Who doesn’t love a good BBQ? Out the backyard in summer with friends and family. If you want a perfect BBQ here are 4 must-follow rules, to get it right every time.
4 Rules for a Perfect BBQ
BBQ Rule #1
Keep the lean cuts juicy
A great marinade is a marvellous thing. But there is an even simpler way to ensure that lean cuts like pork loin, chicken breast and prawns come off the barbecue juicier, more tender and seasoned all the way through.
Brining, and submerging pork, chicken, turkey or prawns in water enriched with salt and sugar helps to season the flesh from the inside out while plumping it up with moisture.
How long should you brine?
The answer depends on the protein. Unshelled prawns take just 30 minutes, while pork chops and chicken parts need an hour or two.
A pork shoulder or whole chicken or turkey should soak overnight.
You can change the flavour by customising your brine with additional seasonings.
No time for energy for a full brine? Just sprinkle rock or sea salt all over chicken, pork or turkey a few hours before grilling.
BBQ Rule # 2
Deploy spice rubs for flavour
There’s no faster way to bring flavour to your barbecued food than by using a spice rub. Most spices are nearly kilojoule-free vessels for powerful antioxidants.
Making a rub a healthier option than a heavy sauce. But you don’t need to sue additive-laden shop-bought rubs; a true king of the barbecue develops his own spice blends.
Start with three basic ingredients: salt (rock or sea salt), sugar (light brown) and black pepper (fresh cracked, please).
Then you can tweak as you see fit.
Cumin, chilli powder and cayenne are classics, but why not venture further afield?
Try these barbecue-friendly spices, ground fennel seed for pork, cracked coriander on meaty fish like barramundi, and smoked chilli powder for steaks.
Our favourite barbecue spice of all, smoky Spanish paprika, adds a savoury spin to everything from chicken thighs to sweet potatoes.
BBQ Rule #3
Vegetables international
Standard barbecuing practice for vegetables dictates the following formula.
Coat with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and barbecue until soft.
It’s not a bad blueprint, but it misses out on the enormous opportunity to use the barbecue to transform vegetables into something far more exciting.
To break the monotony, try exotic but supermarket-friendly flavourings like Thai green curry paste.
North African harissa paste, spicy Vietnamese chilli paste, tangy Chinese hoisin and savoury Japanese miso.
Mix a spoonful into your sauce of choice and their robust ingredients will add plenty of flavour with minimal kilojoules. A perfect incentive to pile your plate with lots of veg.
Case in point, our global take on grilled corn. Mix equal parts softened butter and miso for a savoury spread that, because you need less of it has fewer kilojoules than butter alone.
BBQ # 4
Make salads sizzle
If you’re using your Barbie just to sear steaks and char chicken, you’re missing out on some of its greatest virtues.
The open flame concentrates flavours and creates new textures in fresh produce. There are two healthy ways to make the most of it.
- Use fruits and vegetables (charred shitake mushrooms, blistered capsicums, even barbecued fruit). To ratchet up the flavour in your salad in your salad. A salad of barbecued peaches with rocket, goat’s cheese, prosciutto and toasted almonds deserves to be in your rotation.
- Instead of pairing meat or fish with baked potatoes, turn it into a protein-based salad. Pair barbecued chicken with cherry tomatoes, green beans, pine nuts and balsamic vinaigrette or toss barbecued tuna with asparagus capers olives and honey-mustard dressing.
That’s it really, four very simple rules for a perfect BBQ every time. They also work as well on Charcoal grills as they do on gas BBQs’,s
