An outdoor barbecue party is your best chance to show everyone your cooking and grilling skills. Never been in charge of the grill before? Never fear! Even if this is your first-ever BBQ party then we got you covered with the 5 best tips on how to be the best barbecue party cook….in the world.
1. Make a Plan
BBQ-ing may look like a lazy affair, but trust us, you will be a more efficient cook if you plan your party entrees ahead of time.
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- If you plan to serve vegetables, peel them and cut them the night before. Soak these in water to preserve freshness.
- Prepare sauces ahead of time as well. Place these in microwaveable containers so you can serve these fast and hot.
- Order your meat, poultry or fish ahead of time. Cut and clean these before you store them inside the fridge
2. Perfect your Grilling Techniques
- Grill large vegetables like corn and potatoes by coating these heavily in butter. Sprinkle with salt and wrap in aluminum foil before you place the on the grill.
- When grilling chicken, if you want crispy, delicious skin, rub the with butter or oil and lightly season it. The skin will become nice and crispy.
- Choose steaks with thin strands of fat in between the muscle tissue. These will melt when cooking to make the meat juicier.
- Avoid browning or blackening of grilled meats by applying tomato-based sauces with sugars only during the final 10 minutes of grilling.
- Cook your hamburger until it’s well done. There are more bacteria present in ground beef, so cook it completely to kill bacteria. If you are grilling a large burger patty, use a meat thermometer and make sure that the temperature is not less than 160 degrees in the center of the patty.
- Salt draws away moisture so do not salt to meat before it is cooked to prevent the meat from becoming tough and dry.
3. Marinate Your Meat Well – Use the best vacuum sealer
Marinate meats overnight inside the best vacuum sealer container. A vacuum seal container will keep flavors and moisture in. Marinades do not just flavor meats but also tenderizes them. There are many commercially-made marinades out there but don’t rely on these solely. Use different types of marinades, rubs and seasonings to provide a unique and tempting taste to your grilled food. If you don’t have 24 hours to marinate your meat, soak for at least an hour before cooking.
When cooking frozen meat, do not leave it out of the refrigerator and in room temperature for more than an hour. If you leave uncooked meat on the counter for too long, bacteria can grow and can affect the freshness of meat as well. To thaw frozen meats completely, do it inside the refrigerator.
4. Take Smoking and Grilling to a Whole New Level
Nothing beats the taste and smell of meats cooked in a smoker. And definitely it is not too early to purchase the best pellet smoker 2018. These are available for purchase today.
- Regardless of what type of grill you use, give your grill plenty of time to preheat. You can use a cooking thermometer to check the temperature of the grill or you can simply use your hand. If you cannot hold your hand over the grill grates for more than 2 seconds then the grill is already ready and hot.
- If you are using a smoker, light your charcoal with a chimney starter. This is by far the quickest way to get your coals going, plus you won’t have yucky lighter fumes in your smoker and food as well.
- If cooking with a smoker, reduce the times you open the smoker door. We know how excited you are to check if your meat is cooked but frequently opening the door will affect the temperature and humidity inside the smoker chamber.
- Only have a regular grill? You can still add smokey flavor to your food by lining charcoal on the bottom of one side of the grilling chamber. Use hickory or mesquite wood chips and place these on the top of the hot coals. Your meat should be on the other side of the grill, or on the side away from the coals. Indirect heat will cook your meat well with a smoky flavor.
- To ensure that smoky flavor sticks to your food, keep the lid of your grill closed at all times. Take note that this can increase cooking temperatures and can increase cooking time as well, so be on alert at all times.
- No one wants that nasty fuel taste on food so if you are using lighter fluid, make sure that the fire is completely out before placing your meat on the grill. You can tell that the lighter fluid is completely burned out when the charcoal is mostly gray in color with just a few red embers glowing underneath them.
- To check if meat is cooked, do not pierce meat with a fork because the delicious juices will escape. This can also make meats drier and blander. Use only a spatula or thongs to flip food; do not use prongs or forks.
5. Experiment with Different Barbecue Sauces
Nooooo! Not the same old barbecue sauce on your meat again! Why not test some new flavors, even sauces that you have never thought would be possible with barbecue? There’s teriyaki, chipotle, hot sauce and more. You can make your own sauces from ingredients like brown sugar, paprika, honey, chopped onions, red peppers, lemon juice and so on.
Another way to add rich flavor to your grilled meats is butter. There are a variety of butters that you can brush over your meats as these cook. Bobby Flay loves to us garlic butter, cilantro butter or balsamic-rosemary butter on grilled foods. We don’t always agree with Bobby Flay, but we do always agree with butter.
