Last updated on January 19th, 2024 at 05:34 pm
Have you just bought your first grill and are eager to do your first barbeque but need help figuring out where to start? You are not alone. Most people are not good either and tend to go to the extremes. They either deliver charred meat or cause poisoning because of poor handling.
There is nothing like having family or friends over on the weekend, enjoying juicy barbeque, and playing your favorite slots with a simple Fairgo login. However, you will need skills for successful execution and get a seat of honor among your family.
We have curated tricks that will help you grill the perfect and professional-tasting barbeque. Keep reading, gear up, and prepare for a memorable outdoor dining experience.
1. Always Kick Off with a Clean Grill
A dirty grill could be a breeding ground for harmful bacteria that can cause food poisoning. In addition to the potential food poisoning, using a dirty grill can compromise the flavor of the food you are cooking. The taste of your barbeque will mix with that of the food you cooked last on it. Cleaning your grill will also stop food from sticking to the grill.
It is best to clean your grill while still hot using a stiff brush, as removing bits of food will be much easier. If you don’t have a brush, you can improvise and clean using a foil ball by holding it with tongs. To keep your grill clean at all times and ready for barbeque, clean after every use.
2. Don’t Barbeque Meats Straight from the Fridge
If you want to grill meats, don’t just remove them from the fridge and direct them to the grill. Let the steaks sit for about 30 minutes at room temperature before placing them on the grill.
If you are wondering why this is important, allowing your meat to warm up before grilling ensures the meat is room temperature as opposed to cold, making it easy to achieve medium-rare or medium perfection.
Remember that the secret to cooking the perfect steak is doing it at high temperatures and for a short time; meats fresh from the refrigerator take longer.
3. Ensure your Grill is Hot
If you want to keep your food juicy, use a hot grill. You will get a good sear on the outside, lock in the juices, and prevent the food from sticking on the grill. More so, it enhances the safety of the food as the hot grill will also kill harmful bacteria.
Heat your grill for 15 minutes with a closed lid so it heats up quickly. Failure to do so will bring undesirable outcomes. Your grill will not reach the optimal temperature, so your food may stay too long on the grill, resulting in either dried-out or overcooked food.
4. Don’t Forget to Rest your Meat
Don’t be too quick to serve meat immediately after you remove it from the heat. You want to cover the meat with a foil and allow it to rest for about 15 minutes. This will allow the proteins to relax and the juices to settle, resulting in a more tender and juicy meal.
Barbeque experts recommend you undercook the meat slightly on the grill and let the residual heat do the rest of the job while resting.
5. Leave the Food Alone
Most of the time, you only need to flip your food once as you barbeque it. Most beginners tend to move the food around, which interferes with cooking. This usually causes the food to cook unevenly and can lengthen the cooking time.
Because you only need to flip your food once, the lid should stay down unless you are flipping. This should keep the grill hot enough to char the food, accelerating the cooking time and stopping the food from drying.
6. Add Sauces at the End
When basting meat with a sauce, you should always do it in the final five minutes of grilling if the entire cooking time is thirty minutes or less. If the cooking time exceeds thirty minutes, do it in the last fifteen minutes.
The meat will burn and hold to the grill if the sauce—especially one with sugar—is added too early during cooking.
Applying sauce during the final 15 minutes of cooking is recommended for any type of barbecue, be it chicken wings, ribs, or pork tenderloin, and rotating occasionally. Just before serving, if you’d like, you can sauce it once more.
7. Avoid Overcrowding your Grill
Overcrowding the grill is another rookie move you must avoid. While it may appear harmless, placing too much food on the barbeque plate will cause the temperatures to drop, resulting in rubbery food.
It is best to create about 3cm of space between each cut of meat. If you are making food for a large group, you will be forced to barbeque in batches. Arrange the food in neat rows like a professional. This way, the food will cook uniformly and evenly while at the same time giving you space to check what was placed on the grill first and needs attention.
Conclusion
Everybody loves a barbeque cookout. However, only some have mastered the skills for preparing the perfect steaks on the grill. Barbeque disasters like undercooked meat, burnt food, flare-ups, and poor timing are common among beginners, but it doesn’t have to be your story.
Use the tips above to start your barbeque journey, and with time and practice, you will become a pro.
At Bridge House Tavern, we’re more than a team of food enthusiasts; we’re a culinary journey waiting to be savored. Our five-member crew is on a relentless quest to explore, create, and share the wonders of the gastronomic world.
