Barbecued foods are meats and other foods cooked outdoors on a barbecue — originally a revolving spit over open fire, today usually a wire grid over hot charcoal or gas. Sausages, burgers and fish or meat steaks are the popular choices, prized for their smoky flavour and caramelised surfaces. The high-heat, smoke-rich method builds beloved flavour through Maillard reactions and smoke deposition, but it also forms polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heterocyclic amines, so moderation, avoiding charring, trimming fat to reduce flare-ups, and marinating are sensible precautions. Proper cooking temperatures remain essential to eliminate pathogens in these often thick cuts.