Detox your barbecue: keep the classic flavours, lose the nasties, make it healthier

It’s the height of summer and you’re ready to fire up the grill. You might have been trying to improve your diet since your diagnosis, like cutting back on processed meat. But it’s hard to imagine a barbecue without sausages and burgers.

The good news? You don’t have to ditch the classics to make your barbecue healthier. With a few easy tweaks, you can keep the flavour while giving your barbecue a gut-friendly upgrade.

Processed and ultra-processed food – what are ‘the nasties’?

Most foods are processed in some way to make them safer or last longer. But processed meat – like sausages , bacon, ham (and some burgers) preserved with salt, smoke or other preservatives – has been linked to a higher risk of bowel cancer. That’s why the World Cancer Research Fund recommends avoiding processed meat.

Then there’s ‘ultra-processed’ food. A quick way to spot it is to look for ingredients you wouldn’t usually have at home – additives like sodium nitrite (a preservative), dextrose (a manufactured sugar) and mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (emulsifiers). These are what we mean by ‘the nasties’.

It can be confusing, because some ultra-processed foods (like wholemeal bread or baked beans) can be part of a healthy diet. But when they’re also high in saturated fat, salt or sugar – like processed meat, packaged cakes and biscuits – they’re best left as an occasional treat.

So where does that leave your barbecue? The good news is that similar foods can vary more than you might think in their level of processing – including sausages and burgers. So it’s worth taking a moment to check the ingredients – or even make the burgers yourself following our ultra-simple recipe.

Check the ingredients label

Here’s a comparison of three burgers to help you get the hang of picking out healthier foods from more processed ones when you’re at the supermarket.

Burger #1 – least ultra‑processed

Ingredients: Irish beef (86%), water, onion, crumb (rice flour, gram flour, maize starch, salt, dextrose), seasoning (salt, sugar, black pepper), preservative: sodium metabisulphite (sulphites), antioxidant: ascorbic acid. 

Why it wins (and what to look for):

• No added oils

• No added sugars, like dextrose, in the main burger mix (only a small amount in the crumb)

• Only two additives (preservative and antioxidant)

• Familiar ‘kitchen cupboard’ seasoning

• Shorter ingredients list

Burger #2 – moderately ultra-processed

Ingredients: British beef (81%), onion (10%), water, fortified wheat flour (wheat flour, iron, niacin, thiamin, nicotinic acid, calcium carbonate), salt, black pepper, raising agent (ammonium carbonates), rapeseed oil, acidity regulator (sodium citrates), antioxidant (sodium ascorbate).      

Why it comes second:

• A few more additives than Burger #1 (raising agent, acidity regulator and antioxidant)

• Added oil

Burger #3 – most ultra‑processed

Ingredients: British beef (85%), water, rehydrated potato, onions, rice flour, salt, white sugar, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar (red wine vinegar, concentrated grape must), onion powder, rapeseed oil, black pepper, maize starch, muscovado sugar, dextrose, sunflower oil, caramelised sugar syrup, thickener (xanthan gum).

Why it comes last:

• Five types of added sugar – a red flag, especially for savoury food

• Added oils

• Only one additive but lots of processed ingredients that act like preservatives and flavour enhancers (added sugars and oils)

Homemade burgers – a simple recipe

When it comes to burgers, the best way to avoid the nasties is to make them yourself. You only need four ingredients and just a bit of extra time. Here’s our guide to making the perfect burger.

Ingredients

1. Lean beef mince (500g)

2. One small onion

3. One large egg

4. One tbsp vegetable oil

Method

1. Mix the beef, diced onion and egg in a bowl.

2. Roll into four balls.

3. Press each into 3cm-thick patties.

4. Chill for 30 minutes while you heat the barbecue.

5. Brush lightly with oil and grill for about five minutes on each side.

6. Rest for a minute, then pop into buns with plenty of salad (homemade ketchup and mayo is optional – but impressive!)

Sausages – are they ultra-processed or just processed?

Making sausages yourself is trickier. Most sausage meat contains preservatives, though some supermarkets and butchers do sell preservative‑free or minimally processed options.

As with burgers, checking the ingredients can help you steer clear of ultra-processed ones. You could also switch pork for chicken or turkey sausages to help you keep to no more than three portions of red meat a week.

Other ways to make your barbecue healthier

Extra salad can help balance out a meat-heavy barbecue. Try something different. Watercress adds zing to a burger, and shredded beetroot or kimchi mixes well with fried onions.

For a dessert, why not try grilled fruit. Barbecued pineapple with a dash of honey and cinnamon is a delicious and refreshing way to end a summer barbecue.

Read more about healthy lifestyle changes in our fact sheet, Diet and physical activity for men with prostate cancer.