Barbecuing Techniques

By Author: Fliss Hyett
Total Articles: 7
Comment this article

Barbecuing Techniques 2

There are actually three basic methods of cooking food on the barbecue; they will differ in line with the amount ofpersistence is required from you, the chef, however the one thing they have in common is always that if done correctly, the final results are fantastic.

Direct Grilling

This can be the least difficult and most commonly-used method of barbecuing in the UK and involves the direct application of heat to food.

Once the charcoal has quit flaming and converted white (about 20-30 minutes following lighting), it is spread evenly below the , providing a uniform temperature to all places.

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

Here is a word of advice: make use of tongs rather than a fork to turn your burgers etc

With tongs it is possible to turn the meat with no piercing it which means, a) the food will always be moist as well as tender, and b) you avoid flare-ups as the hot fat ignites on contact with the coals.

Once the food is prepared you ...
... can serve right away but if you need to keep it warm, you've got two options.

You can maintain an area underneath the barbeque grill clear of charcoal or you might put several layers of aluminium foil near the grill and use it to help 'park' the cooked food and keep it heated.

Indirect Grilling

This process is still grilling in the feeling that it's dry and also rather high heat, yet as the food is not located directly above the flame the actual cooking time is usually longer and larger cuts of meat can be barbecued.

For this, you will need a Charcoal Barbecue with a lid.

Once the charcoal is ready, do not spread it around equally but keep it to one side of the grill and place a metal dish to act like a spill tray under the main area of the grill area.

Position the food on the Barbecue grill above the tray and close up the cover.

This method approximates the working of a kitchen oven.

You will need added time but the pay-off is that the meat will be tender and have cooked additionaly uniformly (although to guarantee that, you need to turn the meat once during cooking.

Either that or set up the charcoal in a ring surrounding the cooking area).

Another advantage of this method is that when proceedings are under way you can hang out and join the party for a while, unlike direct grilling which requires your constant supervision.

One more word of advice: evidently this means of cooking definitely lends itself to large joints of meat or even entire chickens (not so much a Sunday roast as the Sunday Gas Barbecue) it also works well for sausages which, as a result of the fat content, can be problematic when direct grilling.

Finally, should you need to have this somewhat blackened, 'barbecued' appearance, you can always place the food straight over the hot coals for some minutes once it's cooked.

Smoking

Okay, getting even slower at this point.

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

Actually, in many smoker bbqs the fire is in fact contained in a separate box to the side of your primary, enclosed cooking chamber.

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

The actual smoke originates from damp real wood pellets or even chips that are added to the fire box once the charcoal is ready (covered in that white ash).

The actual skill is two fold.

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

Second, you have to keep up the temperature with the right level; many specialist smokers possess a gauge on the lid allowing easy monitoring.

The results may have a distinct smoky flavour as well as potentially be very tender due to the long cooking time.

Different types of wood chips offer different-tasting smokes and may be picked to suit the food, for example, applewood chips to go with pork.

Another possibility, if you are in the mood for an experiment, is that rather than soaking the wood chips in water beforehand, you could attempt beer or wine.

Although the market is full of specialist smokers bbqs, so long as your regular bbq includes a lid, you can try smoking.