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Barbecuing Techniques

We discuss different methods of cooking food on a barbecue.

Author: Scott L Morris

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Barbecuing Techniques 2

There are three basic methods of cooking food on a barbecue; they will differ in line with how muchpatience is called for from you, the chef, however the one thing they have in common is always that when done correctly, the final results are excellent.

Direct Grilling

It is the easiest and most commonly-used way of barbecuing in the UK and involves the direct application of heat to food.

When the charcoal has stopped flaming and turned white (about 20-30 minutes following lighting), it can be spread smoothly beneath the grill, providing a uniform heat to all areas.

The food is positioned on the grill, and, to prevent any burning, will need to be turned many times throughout the cooking process.

Here is a tip: utilize tongs rather than a fork to turn the burgers etc

By using tongs you are able to turn the meat devoid of piercing it which means, a) the food will always be moist as well as tender, and b) people keep away from flare-ups as the hot fat ignites on contact with the hot coals.

After the meals are prepared you can serve immediately but if you need to ensure that it stays warm, you have two options.

You could possibly maintain a spot beneath the grill free of charcoal or you might place several layers of aluminium foil close to the barbeque grill and employ it so that you can 'park' the cooked food and keep it warm.

Indirect Grilling

This technique remains barbecuing within the sense that it's dry and also relatively high heat, but as the food is not positioned directly above the flame the actual cooking is definitely longer and larger sized cuts of can be barbecued.

For this, you will need a Charcoal Barbecue having a cover.

When the charcoal is prepared, do not spread it around equally but keep it to one side of the Barbecue grill and place a metal dish to act like a drip tray under the main part of the barbeque grill area.

Place the food on the grill across the tray and shut the lid.

This technique approximates the working of the kitchen oven.

It takes more hours but the pay-off is always that the meat is going to be tender and get cooked more equally (although in order to ensure that, you should turn the meat once during cooking.

Either that or arrange the charcoal in a ring encircling the cooking area).

Another advantage with this technique is that when proceedings are under way you can take it easy as well as join the party for a while, in contrast to direct grilling which demands your continuous supervision.

Another tip: although this means of cooking certainly lends itself to big joints of meat or whole chickens (not so much a Sunday roast as the Sunday Charcoal Barbeque) it also can be useful for sausages that, as a result of the fat content, could be problematic when direct grilling.

Finally, if you really have to have that somewhat blackened, 'barbecued' appearance, you can always put the food straight over the hot coals for some minutes once it's cooked.

Smoking

Alright, getting actually slower at this point.

Smoking is a traditional barbecuing technique in the Southern United states and entails no direct heat to the food at all.

Actually, in most smoker Barbeques the fire is actually found in a separate box to the side of your main, enclosed cooking chamber.

The temperature around the food is fairly low (about two-thirds that of a conventional grill) and the cooking is done through exposing the food to hot smoke moving through the chamber instead of flames and also direct heat.

The actual smoke comes from damp real wood pellets or even chips which are added onto the fire box when the charcoal is ready (covered in that white ash).

The actual talent is two fold.

First, you have to maintain the smoke moving through if it is actually caught inside the cooking chamber the food will obtain a bitter, creosote-y taste; keep the air vents open free circulation.

Second, you should maintain the temperature at the right level; many specialist smokers possess a gauge on the lid allowing easy checking.

The results will have a definite smoky flavour and potentially end up being really tender due to the long cooking time.

Different types of wood chips provide different-tasting smokes and may be chosen to suit the food, for instance, applewood chips to go with pork.

A further possibility, in case you are in the mood for an experiment, is that instead of soaking the wood chips in water in advance, you could attempt beer or wine.

Although the market is full of specialist smokers barbecues, provided that your regular barbecue has a lid, you can try smoking.

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Automotive, Plumbing, BBQ's Woodburning Stoves

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