Five recipes for the ultimate barbecue feast

The barbecue has been planned for weeks. There’s a shopping list, a menu and a freezer full of ice. Friends have confirmed their attendance, their plus ones and their contributions. The event shimmers on the horizon like heat on a desert highway; potent and compelling…

Or, the barbecue is spontaneous; an instinctive response to sunny weather and the reflexive desire to gather people. Let’s have a good time. Let’s all go back to mine? The idea fizzes with potential…

A barbecue is a chameleon, wearing different outfits. A shape-shifting scenario, it expands and contracts, straddling days, evenings, mealtimes and appetites. There’s a little bit of magic in every one, in the smells, sounds and sights; the long, lazy barbecue days and the heady barbecue nights.

Good barbecued food should be fun and not formal. Sometimes we want super-simple last-minute ideas, other times we want to pull out all the stops (up to a point). These recipes, then, are designed to be generous and accessible, boldly flavoured and satisfying. If it’s raining, there are options for cooking indoors.

BBQ Days, BBQ Nights, by Helen Graves (Hardie Grant, £22)