[TIPS] BBQ Hacks – Better, Easier & Tastier
7 Must Haves BBQ Hacks
Must #1: Coals Must Turn Grey
Only when the charcoal has entirely turned to grey ash do you apply meat to grill. Be patient and wait for the charcoal to have gray edges and then spread the charcoal out. When the air hits the charcoals at this point, they will heat up quickly, allowing you to cook your meal. Continue to move things around every few minutes to keep the charcoals burning faster. Allow the air to hit the coals while you are cooking as well.
Must #2: Rub Meat 1 Hour Before Placing On Grill
Dry rubs are a mix of spices and dried herbs and they are rubbed into the meat before cooking. Wet rubs are spice blends mixed with oil. The juices of the meat mix with the herbs and spices, melt them, and they undergo chemical reactions catalyzed by the heat of the fire. A rub may taste too hot when raw, but keep in mind there will be a bite sized piece of food underneath it diluting it.
Rubs can be applied as soon as a few minutes prior to grilling, but the best flavor comes as a result of letting the meat (especially steaks) rest, covered, in the refrigerator overnight or for at least a few hours. Let the meat come to room temperature prior to grilling it.
Read AmazingRibs.com for more.
Must #3: Let Meat Sit for A Few Minutes Before Cutting
The center of the meat becomes supersaturated with liquid during the cooking process. By resting the meat, you allow all that liquid that was forced out of the edges and into the center time to migrate back out to the edges.
Don’t believe. Check out the explanation The Food Labs.
Must #4: Add Wood Chips To Charcoal For Extra Flavor
Both lump charcoal and charcoal briquettes can be used in concert with a variety of smoking chips and chunks.
Soaking wood chips in water also makes them to last a little longer in the charcoal grill fire because they tend to burn quickly. By soaking the chips, they will ‘smolder-smoke’ along as you grill.
Must #5: Know The Cooking Temperature Of The Meat AND Monitor It
Different meat have different cooking temperature. This is because the meat fiber structure is different. The structures determine the strength of tenderness and juiciness (moisture retention). Heat breaks down this structure. The amount of heat and time to break them down is the art and science of cooking (generally speaking for smoking, grilling and barbecuing).
Keep a thermometer handy to monitor the cooking temperature and internal meat temperature to ensure the meat stays within the cooking limits.
Must #6: Go Natural. No Chemicals.
Avoid using chemical fire enhancers on your grill or you could be chowing down on some strange-tasting dinner. Traditional BBQ methods are a safer route to take, since it involves slow cooking of meats over indirect heat.
Must #7: Clean the Grill with an Onion
Make sure the grill is nice and clean to avoid cooking on leftover grease and pieces of char. But heads up—cleaning with metal bristles could leave a few pieces of wire behind. Get your grill really hot to loosen the built-up grime, then start scrubbing (the sliced side of the onion should be face down). The onion will remove all residue and won’t leave the grill with any harsh chemical flavors.
Must #8: You
The one thing to remember when you’re making barbecue, Mixon says, is to “always cook and flavor the barbecue the way you, the pitmaster, like it. Your grill, your yard, your way.”
