If you’re looking to keep things simple and fresh for meals, barbecuing must seem like your easiest option for a dinner with friends and family. And of course why not? You hanging out in your garden, tossing around some meat on an open grill, how difficult can it be right? Wrong. What may seem like the simplest method of preparing a meal could prove to be the hardest one for your guests to consume. Cooking over an open flame that you cannot control needs some practice and a bit more attention than you could imagine. Read on for some technicalities that a BBQ beginner chef should be aware of while saving you the trouble and embarrassment of presenting your guests with a charred or burnt offering for dinner.
Which Barbecue Grill To Choose?
It’s a common misconception that any type of meat can be cooked on any type of grill. Different types of BBQ meats will require a specific type of grill. For instance if you’re not interested in doing fish and are only interested in flipping some burger patties and chicken legs then an open grill is perfect. However, if you are feeding more than just two people then you’ll want to be able to cook large quantities at once. So for instance, heavy meat legs and whole chickens will need to be cooked in an enclosed BBQ grill. These are known as kettle barbecue grills and the bbq smoker Melbourne stores will offer you a variety to choose from. What’s particular about these types of barbecue grills is that the dome coverings are perfect for trapping in heat as well as keeping it constantly transferred to the meats while preventing air coming in through the bottom coals. Kettle barbecue grills can be expensive but are sturdier and will last longer.
Coal Or Gas, Which Is Best?
Your standard fuel to fire up your grill would be an option between actual wood chips or briquettes made from glue and charcoal dust combined. The wood chips are easier to fire up but burn quite quickly so you will need a big supply to keep the flames going. The briquettes on the other hand will take some time to get going but once they do it’s a steady warmth and flame that moves over them and the meats will cook evenly. A tip to remember is that if you do choose to use briquettes then keep in mind you need a lot of time and patience to get them going. Put the thought out of your head if you are considering using any flammable lighting fluids when working with briquettes. While it might fire up the briquettes faster, the toxic vapours will seep into the flavouring of your meats.
Keep A Tab On Cooking Time
As a general rule of barbecue cooking – any meats or fish that can be cooked within 30 minutes should be cooked on an open grill with coals. Items such as whole chickens or bigger pieces of meat will require a longer time to cook. As such make sure to cook them in a kettle grill with the lid closed. Use a dip tray at the bottom of the grill to prevent the fat from dripping.
The above tips and tricks should be sufficient to get you cooking at a grill in no time. With a bit of practice, you will understand how to control the flame, and bring up the temperature without over- cooking your meats.