As summer approaches, award-winning chef Sue Flay offers a tongue-in-cheek guide to hosting the perfect barbecue. Her humorous "tips" include unconventional methods like checking if the grill is hot enough by seeing if your palm starts to smoke after five seconds above the grill rack, as well as starting your barbecue fire early to ensure it has died down by the time guests arrive, providing a comical reason for a restart.
Flay’s advice expands to the culinary techniques, suggesting cooking meat in the oven first and then adding "barbecue flavor" with a sprinkle of charcoal, twigs, and soil to keep the meat from sticking to the grill bars. She jokingly recommends involving multiple middle-aged men to manage a single chicken wing, and using unconventional items like suncream in place of mayonnaise.
For a more elegant, albeit extravagant barbecue presentation, she describes hiring simple oak dining tables lit by candelabras and adorned with hand-crafted linen and hand-made beeswax candles sourced globally. She even suggests casual seating with hand-carved benches and cushions made in the Dolomites.
On a more ridiculous note, Flay humorously recommends poking the charcoal with a finger to test its readiness and using cheap, unusual cuts of meat like chicken ankle or lamb eyelash for grilling. Furthermore, she teases about having a fully stocked barbecue kit that includes a surprising array of tools and safety equipment, emphasizing an over-the-top readiness for any grilling scenario.
While her tips are clearly shared in jest, they paint a picture of an elaborate and entertaining summer barbecue filled with laughter and unusual practices.