Barbeque Brilliance - Don't start cooking till the coals turn white
posted in Kenny's blog on Tue Jul 1 2008With the BBQ season now in full swing (and who can resist the temptation to get the Barbie out in this weather) I am always amazed when the cook puts the meat onto the grill while the flames are still burning or the charcoal is not yet fully alight. Resist the temptation to start cooking prematurely. If the wood coals or bricketts have not yet turned white and you start cooking the result will be excessive “flaming up” as the fat drips onto the coals and, worse still, burned meat on the outside and raw meat on the inside - a serious health hazard. Wait that little bit longer, you probably only need a cooking window of about 20 to 30 mins (assuming you are cooking standard fashion, burgers and sausage and the like – chicken may need longer) and 30 to 40 bricketts will certainly give you that and in most cases a lot more. You are better off cooking the meat for slightly longer on a lower heat than rushing the process. Give it a go!
Comments
#1
Hi Kenny, this is exactly what I have problems with. We had a BBQ at the weekend and I thought the coals were just perfect - they had turned white and I'd resisted my usual urge of putting the meat on too early. But as soon as I put the chicken on the grill...flames everywhere, my chicken was black and crusty - not a good thing. Is it best to move the coals around to make sure they are all the same temp?
I love having BBQs but I don't seem to be a natural at actually cooking on them. :(
I love having BBQs but I don't seem to be a natural at actually cooking on them. :(
posted on on Tue 1st Jul 2008 at 13:27:25 by couteaux
#2
Hi Couteaux, OK the old flaming problem eh! ......Well certainly the coals were still too hot when you started cooking. Give it a bit more time next time. If you are concerned about not having enough time to cook the chicken properly, may I suggest you par-cook it in the microwave first. Just 3 or 4 mins on high power should do it.
This will sound like cheating to the purists but I call it "insurance"- the last thing you want is raw chicken on the bone. Microwaves tend to cook from the inside out and barbeque from the outside in. So it makes life much easier par-cooking the chicken in the micro first. You will still get that authentic barbeque flavour to the meat by finishing it off on the barbie. This will also buy you the extra time just to let that coals go past their hottest point and start to cool down before you start cooking. Doing it this way you will also find that the other meat, sausages and the like, do not get burned as well.