Grilling is what most Australians mean when they use the generic term 'barbecue'. It involves cooking meat, seafood or vegetables directly over the heat source - and that's why it's often referred to as direct cooking.

The common flat top barbecue was designed exclusively for grilling and is perfect for cooking steaks over the volcanic rocks under the open (slotted) metal plate and sausages, onions, eggs or meat patties over the other (solid) surface. Kettle barbecues (charcoal heaped in centre) and Hibachis are also ideal and offer the slightly more intense flavour that comes from cooking over charcoal.

I rarely use the solid plate on my flat top barbecue except when cooking high fat content items such as bacon or sausages. These can cause constant flare ups if cooked on the open plate. However, if you're addicted to charred black sausages that are still raw inside, then go for it.

The open plate is the only place to cook the great steak. The sound and smell of hot juices dripping on to volcanic rock or ceramic pucks (on a flat top barbecue) or charcoal (kettle barbecues or Hibachis) are the absolute essentials of barbecue.

Add some Australian hardwood chips and you will notice most people go quiet when the sizzling starts and the little puffs of wood smoke and atomised juices perfume the air while adding that unmistakable barbecue taste to the steak. Their eyes tend to glaze over and their nostrils twitch excitedly.

What is happening is that their 'species' memory is kicking in. They are faintly remembering traces of other gatherings of their ancestors around fires in primordial times. "The tribe has meat and fire, we will not perish today" - that is the ancient whispered message that is carried by the sound and smell of barbecue. As to what messages vegetarians receive, I have no idea.

THE PROCESS

The great steak - full of juices and with a delicious brown crust -depends on a few variables. These include the type of meat, the temperature at which it is cooked and the length of time it is cooked.

THE MEAT: No amount of 'grill skill' can make skirt steak as tender as fillet and too much heat and time can ruin the best piece of prime beef.

Choosing the right steak is never easy and a lot of people I have met hold very strong views on the subject. I used to swear by rib fillet for many years until I started to become a bit worried about the amount of marbling and the residual fat that remained after it was grilled. Delicious and tender - but with potential to further silt up the Blue arteries.

On the advice of a good friend whose family owns one of Queensland's most successful cattle studs (Belmont Red - the best beef breed) I turned to rump.

It has a great taste and most of the fat is visible so it can be cut away - preferably before it is cooked. Sirloin is right up there with rump in regard to flavour and eye fillet is on the bottom rung needing some sort of sauce to give it any taste at all.

THE HEAT: We have all seen the meat botherers at work. These are the ones who constantly fiddle with the temperature setting on gas barbecues and incessantly move steaks all around the cooking surface. While they might keep themselves busy, they'll never turn out a great steak.

The only temperature required is very high (around 300 to 350 degrees C) and this should remain consistent for the entire cooking time.

Because of the high heat, never leave steaks on the barbecue longer to cater for those who want their steaks medium to well done etc. I also avoid sending them to Siberia - the far flung corners of the plate where it is hoped the temperature is lower and the steaks can be cooked longer. Both are sure fire ways to end up with tough, dry steak.

Instead, I simply cut the steaks more thinly so all are ready simultaneously with the same crusty coating while the centres can vary from 'blue' (very, very rare indeed) to a light pinkish hue.

The actual thickness will depend a lot on your personal preferences and type of barbecue. I personally prefer steaks that are somewhere between 4 to 5 cm thick (around 1.5 to 2 inches).

While the meat is coming to room temperature (15 to 20 minutes in Queensland), trim away any visible fat (this cuts the risks of flare-ups as well as cardio vascular disease). Pat it dry with paper towels then rub the steak very lightly with the tiniest amount of canola oil - no pepper, no salt, no steak sprinkles, no garlic, no wattleseeds. You do not want anything between the steak and the surface of the plate while it is cooking except for the thinnest possible film of oil (canola has much higher burning point and is kinder to cast iron than olive oil because of acidity levels).

The heat is about right when you cannot hold your hand over the grilling surface for more than a second or two. Another time-honoured test to make sure the grill surface is ready is to spit (expectorate, Virginia) on the plate and watch for a small ball to form instantly. If you're caught doing this, simply claim you are celebrating your ethnicity as your grandfather was a drover and they always spat at fires.

Sprinkle a handful of pre-soaked Smoke Woods chips over the charcoal or place in foil over volcanic rock (see Blue Smoke). When they are starting to smoke, place the steaks gently on the barbecue and don't touch them for at least a couple of minutes.

They are ready to turn when they come away easily from the cooking surface - use tongs for this not forks. Never pull a steak screaming from the plate surface - the crust will stay stuck to the metal instead of on the steak where it belongs.

After a couple of minutes on the other side, gently press the centre of the steaks with the back of the tongs. A rare steak will be noticeably soft. Medium will be a bit springy (some firmness) and well done will feel like rock (and probably be as tender). Turn the steaks just once for rare and maybe twice for medium (a lot will depend on your equipment and how it retains heat - but, as a general rule, the fewer times the meat is turned the better).

For those who like their steaks medium to well done, it's worthwhile letting them 'rest' for a few minutes on a warm plate. This helps the fibres in the meat to relax and allows the juices to distribute evenly. Don't worry about this step for rare to blue steaks as the true carnivores are sure to howl about the bit of additional cooking that takes place while the steaks rest.

INGREDIENTS

Steaks (rump or sirloin for the best flavour/tenderness balance)
Canola oil
Smoke Woods' Hardwood chips
Absolutely nothing else

The tongs test

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