BBQ Cooking Tips

In this section of our website we have compiled some helpful tips about cooking on your new barbecue. In no time at all you will be cooking like a professional and be the envy of all your friends. Once you get to know and understand covered cooking on your hooded barbecue, grilling will become easy. All it involves is:

• Searing your food
• Setting your barbecue up for indirect cooking
• Finally closing the hood

You can then relax with family and friends while your steak and sausages cook both sides at once, saving you effort, reducing cooking time and producing a moister, more succulent result.

To ensure success every time follow these 5 steps:

Step 1 - Getting Ready

Grilling can be done on a gas or charcoal barbecue. Ensure that you have all the tools you need before you begin:

• Hooded barbecue
• Sufficient fuel
• Barbecue long handle tongs, or barbecue spatula to turn meat
• Marinades
• Basting brush

Step 2 - Preparing The Food

Although you can start cooking the food directly from the fridge, you get better results with a little preparation.

• Marinating meat is optional but it does tenderise the food, and helps it to remain moist while cooking
• If you intend to marinate the food, do this well before you begin to grill. The longer you marinate the more intense the flavour will be
• There is no need to par boil sausages or spare ribs if using indirect cooking, since the fat drips into a collector pan. Soaking sausages in acidic marinade will also help alleviate the need for par boiling

Step 3 - Cooking

1. Oil the grill and plate
2. Preheat the barbecue till the heat indicator reads hot
3. Sear meats on the barbecue plate prior to placing on the grill. Searing means to seal the outside of the meat by placing on the hotplate for one minute each side. This seals the juices and keeps the meat tender and moist
4. Once seared move the meat to the grill
5. Now turn off the burners below the food off, leaving the burners to the side of the food on, and then closing the lid to allow the heat to circulate. Maintain a moderate temperature while cooking.
6. You should only need to turn the meat once, about halfway through. Resist the temptation to keep turning the meat as this is where a lot of moisture is lost.
7. When turning or handling meat, use tongs or a spatula. Piercing meat with a fork also causes moisture loss.
8. Occasionally base the food with some oil or marinade to replace some of the moisture lost during grilling.
9. Press the meat with tongs to determine how well cooked it is:
   - rare will be a soft touch
   - medium will offer a little resistance
   - well done will be firm when pressed

Step 4 - Caring For Your Barbecue

Once you have finished cooking on your barbecue never leave it uncleaned. The acidity from the meat fat will, with time, corrode the plate and grills.

For best results scrape your grills and plates then leave all burners on high for 5-10 minutes. Turn the burners off, and when the barbecue has cooled down, apply a good coating of Bar-B-Chef 'Nice'n'Easy' barbecue oil

Step 5 - Enjoy

Grilling On An Open Grill Barbecue

You can certainly grill without a covered barbecue. Follow the directions as above, but leave the burners below the food on. Be careful not to have them up too high as this will only burn and dry out the food.

You also need to prevent the food from sticking to the grill or plate. To do this, you don't need to continually turn the food over - simply move it around so it doesn't sit in the one place too long.