Vegan Barbecues (recipes and safety tips)

Most people in England enjoy a good barbecue. But it pays to know how to hold one without polluting everyone in your garden and beyond, how to keep safe, and how to find delicious plant-based recipes to enjoy, along with your baked spuds!

Vegan BBQ is the ultimate guide for 70 simple summer recipes, plus delicious sides, dips and snacks to brighten up any alfresco event. The book has extensive information on the best kind of charcoal and other items to use, with lots of good safety and sustainability advice. Once you’re sorted, recipes include:

Buttered Hasselback Squash
Sizzling Fajitas
Brown Sugar Baked Beans
BBQ Patatas Bravas

Before cooking, read up on food safety for people and pets (many foods are unsafe near animal friends). Bin allium scraps (onion, leeks, garlic, shallots, chives) and citrus/tomato/rhubarb scraps, as acids could harm compost creatures. It’s okay to put them in food waste bins (made into biogas).

For tinned foods, fully remove lids (put inside) or pop ring-pulls back over holes (and pinch top opening closed) before recycling, to avoid wildlife getting trapped.

Keeping safe with garden barbecues

If you smoke, use a personal ashtray to prevent wildfires (like dropping a match to paper in dry weather). Not to scare you, but barbecues have many safety hazards, so here is condensed advice from fire crews, who often are the ones getting called out in emergencies.

Site barbecues on flat surfaces away from sheds, trees and shrubs, and keep them away from children and pets. Keep a bucket of water and sand nearby.
After your barbecue, ensure it’s cool before moving it (can take hours) and never bring it inside (or a tent) as it can give off carbon monoxide fumes for hours after being put out.
Most fire crews (and environmentalists) are not fans of disposable barbecues, as they can leave hot ground underneath for hours (which can harm children, pets and wildlife) and also can carry smouldering ash via the wind to nearby land and properties.
Use only enough charcoal to cover the base with recognised firelighters, and never put hot ash into a dustbin, as it could melt the plastic and start a fire.
If using gas barbecues, follow all the safety advice like turning taps off before changing cylinders (in well-ventilated areas) and turning the cylinder off (before the controls) to ensure residual gas in the pipework is closed up. If you suspect a leak, brush soapy water around the joints to watch for bubbles, then tighten (not too much).

Coconut Coir BBQ Briquettes

BBQ Coal are briquettes made from sustainably-sourced coconut shells, unlike others that cause deforestation from hardwoods. They are easy to light and give consistent heat and good to grill on the BBQ, producing less ash than charcoal.

To use, arrange in a pile in the centre of the grill for direct heat, or one inside for indirect heat. After lighting the coal with a chimney starter (don’t use gasoline or flammable liquids), wait for the coal to heat and turn grey (10 to 15 minutes) before placing food with a spatula or tongs.

Control temperature by adjusting air vents on the grill, or moving food closer or further away from the grill. Let coals cool down completely, before disposing of safely.

The Great Welsh Charcoal is one of a growing number of companies that makes charcoal from tree offcuts, rather than chopping down trees.
Slate Charcoal offers natural firelighters made from recycled wood (that would otherwise go to landfill), blended with wax. You only need one or two, so a pack should at least a year. They burn for up to 10 minutes and also good for wood burners, fire pits and chimeneas.

Eco Grill is an alternative to disposable barbecues, which can take 200 years to decompose. Made from alder wood, this is still highly flammable so use in accordance with safety regulations and tips above. With a burn time of 2 hours, it’s ready in 20 minutes. It needs no chemicals, lighters or fluids, just a match. The grill then burns down to a powder.

In the US, they sell solar ovens, which use the sun rather than fuel to cook food. These have tubes that stay cool and you can plug them into a suitable UK power bank when there’s no sun or at night. Cook fuel-free meals in 20 minutes to feed two people.

Barbecue etiquette (serving vegans)

This can take a bit of delicate planning. Vegans don’t want to feel excluded, but obviously don’t want to be eating ‘bits of meat’. So make something separate, or just serve baked potatoes and salad. Or have a separate area of the barbecue.

You don’t want things turning ugly, some vegans who have tried to take legal action against neighbours grilling meats in their garden next door. Obviously it’s upsetting. But it’s thing kind of behaviour that usually gives vegans a bad name.

Just hold your nose, and invite them to your next vegan barbecue, they may be so surprised and delighted at the tastes, they’ll try some plant-based options at their next barbecue!