Charcoal barbecuing with friends

What is with this weather of late in some of Australia's eastern areas? It's hot then it's cold, then it's hot again. Whilst spring/summer is having trouble knocking winter off its perch, winter seems more than happy to keep a grip on the weather patterns in the meantime. Not to worry, as it is inevitable that the seasons will change and soon we will all be basking in glorious sunshine, enjoying the outdoors once again, and partaking in activities such as barbecues.

Living in an apartment makes for tighter spaces (well, for us mere everyday folk at least) and outdoor entertaining is limited to what balcony/porch space is available. My balcony is a slightly odd shape but provides more than enough room to set up a cute little Bodum Fyrkat picnic barbecue surrounded by a few chairs to enjoy a charcoal campfire-style barbecue with friends. Being low, it is also a great height for huddling around where we each stab our own skewers of food to be cooked. The barbecue itself doesn't require assembly, with only the catch-pan and grill needing to be placed atop. Lighting the fire, well... That took the efforts of 3 men and more than a few attempts due to some swirling winds which started to pick up, but it's nothing a blast of hot air from a hairdryer won't fix!

Charcoal barbecues provide the best flavour, in my opinion, and seals meat differently to the harsh flame of gas barbecues. Of course the beauty of this little Bodum gem, apart from the range of bright colours in which it is available, is that it easily portable to a park for some proper outdoor barbecuing. And if you remember, unlike - ahem - me, you can toast marshmallows and/or make s'mores over the open fire too.

But apart from the usual barbecuing of meats, add a pizza stone and you can play around with making coal-fired pizzas as well. My tip would be to use a smaller pizza stone than what I have above, to allow for more airflow from the coals underneath to cook the pizzas faster and help crisp up the tops. Oh, and don't forget to leave the air vents in the lid open to allow steam to escape! (Just an easy twist of the handle, really.) Lest you will be rewarded with odd, slightly steamed, Asian bun-style surfaces to your pizza dough. That being said, the coals definitely took the pizza stone to higher temperatures than my oven and made for wonderfully crisp and golden bases.

So, what are you looking forward to once the warmer weather settles in?

Mademoiselle Délicieuse received a Bodum Fyrkat Picnic Charcoal Grill for review courtesy of Kitchenware Direct as part of this post.

happy cooking!