How do I plan a barbecue?
The quantities, the timings and the food safety rules — plus why a two-zone fire solves most barbecue failures.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 1 hr 30 min
- Read
- 2 min
- Safety
- warning
Short answer
Set up two heat zones: hot coals on one side, none on the other. Sear over the heat, then move food to the cool side to cook through. Almost every burnt-outside-raw-inside barbecue is a single-zone fire.
Barbecues go wrong in two predictable ways: food burnt outside and raw inside, and everything arriving at different times. The first is a fire setup problem and the second is a planning one.
Safety
Step by step
- Plan quantities before anything else.Roughly 200-250g of meat per adult across the whole event, plus sides. People eat less than hosts fear at a barbecue because they graze. Overbuying is the norm.
- Build a two-zone fire.All the coals banked on one side, none on the other. Sear over the heat, then move to the cool side with the lid on to cook through. This single change fixes most barbecue cooking.
- Light it properly and wait.A chimney starter, or firelighters — never petrol. Wait until the coals are covered in grey ash, usually 20-30 minutes. Cooking over flames chars the outside before anything cooks.
- Prepare everything in advance.Marinating, chopping, salads, sauces — all done before anyone arrives. Once the barbecue is lit you cannot leave it, and that is when hosts end up in the kitchen.
- Cook in the right order.Longest first: chicken pieces and sausages, then burgers and chops, then quick items and vegetables last. Have somewhere warm to rest what is done.
- Separate raw and cooked absolutely.Different plates, different tongs, and never put cooked food back on a plate that held it raw. This is where barbecue food poisoning comes from, not from the cooking.
- Check with a thermometer, not by looking.Charring is not doneness. 75°C in the centre for most meats, 74°C for poultry. A probe thermometer is the difference between confidence and hoping.
- Keep food out of the sun and covered.The two-hour rule halves to one hour above about 32°C. Bring out small amounts and keep the rest chilled — this is the other main food safety failure at barbecues.
Tips
- Part-cook chicken in the oven and finish it on the barbecue. It is what many caterers do, it removes the main risk, and nobody can tell.
- A lid transforms a barbecue from a grill into an oven. If yours has one, use it on the cool zone.
- Have a plan for rain. A tray of something that can finish in the oven means the event survives British weather.
Questions people ask
How do I stop barbecue food burning outside and staying raw inside?
Build a two-zone fire — coals on one side only. Sear over the heat, then move the food to the cool side with the lid on to cook through.
How much meat do I need per person?
Around 200-250g per adult across the whole event, plus sides. People graze at barbecues and eat less than hosts expect.