Phil Vickery's BBQ tips

Throughout the last barbecue season, Phil answered your bbq queries in his dedicated column - 'Ask Phil'.

Here we bring you a selection of his best advice - along with a host of new tips sent to us by the man himself.

Phil on...seafood

Frozen, then defrosted fish does tend to become mushy when cooked. A light marinade of soy, lime juice and olive oil can sometimes help, but try to use very fresh fish, or at least fish defrosted and used straight away. Cook prawns in their shells, then remove it afterwards.

Phil on...BBQ smoking

If you're using wood chips to smoke on your gas barbecue, the best thing to do is to soak the chips in beer, wine, cider or water for around an hour prior to cooking. This helps to cause smoke and makes the chips really smoulder. Regarding how many to put in, simply fill your smoker box - replenishing once they have cooked down - possibly every hour!

Phil on...homemade burgers

Do your burgers keep falling apart? You are probably using too good a mince! It sounds silly, but most people make burgers from fillet steak when the best is finely ground chuck steak . You can also try adding an egg white to bind your burgers together.

Phil on...stopping food sticking

Try to pat dry all meats and fish with kitchen towel before cooking, or you can even dust with a little flour or semolina. Make sure your barbecue is really hot and don’t be in a hurry to try to move the food before it has sealed or browned. I never clean my barbie until the next time I fire it up, when I leave it for 10 minutes on full blast with the lid down….. then brush of the carbonized bits, hey presto!

Phil on...steak

A great trick for adding a naturally meaty taste to steaks is to make a meat stock and reduce it down to a thick, sticky syrup before liberally brushing on to the meat whilst cooking. Also, as I say to everyone - Rest Rest Rest meat before you serve! It really does make a huge difference to flavour. Try wrapping steaks lightly in foil prior to serving, it helps retain the juices and therefore the flavour.