There’s something wonderfully uncomplicated about cooking over fire. It brings people together, encourages a little experimentation and, more often than not, makes dinner feel like an occasion.
BBQ cooking doesn’t need to be saved for a particular season. Whether you’re cooking for the family on a Tuesday night, entertaining friends on the weekend or simply looking for a new way to prepare dinner, the BBQ can be one of the most versatile tools just outside your kitchen door!
The fun really starts when you move beyond the usual steak and sausages.
It’s all about learning what your BBQ can do
Good BBQ cooking is part technique, part curiosity. There’s the direct heat for getting that lovely char, indirect heat for slower cooking, and plenty of opportunity to experiment with marinades, rubs, vegetables and even desserts.
Sometimes, a small change in technique can make a surprisingly big difference.
A protein press, for example, is a wonderfully simple BBQ tool. Place it over burgers, chicken or other proteins while they cook and it helps keep food in close contact with the hotplate or grill, encouraging even cooking and a beautifully browned crust. It can also help stop meat from curling or losing contact with the cooking surface.
It’s one of those tools that makes perfect sense once you’ve used one — and it’s a great gift for the home chef who enjoys discovering clever little additions to their cooking kit. If you’re interested in protein presses, we’ve also written a little more about how and why to use them in our earlier the Juice article, [Protein Presses: The Little BBQ Tool That Makes a Big Difference].
A good cookbook can change the way you BBQ
Sometimes the best way to improve your BBQ cooking is simply to get inspired.
BBQ Companion by Ben O’Donoghue is a great place to start. With recipes spanning meats, seafood, vegetables, salads, marinades, breads, drinks and desserts, it encourages you to think of the BBQ as much more than a place to cook a steak. It’s the sort of book you can reach for when planning a weekend gathering, or when you simply want to try something a little different for dinner.
For those who enjoy getting right into the craft of cooking meat, Meatsmith takes a more considered approach. It explores the journey from selecting and preparing meat through to cooking and serving it, making it a fascinating read for anyone who wants to understand a little more about what makes a great piece of meat work on the grill. It’s the kind of book that can turn an enthusiastic home cook into a much more confident one — and makes a thoughtful gift for someone who loves to learn as much as they love to eat.
Then there’s The Green Barbecue Cookbook by Martin Nordin, which might just change the way you think about vegetarian BBQ.
This is not a book about putting a few vegetables on the side of the grill. Nordin embraces fire as a way of creating big, bold flavour in its own right, exploring both direct grilling and indirect heat. There are recipes for Quinoa & Sweet Potato Burgers, Pizza with Pumpkin and Mushrooms, and even smoky cocktails such as a Smoky Pineapple Sour.
It’s beautifully photographed and illustrated, and a lovely reminder that BBQ cooking can be imaginative, colourful and completely meat-free.
Three books, three quite different approaches — and that’s part of the fun. Whether you’re interested in mastering meat, discovering new BBQ recipes or putting vegetables centre stage, there’s always something new to learn.
And then there are the little details…
Great outdoor cooking often comes down to flavour — and sometimes the smallest detail can make a surprising difference.
This is where Rivsalt gets interesting.
Rather than reaching for a traditional salt shaker, Rivsalt gives you a chunk of natural rock salt, a Japanese-style stainless-steel grater and its own stand. The idea is wonderfully simple: when you want to season your food, you simply turn the salt over the grater and grate a little fresh.
It’s a tactile way to season food, and there’s something rather satisfying about it. You can see exactly what you’re using, control how much you grate and finish your dish right at the table.
And once you start exploring the different salts in the Rivsalt range, it becomes even more interesting.
Halit, from northern Europe, is the naturally clear, all-rounder rock salt. It has a clean salt flavour without strong mineral notes, making it an easy choice for everyday cooking and finishing. Try it over grilled steak, seafood or vegetables straight from the BBQ.
Himalayan Salt is recognisable by its beautiful natural pink colour. It has a clean, familiar saltiness and is a versatile choice for finishing all sorts of dishes.
For something a little more unusual, there is Persian Blue Salt. Its striking blue crystals are completely natural, making it particularly beautiful when freshly grated over food. It has a delicate mineral character and is a lovely finishing salt when you want both flavour and a little visual interest.
And then there’s Kala Malak — perhaps the most intriguing of the collection. This Indian black salt is known for its distinctive sulphurous aroma and savoury character. Used sparingly, it can bring an unusual depth to food and is particularly interesting in vegetarian cooking.
What we love about Rivsalt is that it turns seasoning into part of the experience. Instead of simply shaking salt over your dinner, you’re choosing your salt, grating it fresh and discovering how a different variety can change the character of a dish.
It also makes a rather lovely gift for the home chef — especially someone who already has plenty of kitchen gadgets and appreciates something that is both useful and a little unexpected.
Sometimes, it really is the little things. And in this case, it’s a little grated salt.
BBQ is about experimenting, not getting everything perfect
Perhaps that’s what makes cooking over fire so enjoyable. You can learn as you go.
Try a new recipe. Experiment with indirect heat. Give vegetables a starring role. Add a little smoked flavour. Invest in a clever tool that makes cooking easier. Or simply find a cookbook that makes you want to head outside and light the BBQ.
At the LemonTree, we love finding those useful, beautiful and sometimes unexpected pieces that make cooking more enjoyable. You can explore our BBQ, cooking and gifting collections on our website, or pop in and see us in Dunsborough — we’re always happy to have a chat about what you’re cooking and help you find something that might make the next BBQ even better.
