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Perfect barbecuing

The secret to successful barbecuing is combining cooking technique, style, flavoring, and best ingredients with the "special" touches each chef adds.

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America's best BBQ : 100 recipes from America's best smokehouses, pits, shacks, rib joints, roadhouses, and restaurants
Ardie A. Davis & Paul Kirk.
Kansas City : Andrews McMeel Pub., c2009.
Two of the world's top barbecue experts present 100 of their favorite barbecue restaurant recipes from across America, along with tips, techniques, photos, and memorabilia from the best smokehouses, roadhouses, and rib joints. Full-color photographs.
     
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Great year-round grilling in the Midwest : the flavors--the culinary traditions--the techniques
Ellen Brown.
Guilford, Conn. : Lyons Press, c2009.
This is one of five volumes in a series of books that celebrates the diversity of American regional cooking by exploring its flavors as they relate to grilled food. Each of the five volumes contains more than 300 recipes (including variations), and is proof of the old adage that "everything tastes better when cooked outdoors."
     
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Grilling basics : a step-by-step guide to delicious recipes
Linda Johnson Larsen ; photographs by Debi Harbin.
Guilford, CT : Globe Pequot Press, 2009.
More than 70% of American households own a gas or charcoal grill. If only most grilling cookbooks weren't unwieldy tomes whose layouts overlook the realities of backyard grilling! "Knack Grilling Basics c"ombines instruction and recipes in sumptuous spreads that help readers easily build their skills. In addition to 100 great recipes for chicken, steak, burgers, veggies, and kabobs, Linda Johnson Larsen discusses gas versus charcoal grills, including the difference in taste, convenience, and price. And she covers all the new gadgets--such as wok grills, grill toppers, corncob baskets, rib racks. Sidebars describe shortcuts, how to use convenience foods, useful tools, simple variations, additions like sauces and rubs, and make-ahead tips. - 100 recipes plus 250 variations- 350 full-color photos- Covers both gas and charcoal grills- Step-by-step photography for every recipe
     
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25 essentials : techniques for grilling
Ardie A. Davis.
Boston, Mass. : Harvard Common Press, c2009.
Barbecue expert Davis shows how to master the perfect burger, grill on a plank, cook a whole fish, and much more. With this book's full-color photos and recipes, learning to grill has never been so delicious.
     
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Emeril at the grill : a cookbook for all seasons
Emeril Lagasse ; with photography by Steven Freeman.
New York, NY : Harperstudio, c2009.
From Food Network star and celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse comes this work in anew series of accessible cookbooks--just in time for Father's Day.
     

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.

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.

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.

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