The sun is out and that can only mean one thing – it’s finally BBQ season.
But, in 2026 we should be past burnt sausages and dried up burgers, this is your time to shine with a fire-roasted menu of dreams. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is here to help with his new book BBQ, a simple guide to raise your grilling game.
Here are some of his favourite recipes…
Chicken shawarma
Serves 4
Total time: 1 hour 10 mins, plus marinating
The word baharat means ‘spices’ in Arabic, so you can either use a shortcut shop-bought blend like I have here, or make your own mix.
- 600g skinless, boneless
- chicken thighs
- 2 heaped tsp baharat seasoning, plus extra to serve
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 lemons
- 1 red onion
- 2 heaped tbsp Greek yoghurt
- 425g tin of pineapple rings in juice
- Olive oil
- 4 flatbreads
- ½ small red cabbage (300g)
- ½ bunch of flat-leaf parsley (15g)
- 320g ripe mixed-colour tomatoes
Put the chicken into a bowl with the baharat seasoning and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Peel and finely grate over the garlic and the zest of one lemon, then peel and quarter the onion and coarsely grate over one-quarter of it. Squeeze over the juice of the zested lemon, add the yoghurt, then mix and massage it all into the chicken. You can cook it right away, but it’s best left to marinate for up to one hour, or ideally overnight in the fridge.
Light the barbecue (you will need a 50/50 set-up, see panel overleaf). Break the remaining quarters of onion apart into petals. Drain the pineapple. Take your time threading the marinated chicken, onion petals and pineapple rings across two long metal skewers, alternating as you go, meaning you can cook and turn them as one. Spritz with olive oil. Place on the hot zone for five minutes, turning with tongs to sear all over.
Move to the cool zone to cook for 30 minutes with the lid on, vents open, turning every 10 minutes until cooked through. I like to prop it against a brick wrapped in foil so you can evenly colour each of the four sides. Briefly warm the flatbreads alongside, or cook through, if making your own.
Use a speed peeler to shred the red cabbage, or very finely slice. Pick over the parsley, scrunch with the juice of the remaining lemon and season to perfection. Slice the tomatoes and sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
Slice between the skewers to help you portion up the chicken, then pile on to the flatbreads with some cabbage and tomatoes. I like to add a dollop of lemony yoghurt and a drizzle of chilli sauce, and finish with an extra dusting of baharat. Serve leftover cabbage and tomatoes on the side.
ENERGY 434kcal | FAT 15.3g
SAT FAT 4.3g | PROTEIN 36.4g
CARBS 38.3g | SUGARS 17.5g
SALT 1.8g | FIBRE 7.4g
Herby leg of lamb and creamy beans
Serves 10
Total time: 1 hour and 25 mins, plus resting
Prep: 25 mins
Cook: 1 hour
- 4 leeks
- 1 bunch of mixed soft herbs (30g), such as mint, tarragon, basil, parsley
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 50g shelled unsalted pistachio nuts
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 lemons
- 100g breadcrumbs
- 2.2kg butterflied leg of lamb, bone out (ask your butcher to do this for you)
- Olive oil
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 bunch of sage (20g)
- 200g ripe cherry tomatoes
- 2 x 570g jars of cannellini beans
- Red wine vinegar
Soak a handful of wood chips in water according to the packet instructions. Light the barbecue (you will need a 50/50 set-up, see overleaf). Blacken the leeks directly on the coals for 10 to 15 minutes, turning halfway, then remove to a board.
Meanwhile, pick the soft herb leaves into a pestle and mortar with a pinch of sea salt, pound into a coarse paste, then peel and pound in the garlic. Roughly pound in the pistachios, then muddle in two tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, squeeze in the juice of one lemon and scrunch in the breadcrumbs until combined (blitz in a food processor, if you prefer).
Lay the lamb out like an open book and massage all over with salt, black pepper and a tablespoon of olive oil.
Sear on the hot zone for five minutes, or until gnarly, turning regularly with tongs, then move to a board, skin-side down.
Massage the top with the mustard, then pat on the herby crumbs.
Peel off and discard the outer charred layers of the leeks, cut into 2cm lengths and place in a 20cm x
25cm roasting tray. Rub half the sage leaves with olive oil, then add to the tray with the tomatoes and a generous splash of water.
Carefully remove the grill and place the tray directly in the cool zone. Replace the grill, then sit the lamb, crumb-side up, on the bars over the tray. Halve the remaining lemon and tuck it under the side of the lamb nearest the coals.
Drain the wood chips and place on the hot zone with the remaining sage sprigs.
Cook with lid on, top vent half open, above the meat for 30 minutes. Carefully lift up the lamb and the grill and pour the beans into the tray, juice and all.
Replace the grill and lamb and cook for a further 10 to 15 minutes with the lid on, top vent half open, or until the internal temperature reaches 55ºC.
Remove the lamb to rest, covered, for 30 minutes (the internal temp should rise to 60ºC), leaving the beans to reduce for another 15 minutes. Mix a tablespoon of red wine vinegar into the beans, season to perfection, then slice and add the lamb. This is great with crusty bread and a green salad.
ENERGY 468kcal | FAT 23.2g | SAT FAT 8.7g
PROTEIN 35.8g | CARBS 26.7g | SUGARS 3.8g
SALT 0.9g | FIBRE 7.5g
Prawn skewers & ajoblanco sauce
Serves 4
Total time: 25 minutes
I’ve embraced some of the key ingredients of ajoblanco, a delicious cold Spanish soup, to create the perfect bed of sauce for these tasty prawn skewers.
- 16 large raw shell-on king prawns, from sustainable sources
- 120g chorizo
- 2 lemons
- 16 padrón peppers
- 200g blanched almonds
- 1 small clove of garlic
- 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
- ½ bunch of flat-leaf parsley (15g)
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch of smoked paprika, to serve
Peel the prawns, leaving the tails on, then run a small sharp knife down the back of each, discarding the vein. Slice the chorizo into rounds just under 1cm thick, halve and thinly slice one lemon, and prick the peppers.
Load everything up onto four long metal skewers, alternating as you go, and being mindful not to pack it all on too tightly.
Toast the almonds in a frying pan over a medium-high heat on the hob until lightly golden (or toast in a metal sieve over the hot zone, if you’ve got the barbecue lit already), then tip them into a small blender or food processor.
Peel and add the garlic, along with the sherry vinegar and 250ml of cold water. Season with sea salt and blitz until you have a thick, smooth paste, loosening with extra splashes of cold water, if needed. Spread on a serving platter.
Pound the parsley, stalks and all, in a pestle and mortar with a pinch of salt to a fine paste, then finely grate in the zest of the remaining lemon and muddle in four tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil.
Light the barbecue (you will need a 50/50 set-up, see panel overleaf). Cook the skewers on the hot zone for three to four minutes, or until beautifully charred and cooked through, turning regularly and moving to the medium or cool zone if they colour too quickly. Transfer to the serving platter, drizzle over some parsley oil, squeeze over the remaining lemon juice and finish with a nice dusting of paprika.
ENERGY 583kcal | FAT 47g
SAT FAT 7.5g | PROTEIN 28.5g
CARBS 14.7g | SUGARS 5.3g
SALT 1.9g | FIBRE 7.9g
Romesco cauliflower
Serves 4
Total time: 35 mins
- 1 head of cauliflower (800g), ideally with leaves
- Olive oil
- 300g ripe tomatoes
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 100g sourdough bread
- 460g jar of roasted red peppers
- 25g smoked almonds,
- plus extra to serve
- 1 pinch of smoked paprika
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 sprigs of flat-leaf parsley
- 30g feta cheese
Light the barbecue (you will need a 50/50 set-up, see panel overleaf). Click off and discard any tatty outer leaves from the cauliflower, then chop it into eight wedges, spritz with olive oil, and season with sea salt and black pepper.
Put the cauliflower wedges and the tomatoes on the hot zone, and put the unpeeled garlic cloves on the medium zone. Slice the bread and place on the cool zone.
Cook it all with the lid on, vents open, for 10 minutes, then remove the tomatoes, garlic and toast to your board. Turn the cauli and cook with the lid on, vents open, for another 10 minutes, or until charred and cooked through, moving to the medium zone if colouring too quickly.
Pinch off and discard the tomato skins, putting the soft insides into a blender. Squeeze in the garlic cloves and tear in the toast. Add the peppers, juice and all, along with the almonds, paprika and two tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil. Blitz until smooth, then season to perfection and spread across your plates.
Sit the charred cauliflower wedges on top of the sauce. Roughly chop and scatter over the parsley leaves and a few extra almonds, crumble over the feta and finish with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, if you like.
Great with extra toast on the side, to mop up the excess sauce.
ENERGY 270kcal | FAT 13.1g
SAT FAT 2.5g | PROTEIN 10.8g
CARBS 26.8g | SUGARS 12.1g
SALT 1g | FIBRE 7.4g
Super surf and turf mixed grill
Serves 8
Total time: 45 mins
- 2 spring onions
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 lemon
- 1 tsp baby capers in brine
- 50g tin of anchovy fillets
- ½ bunch of mixed soft herbs (15g)
- 250g soft unsalted butter
- 1 bulb of fennel
- 320g green beans
- 1 sourdough or French baguette
- 8 free-range chicken thighs, skin on, bone in
- Olive oil
- 225g chorizo
- 16 raw shell-on king prawns, from sustainable sources
- 1.2kg mixed mussels & clams, scrubbed, debearded, from sustainable sources
- 320g ripe cherry tomatoes
- 120ml white wine
To make a flavoured butter, trim and roughly chop the spring onions, peel the garlic and finely grate the zest of one lemon, then blitz it all in a food processor with the capers, anchovies and most of the soft herb leaves (or chop by hand on a board). Blitz or mix in the soft butter until combined.
Trim the fennel and cut into thin wedges, trim the green beans and slice the baguette at an angle.
Rub the chicken with two tablespoons of olive oil and season with sea salt and black pepper.
Slice the chorizo 1cm thick. Peel the prawns, leaving the heads and tails on, then run a small sharp knife down the back of each, discarding the vein. Check the mussels and clams, tap any open ones and discard if they don’t close.
Light the barbecue (you will need a graduated set-up, see panel below), or to cook with gas, ignite the left-hand burners to medium-high to create a direct zone, the middle burners to medium and the right-hand burners to low to create an indirect zone.
Place the chicken skin-side down on the direct zone, use a griddle press to press the chicken into the barbecue slate (optional), then add the chorizo and cook for 10 minutes, or until the fat has rendered out and the skin is crisp. Flip the chicken over and place it on the medium zone to cook for 10 minutes, or until cooked through (the internal temperature should be 75°C), turning regularly, then move to the indirect zone with the chorizo.
Cook the fennel in the rendered fat for five minutes, then add the green beans for two more minutes, turning until golden. Remove the beans to a board and transfer the fennel to the medium zone.
Cook the tomatoes in the sticky chicken juices for two minutes, or until blistered. Toast the bread at the same time, turning regularly, moving to the indirect zone when golden.
Tip the mussels, clams and prawns onto the direct zone. Add three tablespoons of flavoured butter and mix together. Cover with a basting dome (if using) and cook for five minutes, or until the clams and mussels have opened (discard any that remain closed) and the prawns are cooked through.
Bomb in two tablespoons of flavoured butter, add the blistered green beans back onto the direct zone and toss with the seafood, chorizo and veg.
Transfer everything to serving platters, then deglaze the slate with the wine and one tablespoon of flavoured butter, then pour the sauce over the platters.
Pick over the remaining herbs, and serve with lemon wedges, for squeezing over.
The leftover flavoured butter will keep for up to two weeks in the fridge, or up to three months in the freezer. Fast future flavour awaits.
ENERGY 542kcal | FAT 31.9g
SAT FAT 11.3g | PROTEIN 33.7g
CARBS 26.8g | SUGARS 5.2g
SALT 1.7g | FIBRE 3.7g
How to set up a charcoal barbecue
Graduated
With this set-up, you want to have your coals starting high one side, creating a fierce hot zone, and gradually sloping down to a single layer of a few coals at the other, creating medium and cool zones along the way. This allows you to have maximum control over your grilling, moving food between the zones to speed up or slow down cooking as you need.
50/50
Simply pile all your coals evenly into one half of the barbecue, leaving the other half clear. This gives you a clear hot zone and cool zone, with a medium area in the middle. This set-up is helpful for recipes where you need to sear or get something going over direct heat, but then want to give it time to cook through more gently over indirect heat.
Jamie’s top tips…
For me, it’s all about the fire, so a charcoal barbecue is my natural go-to. But making the TV show I also had the pleasure of cooking on a range of different gas and electric barbecues, and I have to say I’ve been very impressed with them all. Gas can be very convenient, so I can see why so many people love it, and electric was really interesting too – plus, it’s a brilliant option if you are limited on space.
I would always recommend cooking better-quality meat less often, so you can buy the best you can afford when you do have it.
We’re naturally drawn to fire, so the ritual and performance of barbecuing extends that mealtime moment… Thinking about what equipment you need, your ingredients and recipes, the flow of everything, and how you want to serve, and getting all that sorted before you start grilling will really mean the actual act of barbecuing is much more stress-free, and you can really enjoy the ritual.
BBQ by Jamie Oliver is published by Penguin Michael Joseph, at £30
© Jamie Oliver Enterprises Limited
(2026, BBQ). Recipe photography:
© David Loftus, 2026
Jamie’s Ultimate BBQ with Weber airs on Channel 4 from Tuesday 5 May at 8pm