We all know that terrible feeling when a barbecue doesn’t go quite right. Your guests are politely eating your food, but you can tell something’s wrong. There might not be enough flavor or everything on the grill is overcooked.
There are lots of things that can go wrong which is what makes cooking on a barbecue so exciting. There’s no other form of cooking where you’re exposed to such high temperatures in a direct way, and you have to play the flames like a symphony. But it doesn’t take a professionally trained chef to get wonderful results. As long as you stick to the basics and make sure you avoid some of these mistakes, you’ll be able to create wonderful grilled feasts for the people you love.
Improper Cleaning – barbecue is not just about the cooking! A lot of the process has to do with preparation and planning. This is one element that people forget since they immediately jump to throwing food onto the grill. One of the most commonly neglected areas is cleaning your equipment beforehand. And it’s not just about running a bit of soapy water on the top of your grill. You should make sure to clean every inch of your barbecue after each cooking session. This will help to keep your grill in shape while preventing remnants of past meals from getting into your food.
Not Pre-Heating the Grill – throw on your food too soon and you can end up with uneven cooking or burning. If you have a newer gas grill, most manufacturers recommend that you preheat it as you would an oven. Make sure not to skip this step because it can affect cooking rates and recipes that assume you’ve already preheated your grill. And if you happen to be using a charcoal model, make sure that those coals of turn gray in order to reach optimal temperatures. Otherwise you can end up engulfing all of your food in flames, which turns your barbecue event into pizza night.
A Focus on Meat – Obviously meat is going to be one of the main features of your barbecue meal. Slow cooked ribs, whole chickens, juicy steaks, and scrumptious hamburgers. That’s what barbecue is all about and were not suggesting that you leave these items out. But focusing on meat too much has its downsides as well. For one thing, you have to consider your health. Barbecue isn’t traditionally associated with healthy eating but there’s no reason why you can’t add a bit of variety. And when it comes to the overall experience, you create a much richer meal when you have plenty of side dishes as well.
Easy Options – Another big mistake that most people make these days is opting for easy options that come in the form of pre-frozen food. Remember, barbecue isn’t about forming an assembly line so that you can feed as many people as possible. If you’re opening up bags of frozen burgers and chicken wings just so that you can cook faster, you’re losing a lot of the experience. Take the time to buy fresh cuts of meat from your local butcher or to search for the best organic produce. Spend those hours marinating your food so that flavors come to fruition and you get an authentic taste.
Poking and Prodding – There really isn’t much technique when it comes to cooking on a barbecue. But you definitely have to pay attention and organized nation is key. You have to know different cooking rates of your food and how to space things out properly. You should also avoid the biggest mistake which many rookies make – poking, cutting, flipping, and generally messing with the cooking process. In most cases, all you have to do is let that first side sit until it forms a nice sear, and then turn it over once. That’s not hard at all is it?
Eating too Soon – Your food has come fresh off the grill and you’re ready to dig in. But don’t make the mistake of cutting into your steak to soon. You have to exercise one final bit of patience before you chow down. As with anything cooked in your kitchen, it’s important to let meat rest so that juices can redistribute. This is the final step that many people forget, but it will add a lot more flavor and tenderness to your food if you can just wait it out.
Barbecue is a wonderful family tradition and the people at gasgrillsandbbq.com celebrate it every chance they get. You can visit their website for more advice on cooking techniques or finding the perfect backyard gas grills.