Whether you're grilling meat or vegetables, the best accompaniments involve a balance of acid, fat, salt, aromatics and sweeteners, according to a panel of experts. Richard Turner, co-founder of butcher Turner & George, emphasises that good marinades need a tenderiser such as citrus juice, vinegar, yoghurt, buttermilk, wine or enzymes from pineapple or papaya. These acids break down surface collagen and protein, tenderising the exterior and allowing flavours to penetrate deeper.
Fat sources like olive oil, coconut milk or yoghurt, along with seasonings such as sea salt, fish sauce, soy sauce or miso, are also essential. Salt penetrates deep into meat, breaking down muscle fibres and drawing in liquids to increase moisture and flavour. Additional ingredients like garlic, ginger, shallots, herbs, chilli and sweeteners such as honey, maple syrup or treacle can be added for complexity.
For vegetables, Melissa Thompson, author of Fired Up, recommends a flavoured yoghurt marinade with smoked paprika, cumin, coriander seeds, black pepper and salt, which creates a crusty layer. For chicken, she suggests a sweet and tangy blend of tamarind paste, shallot, garlic, spring onion, lemongrass, lime juice, ginger, soy, cider vinegar and brown sugar, or a mix of Jamaican seven-spice with spring onion, garlic, red onion, thyme, ginger, chilli, cider vinegar and vegetable oil.
Max Halley, author of Cooking with Sausages, offers a glaze for sausages made by boiling marmalade, runny honey, wholegrain and dijon mustard, white-wine vinegar and salt until thick. After cooking, brush the glaze onto sausages and return them to the barbecue briefly. For sausages out of their skins, he recommends squishing them to resemble doner kebab, adding salmoriglio (a Sicilian mix of lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt and dried oregano), and grilling.
Turner, who prefers minimal marinade for well-farmed meat, does not object to sauces. He suggests a homemade chipotle ketchup: simmer 500g chipotle in adobo, 500g chopped tinned tomatoes, 125g chopped onions, 125g tinned apples, 125ml natural cider vinegar, 10g smoked sea salt and 10g hot smoked paprika for two hours, then pass through a vegetable mouli, return to the pan with 125g muscovado sugar, cook until thickened, and bottle. For a quick sauce, Halley recommends a coronation-style mix of yoghurt, mayo and curry powder for lamb sausages, or strained yoghurt with grated cucumber and garlic.
