HCAs). You really don’t want to be eating too many PAHs and HCAs and you also want to make sure that your body can efficiently deal with them when you happen to be exposed to them. So minimising your exposure (intake) and supporting your body’s ability to deal with them are key here.
A few words about our new BBQ we bought recently….
It’s a ceramic oval-shaped BBQ called kamado. It can be used to grill, bake, cook, smoke, steam and stir-fry, and my favourite, for low and slow cooking. It retains heat better, providing an even, steady heat and works like a fan oven really. You can use a heat defletor or place a drip tray between the grate and charcoal to catch the dripping fat. You can even use it as a pizza oven, although we’ve not tried yet.
I love it! And looks like hubby loves it too as he seems to have a new-found interest in cooking!
But you don’t have to have a kamado to produce healthy BBQ food, my tips below apply to any kind of BBQing.
My top tips for a healthier BBQ
1. Avoid burning the food
- Try to avoid charring the food too much directly above the flames. You can do this by arranging the charcoals to one side of the grill so you can easily move the food from the intense direct heat to the less intense indirect heat.
- Sear prime cuts quickly on both sides to get a lovely charring outside but leave them nice and juicy/medium-rare in the middle.
- Barbecue foods that are less fatty or trim excess fat off, and keep any fatty foods away from the direct heat as the dripping fat will ignite and flare up the flames, causing your food to burn and be exposed to the harmful compounds. Never press down on your burgers or steaks. It may look and sound satisfying but this will just squeeze out the juices and fats which cause more flare-ups and dry your meat out.
- Keep the lid closed and adjust the vents to lower the heat. The less oxygen there is, the fewer flare-ups and slower the coals burn. The heat is also more evenly distributed around the food when you do that.
- Marinate your meat with herbs and spices or use a dry rub before grilling. Many herbs and spices, such as garlic, thyme, sage, rosemary, oregano, ginger, turmeric, lemongrass, are potent antioxidants and may reduce the formation of these harmful compounds up to 90%, studies have shown. They also make your meat taste great and add that all-important variety to your meals that supports a diverse gut microbiome.
2. Cook low and slow
- If you use cuts of meat that need longer cooking, you can wrap them in foil (always use parchment/grease-proof paper to line the foil first so the food is not in direct contact with the aluminium foil, as toxic aluminium can leach into your food when heated). Place the parcels on the grilles. This method is great for meat, potatoes and other root veg.
- Think ahead and do some prepping alongside your al fresco cooking by using the residual heat at the end of your barbecuing session. Wrap up potatoes, sweet potatoes, onion, any root vegetables, cruciferous veg, fish etc… in foil and place in the BBQ while it’s cooling down, and you’ve got some ready-prepped foods for quick meals the following week.
3. Keep it mainly plant-based
- Context always matters with food and its health effects in your body. So think about that context. Can you improve it? What are you having your BBQ’d meat with? Improve the context and there’s less to worry about. Think about veggie starters, diversity salads, colourful side dishes, herby or spicy dips,
- So even when you have some burnt/charred food at your occasional barbecues, if your team it up with plenty of vegetables, colour, herbs and variety, you will not need to worry too much. Not only will you be crowding out some of that burned meat on your plate, but you’ll also provide your body with a wide range of supportive nutrients that help protect your body against these carcinogenic and harmful compounds. You are supporting your body’s detoxification system that will be better able to rid these from your body more efficiently. When you fill the table with mostly plants and colour, you’ll be feeding you amazing human friends/family and also your even-more-amazing microbial friends in your gut, with health-promoting happy food!
- And always include some cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, rocket, radish, turnip, swede, watercress…) within your barbecue buffet. Studies have shown that these vegetables may provide essential cancer-preventive support and the compounds in them may significantly enhance the body’s ability to neutralise carcinogens.
Wishing you many wonderful moments of relaxing outdoor living this summer with many happy and healthy BBQs!
See below for a recipe for a lovely potato, broccoli and caper salad.
And click the links below to see some inspiration on what kind of dishes you could serve with your BBQ on my Instagram page:
Sardine guacamole (serve as a starter in lettuce or chicory cups as below)
Cauliflower and red cabbage rice
Tomato, basic and burrata salad
Pomegranate and olive salsa (my take on Ottolenghi’s salsa, check the original here, served with baked rice)
Herby 7 veg chickpea and feta salad
Enjoy!
Recipe – Healthy BBQ
New Potato, Broccoli and Caper Salad
Serves 4
1 kg Jersey Royal or other new potatoes
1 head of broccoli, florets cut into bite size pieces, stem peeled and cut into cubes
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or crushed
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp capers
1 tablespoon apple cider, red or white wine vinegar
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
1-2 spring onions or 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
Finely chopped fresh parsley or coriander
- Scrub the potatoes well and add them to a large saucepan with water. Add a pinch of salt and place over high heat. Bring to a boil, lower to medium-high heat and cook the potatoes until barely done. Add the broccoli florets in with the potatoes for the last 2-4 minutes of cooking.
- Mix the garlic, olive oil, capers and vinegar together in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste and whisk to combine. You can add any of your favourite dressing flavor ingredients here, e.g. mustard, honey, gherkins, chillies…
- Drain the potatoes and broccoli and cut the potatoes into half or bite-sized pieces. You can crush some slightly to add texture.
- Add the hot potatoes and broccoli into the dressing, along with the onion. Toss to coat, taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper as desired.
- Transfer to a serving platter, garnish with chopped parsley and serve warm or at room temperature.
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