Yes, the weather is starting to improve. This means that weekend getaways are about to begin :) Picnic tables set up from barbecue, meat, fish and wings force us to join them irresistibly. In these days when the desire to have a picnic is ticking, I researched the intricacies of barbecuing for you. There are some useful tips in the article…
Most importantly, when shopping at the butcher, specify that you will grill. Because both the type and cut of the meat to be grilled and boiled or cooked in the oven differ.
Tips for Barbecuing:
1- If you throw a little lemon or orange peel on the charcoal one or two minutes before the meat is cooked, the aroma that will emerge when they are burned gives a very pleasant flavor and smell to your fish and chicken grills.
2- If you slightly wet a few cloves of unpeeled garlic and throw it on the charcoal in the last minute or two of cooking, the aroma of the smoke that will come out when they are burned adds a wonderful flavor to your meats and even grilled vegetables.
3- If you are cooking lamb chops, you can sprinkle the dried rosemary (rozmari) herb, which you will leave to soak in a bowl of cold water for an hour, on the coals while you start cooking, and 'soak' your meat with the smoke that comes out of their burning. The reason you put these herbs in cold water is to retard their burning and make them produce more smoke.
4-Barbecue offers you unlimited opportunities to “cook” or “smok”. The first of these is the method of throwing the chips of some trees that contain aroma on the charcoal. For example, if you can find chips from trees such as cherry, walnut, oak, you can first soak these chips in cold water for an hour and then sprinkle them on the coals to allow them to burn. In this way, the wonderful flavors of these fragrant trees give your meats very different flavors by being smoked. I think you should definitely try it this summer.
5-You can also use fresh herbs for smoking. For example, you can add new smoked flavors to meats by sprinkling fresh thyme, sage, fresh basil or fresh marjoram on charcoal in the last two minutes of cooking. For this, you can take the seeds of these grasses and plant them in your flower pot or garden on the balcony, because these days are the perfect time for this work.
6-If you can clean your wire rack thoroughly and even if you have a separate wire rack, you can grill fruit on it and serve them as dessert. For example, pineapple slices, halved peaches or halved red plums. You can also make a sweet sauce over them by mixing yogurt and honey.
7- On the sides of the barbecue that are not directly exposed to charcoal fire, you can put the vegetables you will pack in aluminum foil on the wire and let them cook by steaming. You can serve these vegetables alongside grilled meats.
8-The technique of steaming in the barbecue is also very suitable for all fish. Again, put the fish and a few lemon slices in the aluminum foil, pack it and leave it to cook slowly on the sides of the barbecue.
9-Removing grill marks on grilled meats and vegetables and ensuring that they are diagonal lozenges gives an image and I think it is very important. To do this: First place the meat or vegetables on the grill at an angle of 45 degrees to you. Halfway through the cooking time, turn them in the opposite direction, this time at an angle of 90 degrees, and place them on the grill again.
10-A 'lubricating' mixture that you will prepare by mixing olive oil, crushed garlic and vinegar is ideal both for lubricating your meats and fish and adding a wonderful flavor. Try.
Barbecue essentials:
Grilling on the barbecue, which is essentially a cooking 'technique', contains certain basic rules, as in every cooking technique. As long as you stick to these rules, which I will list below, the grills you will make on the barbecue are much more successful:
Get organized
Before starting the barbecue process, your coal, kindling, tools, meat, vegetables and flavors you will use while grilling should be prepared in advance. This is the first and foremost way to avoid fuss and error.
Adjust the amount of charcoal well from the beginning
The rule of thumb when grilling is this: The coals should spread ten inches to the left and right from the surface area on which you will cook the food. Instead of adding coal later, follow this rule from the beginning and keep the amount of coal abundant. When igniting coals, avoid using kerosene or chemical igniters. These add an unpleasant odor to your meat and vegetables. They are also harmful to health.
Do not start cooking before reaching high heat
Grilling is a 'high heat' cooking method. Because the heat of the charcoal must be high so that the aroma of the charcoal can transfer to the food and at the same time leave grill marks on the meat and vegetables. The right temperature has been reached when a thin layer of ash covers the coals and embers appear from within. You can also do the following test: Bring your hand closer to the fire at the height of the grill wire. If you can hold your hand there for a maximum of two seconds, the fire has reached high temperature. The heat is low if you can hold it for five seconds, medium if you can hold it for four seconds, and medium-high if you can hold it for three seconds. You cannot cook deliciously without reaching a high heat level.
Keep your grill clean
There is nothing more repulsive than grilling on the remains of old food stuck to the grill wire. Also, if your grill wire is dirty, the food you cook will stick to the wire. For this reason, after the barbecue party is over, it is necessary to scrape the grill wire/iron with a wire brush and wash it thoroughly with soap and remove it. At the same time, before you start cooking, you should wash and dry it again and put it on the barbecue.
Grease the grill wire
To prevent meat, fish or vegetables from sticking to the grill iron, you should always oil the wire before you start work. For this, you can oil a folded paper kitchen towel and rub it on the wire with a long tongs, or you can dip a halved onion in olive oil and grease the grill wire with a long fork. Onion, albeit very mildly, will add an aroma to the wire.
Do not turn your meat with a fork
In particular, turn steaks, tenderloins and chops using only tongs. Because if you turn the meat with a fork, the delicious water in the meat will come out through the holes made by the fork and you will have to eat a tasteless, dried meat or chicken. Also, you should not overcook and dry your meats. Meat should be at least medium-done and somewhat juicy. Otherwise, what you eat is no different from a piece of wood.
While your meat is cooking, apply oil or sauce on it.
It may be a good idea to marinate them with different mixes to give the meat or chicken a different flavor. In addition, while the meat is cooking, it is necessary to grease it with olive oil using a brush from time to time and even to apply the marinade mixture on them from time to time. It is important to pay attention to the following point here: If the sauce you are going to apply, for example, is the 'BBQ' (BBQ) sauce sold in the markets, you should apply this delicious sauce on the meat towards the very end of cooking. Because if you put this and similar sauces containing sugar early, the sugar will burn and caramelize and this will spoil the flavor of the meat.
Cook thick meat with the lid closed
If you like to eat your steaks or tenderloins thick, or if you are going to cook a whole chicken, then 'indirect' cooking on the barbecue will give better results. In this method, the coals are on both sides of the barbecue, and the wire mesh is right in the middle. In other words, the heat of the coals does not come from the bottom and directly to the food, but indirectly from the sides. When you want to cook thick meat with this method, you should cook with the lid of the barbecue closed (if any). You should not forget that every time you open the lid, 5-10 minutes will be added to your cooking time.
Let the meat rest for a few minutes after cooking.
During cooking, the juices of the meat are collected in the middle of the meat. If you let them rest on the cutting board for a minute or two and then serve, you will ensure that these juices are redistributed to all the inner tissues of the meat, which greatly enhances the flavor.
10. Never abandon your position
The barbecue technique is one of the easiest cooking techniques. But it still requires constant attention. This is both for the taste and correct cooking of the cooked material, and for the prevention of a possible danger. Therefore, after starting the barbecue business, if possible, do not leave the barbecue.