Barbecuing is officially recognized as an art and a science. But in the modern food arena, barbecue grilling has become a serious competitive sport. Grilling experts have exhibited their BBQ culinary skills at summer fairs and festivals across the country for decades.
Master and would-be master grillers now get to showcase their grill skills using commercial BBQ equipment while competing on cooking and barbecuing TV game shows. Want to make mouth-watering BBQ like the pros? It’s easy. Just avoid these common BBQ grilling rookie errors.
Don’t Forget To Clean Your Barbecue Regularly
Although this seems like an obvious grilling prerequisite, many novice grillers do not realize that charred remnants from the past meal will likely impact the flavor of the food currently grilling. Most barbeque-ers prefer to clean the grill while it is hot after use, but it is still wise to clean it before the next grilling adventure.
Cleaning a grill will often likely meet the manufacturer’s maintenance guidelines, which typically results in a potential extension of the BBQ’s expected life span by keeping it in great condition. Plus, a clean grill is the safest to use. Fortunately, there are some nifty grill and BBQ cleaning tools that can be used to keep your grill looking and working great –
- Grill Brushes – these brushes are designed explicitly with steel-bristle brushes for tough jobs. These grill brushes are available in a variety of sizes.
- A Scraping Tool – a BBQ scraping tool loosens residual grease throughout, etc.
- BBQ Cleaning Sprays – these cleaning sprays are made to clean various surfaces, including stainless steel, enamel, or cooking grates.
- Drip Pans – these pans can be placed at the grill bottom to collect grease – for easy disposal.
Don’t Use Lighter Fluid to Light Coals
Lighting charcoals using lighter fluid is likely to be the most effective way to add a chemical aftertaste to what would have been delicious BBQ cuisine. Forget the lighter fluid and try one of these methods that start a grill without adding a nasty chemical aftertaste.
- Charcoal Chimney Starter
- The Looflighter Method
- The Electric Charcoal Starter
- Paraffin Wax, to name a few.
Always Preheat The Grill To Desired Temperature Before Cooking
A grill, like an oven, should be at the proper temperature before you begin cooking, and not doing so is simply failing to follow the recipe’s instructions. A cold grill cannot create the smokiness BBQ meat requires, plus a cold BBQ grate will fail to make the desired sear marks. And, food is also more likely to stick to a cold grate – which adds to cleanup tasks.
Don’t Guess When Meat Is Fully Cooked
Cooking times provided in recipes are considered tested and recommended guidelines. But, ideally, they should be used as a guide because not every grill cooks at a consistent temperature. The best, most reliable way to know if your BBQ is cooked to perfection is to use a digital thermometer that measures the internal temperature of food.
Keep the Grill Lid Closed During Cooking
There are a few important reasons to keep the grill lid shut during cooking.
- The grill’s temperature, like an oven’s, changes when the lip/door is opened.
- An enclosed grill allows smoke to circulate and infuse the food, creating tastier, juicier results.
- Food cooks fastest with a closed lid, which can help save time.
