Nadine Horn - Vegan BBQ

Hello and welcome! Its nice to have you here.

Grab yourself a cold beer, the barbecue is hot and ready.

Today were barbecuing vegan style, and it will be a tasty experience.

Naturally, we feature barbecued tofu and seitan, but veggie lovers will certainly get their moneys worth, and we dont just mean throwing on a few courgette and aubergine slices. How do marinated and grilled artichokes or a whole barbecued cabbage sound?

Weve included both super simple and more elaborate recipes in this book. That way not only beginners, but seasoned barbecuers will get their moneys worth.

You too can become a vegan pitmaster.

We hope you enjoy Vegan BBQ , and all the best!

NADNE & JRG

The first task you have as a barbecue lover is to buy the right barbecue, and this can turn out to be an absolute ordeal of searching and hours of philosophising about what is available on the market.

While one of your neighbours swears by gas and another will light nothing but charcoal, a third cannot understand what the fuss is about and why there is a need to have a fire anyway an electric barbecue also does everything. The fact that this makes him the odd one out and that the other two make fun of him behind his back, fortunately, does not seem to bother him at all.

We would like to offer you advice to help you make your choice, so that you have more time to spend barbecuing.

As we explained previously, opinions differ in this respect. Electric barbecues are easy to assemble, quick to set up, practically smoke-free and quick to dismantle. However, passionate barbecuers will scornfully criticise the lack of feeling. For them, lighting a fire in a barbecue is easy, and electric barbecues are a temporary solution. But plug-in barbecues certainly have their advantages, and the most compact appliances are particularly suited to small balconies.

Gas barbecues are also quick to set up. Depending on the model, controlling the heat is possible with a push of a button, and gas-fired appliances also produce little smoke, which is why both small gas barbecues and large outdoor kitchens are often found on the balconies of rental apartments. And as you cook with real fire, gas barbecues are definitely considered to be superior to electric barbecues in the neighbourhood. This point should not be overlooked!

But barbecuing with gas is not always the easiest thing to do. Apart from requiring space, and courage, to store gas bottles inside a flat or house, the technology built into gas barbecues is prone to malfunctions and they are typically expensive to clean.

The charcoal barbecuer enjoys the best reputation in the neighbourhood. As the lord of the flame, he feels clearly superior to those who use gas or electricity at least as long as he doesnt inadvertently set fire to the electric barbecuers newly planted hedge.

Charcoal barbecues are traditional, and some believe that there simply has to be smoke when they are used.

You can tell a successful barbecue from the pitmasters smoky smell, which tends to linger on him for several days afterwards.

But seriously, barbecuing for most people is associated with the ritual of lighting the fire, with the smell of glowing charcoal and, of course, the typical flavour and we vegans are no exception.

Although charcoal barbecuing is also associated with requiring the most effort, we simply love cooking over an open flame, the primitive feeling, and even all the paraphernalia that goes with it, and we can imagine that the same goes for you.

If you have already decided to join the elite circle of charcoal barbecuers, you are now facing your next hurdle: the type of barbecue you should acquire. Is it really necessary to lay out good money for an expensive kettle barbecue, or how about a more economical flat top barbecue? Possibly even a portable one? It can be so practical after all. And just what is a pedestal barbecue?

First and foremost, the decision you make depends on the use you are going to give to it and how much you are willing to pay for it. Obviously, a small, inexpensive flat top barbecue is a practical solution if you plan to cook a few things with minimum effort by a lake. But if you are going to have a party at home, a heavy duty appliance is more advisable.

Because of the way they are designed, pedestal barbecues should in theory be faster to make operational, given that the air passing up through the chimney-like pedestal heats up the charcoal more quickly. In practice and after reading this book you will find that lump charcoal or briquettes are usually lit in a special chimney starter for all types of barbecues, which eliminates this advantage. Moreover, it is more difficult to create cooking zones on a pedestal barbecue (more on that later) and many pedestal models also lack a lid, which is important for some forms of cooking.

The kettle barbecue is the perfect all-rounder. It is easy to create zones for direct and indirect cooking; the lid is an integral feature; and the temperature is very easy to control with using the top and bottom air vents.

Also, there is no need for you to dig deep into your pockets for a kettle barbecue. Good starter models with a diameter of 47 cm are available from about 120.

While it is still possible to satisfy two people using a compact picnic barbecue with a diameter of less than 30 cm, barbecuing is much more fun when when you have more space at your disposal on the grill or cooking grate, especially when you have several hungry mouths to feed.

With more open space, you have the possibility of creating several different temperature zones, for food with different cooking times or to keep cooked items warm.

57-cm-diameter kettle barbecues are recommended for parties and families. But if you have little room and you are only cooking for two people, 47 cm is also sufficient.

Barbecuing in its original sense means cooking food over an open fire, which does not require a lid. In fact, there is no real need for a grill when it comes to putting vegetables, tofu, etc. on a skewer and holding it over a hastily lit camp fire.

But if you have a proper barbecue at your disposal and the right lid for it, new and, above all, tasty opportunities are open to you as a budding barbecue specialist.

When the lid is closed, the heat is always concentrated inside the barbecue, and also on the food. Not only does this save energy, you can also create a separate zone through which fresh air circulates to act like a convection oven, allowing you to prepare dishes aside from run-of-the-mill, supermarket-bought tofu sausages. In order to have better control of the temperature inside the barbecue, it is advisable to buy a model with a lid-mounted thermometer.