Francesco Mazzei’s BBQ tips to get your through the Summer

Published 31/5/2019

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Repurposed from The Telegraph.

We all know that you can’t rely on the Great British weather when it comes to Summer in the UK, but that’s okay because us brits will drag out the old BBQ whether the mercury hits 15 or 25 degrees. 

Besides it wouldn’t be Summer without the old barbie, so The Telegraph reached out to Italian chef, Francesco Mazzei to find out his top tips for a successful BBQ, come rain or shine. Dig out your tongs, grab a bottle of rosé and head for the garden, as it’s time to fire up the charcoal.

“Francesco Mazzei, the Calabrian head chef of Sartoria, on Savile Row, has a distinctly un-Italian yakitori grill in his garden at home “but the principle of cooking over charcoal – grigliata, in Italian – is the same: and once I start grilling, I’m there all afternoon.

“I’d recommend cooking fish on the barbecue: it’s a great way to give it a gently smoky flavour, and it has the bonus that your kitchen won’t smell. There are some wonderful wild sea bass around at the moment: just season with salt, pepper, thyme and lemon, then grill it until it’s blackened on the outside and the flesh is just starting to flake away from the bone.

He dispenses, as you might expect, with the traditional roast veg sides, instead opting for baby gem lettuces blackened on the grill, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with toasted breadcrumbs. “If you’re feeling adventurous, try cooking mussels over charcoal: they will open naturally, and you can drizzle them with lemon juice and a dash of dry marsala while they cook,” he suggests.

Mazzei’s other suggestion, given the season, is a touch more controversial. “Rabbit is fantastic on the barbecue, especially if you marinate it in salmoriglio (the Southern Italian marinade of oil, lemon, garlic and oregano). “But,” he adds, ruefully, “because of the children I’m banned from cooking it at home.”

Read the article here.