Barbecue Tips
When it comes to Barbecue, we've been there, done that, now serving 34 tips in 8 categories ranging from Answer User Questions to Vegetables.
Lamb Steak Cooking Tip
You should cook lamb steak on a pre-heated grill for about eight minutes per side.
Individuials who like their steaks rare may prefer their steaks to be cooked for six minutes per side, while those who like their steaks well done will probably want their steaks cooked for nine to ten minutes per side.
Barbecue Grate Cleaning Without Great Effort
There never seems to be a great time to clean the barbecue grill. Right after you cook, it's too hot. By the time it cools down you're too tired. Keeping your grill clean doesn't have to be a burden.
First of all, always spray your grill with a non-stick spray before you heat it up. This will help keep clean up to a minimum. Even when you spray diligently every time you grill, you'll still have some clean up to do.
For everyday clean ups, try using a quality wire barbecue grill brush with a long handle. Scrape the hot grill before you cook and again after cooking. The long handle will keep you from getting burned from the heat.
Some people like to use a grill stone. Bought wherever barbecue supplies are sold, these are basically large pumice stones. When rubbed against the grill, they remove the surface grime, but won't get to the sides like the grill brush will.
Another method is to completely cover your barbecue with tin foil, then light it up and let it run for 30 minutes. When you remove the foil, you'll find that everything has burned off.
You can place some grills in a self-cleaning oven, but only after checking with the manufacturer. Different grills are made out of different materials.
A word to the wise: Some grates are made of porcelain. You should never use an abrasive material (like the grill stone) with porcelain or place these grills in a self-cleaning oven.
Barbecue 'Flare Up' Solutions
Don't let those barbecue flare-ups put out the flame in your heart for outdoor grilling. There are several reasons why barbecues will suddenly flare up, turning your meat to ashes. Luckily, there are also several ways to fight back. Here are some suggestions:
- Move your meat away from the fire by raising the level of your grill. Some flare-ups are natural. By keeping your meat a bit higher, the flames may not reach the grill.
- Use a grade of meat with a bit less fat. Most of the time, it's the dripping fat that causes the flare-ups.
- Use a marinade or barbecue sauce with less sugar. Sugar in the marinade not only attracts the flames, but will burn on the surface of your meat.
- Give the fire a bit less air to feed on by closing the vents down a bit.
Turn Up The Heat In Your Barbeque
One sure fire way to heat up your coals and get them to turn grey is to use a chimney in your barbeque. Chimneys are simply metal tubes. You can buy them wherever barbeque supplies are sold, but you can also make one by taking both ends off of a # ten can. Then follow these easy directions:
- Place chimney in the bottom of your barbeque.
- Place a fire starter like newspaper in the bottom of the chimney.
- Add a few charcoal briquettes and add lighter fluid.
- Fill the rest of the chimney with briquettes.
- Light the barbeque.
- Remove the chimney when the briquettes are grey.
When you first light the barbeque, the fire starter will produce both flames and smoke. The smoke is mainly caused by briquettes that are not completely started. As more of the charcoal becomes lit and heats up, the smoke will begin to subside. Just because there is no smoke, don't think there is no fire. As the fire starts burning more efficiently, there should be little smoke. If you wave your hand above the barbecue, you will be able to feel its heat. And you must have patience. Charcoal can take up to 30 minutes to thoroughly heat up and turn grey. Once your charcoal is thoroughly heated and your chimney carefully removed, you are ready to begin cooking.
Kindling
Take pieces of newspaper and roll them into a long cylindrical shape. Tie the ends in a knot. Place the knots on the fuel grate and cover with twigs or wood scraps. Mound 5-8 coals on top and carefully ignite the newspaper knots. As the coals ignite, add more (15-20) coals. When all coals are hot, use tongs to spread them out evenly over the grate.
Electric Charcoal Starter
An electric charcoal starter is a heating element attached to a handle with a cord that plugs into an electrical outlet. The element is placed with the coals and when it's plugged in, it gets hot enough to ignite the coals touching the element. It takes about 8-10 minutes for all of the coals to become hot.
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| Carma Spence-Pothitt |
