Perfect barbecuing
The secret to successful barbecuing is combining cooking technique, style, flavoring, and best ingredients with the "special" touches each chef adds.
Grill it! : recipes, techniques, tools
Chris Schlesinger & John Willoughby.
New York : DK Publishing, c2008.
Includes index.
BBQ joints : stories and secret recipes from the barbeque belt
David Howard Gelin.
Salt Lake City, Utah : Gibbs Smith, Publisher, c2008.
Includes recipe, people, and places indexes.
Italian grill
Mario Batali Italian Grill with Judith Sutton ; photography by Beatriz da Costa ; art direction by Lisa Eaton and Douglas Riccardi.
New York : Ecco, c2008.
Includes index.
Semi-homemade grilling 2 : sensationally fast flame-seared recipes that taste like they're made from scratch
Sandra Lee.
Des Moines, IA : Meredith Books, c2008.
Sandra is back with more recipes for success. Using the same winning ingredients - food, family and fun - as in her other books, Sandra shares her latest gourmet-tasting, out-of-this-world recipes for any grill in her new must-have cookbook where nothing is made from scratch but everything tastes homemade.
New South grilling : fresh and exciting recipes from the third coast
Robert St. John.
New York : Hyperion, c2007.
Includes index.
The chosen food to cook is placed on a rack over heat. As the meat is grilled, fat and cooking juices are released. These drip over the heat source and then smoke rises up and flavors the food.
Heat sources used for barbecues may vary. Gas barbecue grills run on either propane or natural gas. Charcoal grills use briquettes are made from particles of waste wood processed into charcoal. Some charcoals are now sold as self lighting, meaning that they have a lighter fluid already added. Many chefs believe self lighting charcoal leaves an unpleasant taste in the food so they will not use it for barbequing.
Regardless of heat source used, it is important that the proper cooking temperature be used. Gas grills heat up quickly; charcoal grills can take over 30 minutes for the coals to reach the perfect barbecuing temperature. For grilling thinner pieces of meat, cook at high temperature and fast over direct heat. For roasts and other thicker cut meats, along with many vegetables, use indirect heat (not directly over the coals). That allows the inside to cook to the desired doneness without drying out.
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Barbecuing Tips
Do not leave raw food outside in the sun.
Brush the cooking rack with oil before cooking to prevent food from sticking.
Soak wooden skewers in water before using.
Leave space between food on skewers so that it can cook through thoroughly. |
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Baste food with a sugary glaze during the last 10 minutes to pervent burning.
Have a spray bottle of water handy to put out any flames as they appear. |
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Barbecue tips |
Adding flavorings to the fire can give you meat a distinctive flavor. Several options could include:
- Dry twigs from fruit trees.
- Leaves of fresh herbs such as rosemary, thyme, or bay.
- Almond, walnut, and hazelnut shells that have been soaked in water for 30 minutes.
- Soaked dried seaweed (when cooking fish and shellfish).
- Hickory, mesquite or oak wood chips soaked in cold water for 30 minutes before using.
Marinades, which are oil-based mixtures used to flavor and tenderize meats prior to cooking, help keep them moist while cooking.
All in all, barbecuing should be a fun experience with a great tasting meal as a result. If you want the perfect BBQ--practice, practice, practice. Each grill cooks differently and each type of food needs different preparation. Long before your barbecue make each dish so you can be ready with the best ingredients, technique, and most of all the 'special' touches that make it the 'Perfect BBQ.'
More about barbecuing
Article by: St. Louis Public Library staff.
