Charles Smith-Maxwell first saw the Foukou barbecue machines on a street corner in Cyprus, where they are made for cooking traditional Cypriot food.

He instantly recognised the potential for selling this particular barbecue to the Scottish market. Prior to commissioning the import, many trials were carried out on the machines to learn the cooking processes and techniques that make these machines so successful at producing the most delicious barbecued food.

In order to sell the machines, he had to demonstrate the cooking potential as well as the excellent results that could be achieved if a few basic rules were observed. From the demonstrations, the outdoor catering gradually developed from being an initially terrifying experience, cooking for 15 guests, to the full-on outdoor or indoor catering service for up to 200 guests. Today Charles Smith-Maxwell’s name is synonymous with the best in barbecues, as is evidenced from the following recipes.

Rolled rib of beef

1) Prior to the piece of beef being rolled and strung, cut small pockets into the meat.

2) Into the pockets place either green or black olives which must have been stored in olive oil and not in brine (very important).

3) Place a layer of Parma ham over the pockets and coat this with horseradish sauce.

4) Roll the piece of meat, with all the pockets etc on the inside. 5) String the meat ensuring that the end product is as near perfectly round like a cylinder.

6) Rub generous quantities of olive oil onto the outside of the beef. You will be amazed how much oil may be absorbed by the meat. The longer that the meat has been hung the more oil will be absorbed. The essential reason for oiling the meat is to prevent the outside drying out during the cooking process, when it is subjected to direct heat over the charcoal.

7) Set the speed of the spit at approximately 20 revolutions per minute.

8) If all this sounds too much, pour yourself a strong drink, summon up the courage and phone me to come and do it all for you!

I cannot take any credit for having been the original creator of these methods of preparing the beef or pork. The beef is a variation of an Italian dish that is even more elaborate than my version.

If you need more information, just go to Italy for Sunday lunch at Tonino Restaurant in Cortona, which is about 100 miles south of Bologna. You will not be disappointed.

Pork loin

1) Take a pork loin that has not been strung, but make sure that it has not been cured in brine.

2) Cut one or two deep slots into the meat length-wise, but do not cut through the ends of the joint.

3) Garlic puree goes into the bottom of the slot followed by sunblushed tomatoes and chopped olives.

4) Sliced figs are placed on top of the olives and then any herbs that you would like.

5) String the joint beginning at the middle and working towards each end. You will need one string every 2 cms, maintaining consistent tension on the string with all the knots in a perfect line. The cooking time depends on the thickness or diameter of the loin.

Seafood kebabs

1) Slice 6 scallops in half and set aside with 8 whole cooked prawns. Using a cocktail cutter, cut 8 circles from a yellow and red pepper.

2) Thread the fi sh and peppers onto four skewers, beginning and ending with a piece of pepper. Place in a shallow dish.

3) For a marinade, put 150ml of sunfl ower oil, 1 tsp of fennel seeds, 4 tsp of fresh marjoram and thyme with 2 bay leaves and the juice of half a lemon into a screw top jar. Shake until well mixed.

4) Pour this over the kebabs, cover and leave in a cool place for 1-2 hours. Barbecue the kebabs for 5-10 minutes turning once. Serve in wholemeal pitta bread or with brown rice.

Top BBQ tips

Charcoal chimney starter

Make sure you have a charcoal chimney starter (pictured). place a small heap of charcoal on the floor of the firetray. Stand the chimney on top of the heap of charcoal. pour charcoal into chimney, 7cms deep. Lift the chimney and give it a light shake to remove any charcoal dust, then place a piece of scrunched up newspaper underneath the grid of the chimney. Light the newspaper and as the charcoal begins to burn add more charcoal until the chimney is nearly full. after 15 minutes the charcoal will be ready to pour out of the chimney and onto the fire tray. Do not use paraffin firelighters instead of newspaper.

Using a thermometer probe

Use the probe to monitor the rate at which the meat is cooking. You cannot cook these joints to perfection every time even in an oven, let alone a barbecue, without a probe. available from Weber. use a digital probe which you can check for accuracy in both iced water and also boiling water. You will then have confidence that the probe is indicating the correct temperature. Nothing matters more than this instrument.

Meat cooking temperatures

Beef: rare cooked to perfection, 51ºc then rested for 10 minutes and carved to the plate. Do not try to carve the beef and keep it hot. Pork Loin: 74ºC. Do not rest the pork; carve it and keep hot in a chafing dish. chicken: 75/80ºc. sausages: 90/95ºc. burgers: 90ºc

FIELDFACTS

FOUKOU BBQ Middlestead, Selkirk, TD7 SEY. Tel: 07951 262 204 www.foukou.com