Get Barbecuing

By / Magazine / May 26th, 2010 / 2

Although some of us are diehards and just simply refuse to put the grill to bed for the winter, there’s still nothing like barbecuing when the temps are warm and the sun is shining. For those of you who may just now be in the process of dusting off the barbecue, Tidings brings you a mini-refresher course on getting your grill into top shape and your technique the best it can be.

• Give your barbecue a good cleaning. Whether it uses charcoal or gas, light it up, put the grill in place and let it burn. Once it’s hot, use a thick grill brush to scrape away any cobwebs.

• Check the bottom of a charcoal barbecue and the connections of a gas barbecue for holes or rust.

Once your barbecue is clean and ready to go, check out these tips for getting the most out of your grill.

• Season meat before it is put on the barbecue. The seasoning pulls some of the moisture to the surface and caramelizes, which creates a wonderful flavour.

• For steak or shrimp, that require little cooking time, high heat should be used. High heat locks-in the juices. This is mostly for meat served medium rare or less with a total cook time of about 12 minutes.

• Poking or puncturing meat on the barbecue should be avoided at all costs. Piercing the meat makes a hole in the sealed crust that allows juice to escape. Gently turn the protein with a pair of tongs to avoid any puncturing.

• Flip only once. When raw meat is placed on the barbecue, moisture is forced to the other side of the meat. Flipping once drives some of the juices back into the meat, towards the centre, keeping the food moist. But if there are multiple flips, more moisture is lost in the long run.

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