In backyards and parks across the country, the ‘Aussie barbie’ has too often featured overcooked steaks, dry sausages and soggy salads.

But with a few small tweaks and a world of flavours to choose from, there’s no reason why this iconic Australian meal can’t be a culinary feast, capable of exciting even the most experienced of chefs.
 
“The number of people who can’t cook steak and sausages on the barbecue is extraordinary,” says Kim Terakes, author of the bestselling Great Aussie Barbie Cookbook, and founder of Australia’s largest barbecue club – aussiebarbie.com.au. “When you walk them through the steps they go ‘Oh, that’s easy but it’s exactly the opposite of what I do!’”

Rather than “incinerating them on a char grill”, Terakes recommends cooking sausages on a flat grill over a low heat, without poking them. His tips for the perfect steak are to bring the meat back to room temperature before cooking, place it onto a hot char grill so it doesn’t stick, and to never turn it more than once.

“We’re all about getting people to do the basics better, and then start experimenting with other things,” he says. According to Terakes, new barbecue ideas stem from what’s happening in the rest of the Australian food scene, and the rise in interest of multicultural foods is reflected in what gets cooked on the barbecue.
 
“I think most cuisines lend themselves well to barbecue,” says Terakes. “To dust some lamb with some Middle Eastern spices or some Asian flavours is very, very easy to do.”
 
Jared Ingersoll of Sydney’s Danks St Depot agrees, and says it’s easy to see how the Australian barbeque scene has evolved to include a more diverse range of foods.
 
“All you have to do is go down to Centennial Park and hang out in one of the covered barbecues there… You get your Greek guys doing it with lemon, rosemary and garlic, and you’ve got your Korean family doing it with chilies and lots and lots of onions. We’re incredibly fortunate to have that sort of diversity around us... It’s one of the things I love about cooking in Australia.”
 
But looking to other cuisines for inspiration is only one way to enhance a barbecue, and Ingersoll says a flexible approach to menu planning and an attempt to source best quality produce can also do wonders.
 
“Take a stab at what’s going to be good on the day but if you’re able to nip down to the market that week, or go to your local butchers or fish mongers and see what’s best on the day, the results are infinitely better.”
 
Author of My Greek Family Table, Maria Benardis also favours a simple and flexible approach to barbecuing.  “We Australians love barbecues because it suits our relaxed approach to cooking,” says Benardis. “I prepare food that requires little cooking time and minimal fuss.”
 
Benardis, who also runs Sydney based Greek cooking school Greekalicious, says cooking on the barbecue (skara) is very common in Greece, and that on festive days people will often cook for friends and family out on the street.
 
“My ideal Australia day barbecue would include a variety of souvlakia made with prawns, lamb, chicken, vegetables and haloumi all basted with ladolemono (extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and dry oregano). My salads would include the salad of Kalamata (Greek salad), and a watermelon and feta salad, and I always have tzatziki and taramosalata.”
 
And just as Benardis couldn’t do without these essential Greek dips, Javier Codina, chef and owner of the award winning Gianni’s Restaurant in Brisbane, says a Spanish barbecue wouldn’t be complete without charcoal and aioli.
 
“When we do barbecues, we are very particular,” says Codina. “The charcoal gives a completely distinctive flavour to the food you’re cooking. We really like to use lots of fresh vegetables such as capsicums, onions, and lots of mushrooms... But if you want the real thing it has to be charcoal.”
 
Codina says the Spanish barbecue runs like a ceremony, beginning with a beer and some nibbles, and followed by a meat dish, often pork belly or pig face.  “It’s all cartilage,” he says of the pig face dish. “And it’s so nice on the barbecue. Then, while someone is cooking, someone else is making the sauce. The typical sauce, we always, always make in Catalonia is an aioli,” he says.
 
Salads are also fundamental, and Codina says it’s very common to see a frisée salad (similar to endive), served with onions, tomatoes, olive oil, vinegar and olives, at a Spanish barbecue.
 
But regardless of whether your barbecue menu will include no fuss Greek souvlakia, a Spanish charcoal feast, or just the familiar sausages and steaks, there is one universal rule to remember this Australia Day; there’s absolutely no need to poke and prod the food.