Barbequing can be so much more than the boring fishball, crabsticks and hotdogs affair.

Make a trip to your neighbourhood supermarket and be surprised by the variety of meats and vegetables which can be barbequed for a satisfying meal. Ready to become the toast of every beach or pool side BBQ party? Let this guide serve as an inspiration for you to enjoy great barbecued meats. BBQ can be split into the basic 3M’s; Meats, Marinades and Methods.

Meats
When using chicken, try using the whole chicken, instead of just the chicken wings. Ask your butcher to cut the chicken into twelve parts as smaller sizes would take a shorter time on the barbeque. If you are using beef, don’t trim all the fat away; a little bit of fat makes the meat juicier, as the barbequing process
caramelises the fat. It’s important to remember that when using meats, it must be thawed completely for even cooking. Be adventurous! Almost any kind of meat can be used on the barbeque – shrimp, lamb, pork or fish. Balance your meal by throwing in some vegetables as well. You can try grilling corn, peppers and eggplants, which will go well with all your grilled meat.

Marinades Using the normal barbeque sauce will cause your meats to burn easily. Try dry rubs for chicken, which uses mainly dry herbs. Marinating meat can be made easier when you use Ziploc bags – simply toss all the ingredients into the bag and leave in the fridge for a few hours. Never leave overnight as this will lose the flavour of the meat itself. It’s also best to wear gloves when handling meat, and not to handle different meats all at the same time as this ensures that the meat will not be contaminated. Lastly, keep the marinade used for basting separate from the portion used in the Ziploc bag as this prevents the marinade from going bad.

Method
Now that you’ve gotten your various meats and marinated them, it’s time to grill! It’s important to thoroughly clean your grill before using. Having a water bottle spray will come in handy too; especially when the flames are too big to handle – a light spritz is all it takes to calm the flames. Decide which sides of the grill are the ‘very hot’ and ‘medium heat’ sides as this determines where different meats should be placed. Meats with bones typically go onto the medium side as it takes longer to cook; while others belong to the hot side. Here’s a handy timing guide for steaks – for a 160g, 1-inch thick steak, rare steaks cook for about 4 minutes on each side, medium for about 5 minutes and well done goes for about 6 minutes on each side. And lastly, when using wooden skewers, soak in water and cut off the tips first to prevent them from burning or simply wrap them in tin foil. Most importantly, be sure to have fun and don’t let your fear of burnt, bland tasting grub stop you from having a great day of fun by the grill.

For more sizzling tips on barbecuing, tune in to Licence to Grill with Chef Robert Rainford on AFC on Astro Channel 703!

Whisper “Iron Chef Party” and the layman will immediately conjure images of world class chefs frantically yet somehow in full control moving around a kitchen arena, stirring up culinary masterpieces in a less than an hour. Cue a toad-in-the-well moment as one realizes that the Iron Chef (IC) Party is nothing like that in TV Land. Before you plead ignorance, an IC party is essentially a ‘potluck’, with a main ingredient announced 24 hours before the party, accompanied by prizes for best dishes. For party hosts who have grown weary of the usual curry chicken / potato salad party or tired of flipping through catering menus of dubious standards, this is the party for you!

Web lore has it that The Iron Chef Dinner Party was originated by David J. Cavuto, an avid Iron Chef fan who was blown away by the response to his first IC Party. The “Cranberry Battle” evoked entries that ranged from the exotic squash soups with cran crème fraiche and cranlava to the eyebrow-raising cranberry salmon croquette and cranberry curry, ubiquitous cranberry sangria and giggle-inducing cranberry nut tatties. Expect to be similarly blown away by your guests’ creative culinary skills or potential as cafeteria ladies (mystery goop dish experts).

Over the years, this idea has gained great popularity with Americans; some have even attempted to respect tradition and execute IC competitions at home. The IC Party even has its own spinoff in Australia – the Champion Chef Game Pack, complete with game cards with secret ingredients, costumes, tear-as-you-use invitation, score sheet and instruction pads. Here’s an introductory timeline to help you along. Please note that this list is by no means exhaustive, and if you want extra frills to placate the workaholic in you, kindly add them in.

One month before
1. Send out invites explaining the IC party concept.
2. Find out dietary preferences and needs of guests. You do not want the lone vegetarian conducting his/her scavenger hunt for soy and greenery.

One week before
1. Decide on miscellaneous items list – accompanying wines, breads, salads for dishes which you think might be complementary to the theme.
2. Plan and purchase party décor – voting slips, tags for food labels, chef’s hats for tack(y) factor.
3. Additional equipment – an oven for reheating? A telephone to secretly cheat and order pizza?
4. Purchase the prizes. Just a note: for all their effort, people don’t generally take to Hello Panda Family Packs.
5. Plan order of events – sampling, judging, prize-giving, mingling & Iron Chef re-runs with lots of photos to show off on Facebook
6. Decide on the main ingredient. A fool-proof choice would be a vegetable, preferably a ubiquitous, boring one like a mushroom. There is a simple rationale behind this: picking a carb would require a follow-up party at Weight Watchers’, and selecting a protein-heavy meat item might transfigure your lady friends into lady boys.

Twenty-fours hours before
1. Arrange furniture – location of food, seating plans, judging area, price-giving stage.
2. Clean-up – no undergarments lying around, unless of course it’s part of your décor
3. Most importantly, don’t forget to inform everyone of the main ingredient!
For more fun during your party, make a date with Iron Chef on AFC on Astro Channel 703