How To Barbecue Safely At Home This Summer

We’re British, most of us will be holidaying at home this summer and we’ve had some lovely weather recently, with more of it to come (hopefully!), which all calls for one thing –  a barbecue!

Cooking meat with fire first occurred about 1.8 million years ago, and all this time on, we still love doing it, grilling meat, chicken and fish on the hot coals out in the garden on a hot, sunny day. 

But you don’t want any accidents when barbecuing!

Some al fresco cooks will ponder placing their barbie onto a piece of decking if it has sufficient space for it, but is this safe?

Well, the answer is yes, but only if you’re sensible about it. 

As a precaution, just in case you accidentally drop any charcoal on the decking, buy a fire retardant protective mat wide enough to cover the patch of decking your barbecue will sit on top of. This will also stop any chance of the decking getting stained with grease, though grease stains are very easily wiped away when it’s UPVC or composite decking you have, but not so much when it’s wooden. 

Once it’s stable, away from any flammable objects and the barbecue is fired up, stay with it at all times. As tempting as it may be to quickly run inside for the cutlery and condiments while food is cooking, ideally, get someone else to do the fetching for you, particularly if there will be small children or pets running around. If you really need to move away from it for a few moments, put a responsible adult behind the grill in your absence. 

After all the grilling is done and everyone has cleared their plates of food, ensure that the barbecue has properly cooled down before you move it to wherever it gets stored. 

If all this talk of barbecuing has given you an appetite for UPVC or composite decking, as well as food, make an Online Appointment with our team to discuss it.