Barbeques Galore Billabong Instructions Manual - Cooking Hints
18
It’s easy to keep your food moist and succulent on a barbeque by following these
guidelines:
• Use tongs instead of a fork when turning meat and poultry. A fork pierces the
fl
esh and causes
the juice to seep out.
• Resist the temptation to keep turning meat over. Juices tend to rise to the top of a piece of meat
and then settle. Each time you turn the meat over, the juices are lost. It’s better to quickly sear
the meat on each side (about half a minute) then with the burner controls down near low, leave
the meat cook on one side at a time, turning once only before serving.
• If you like salt with your food, try adding it at the end instead of before or during cooking. Salt
draws the natural moisture out of the food and dries it out.
• Baste food with light marinade or canola oil a couple of times while cooking, though watch out
for excessive
fl
are-up if too much oil is used.
• Using a roasting hood as outlined later in these instructions is an excellent way to preserve
moisture and succulence and takes the hard work out of barbeque cooking.
Keeping Your Food Moist
Other Useful Tips
Cooking Hints
You don’t need to be an expert to serve up a tasty, good looking meal. Try these ideas:
• Although cooking on the plate looks easier, cooking on the grill gives you a more authentic
barbeque
fl
avour. Natural juices drip onto the
fl
ame tamer and then vapourise, with the vapours
penetrating back into the food.
• As an alternative to simply grilling, try marinating your meat,
fi
sh, poultry or vegetables
fi
rst.
The longer you leave the food to stand in the marinade, the more thoroughly the
fl
avour will
soak through. Several pre-made marinades are available and good recipes are easy to come
by. It is best to leave food standing in the refrigerator.
• If you use a tomato or sugar based sauce for basting, apply it in the last 5-10 minutes of cooking.
Using these sauces over a longer period of time will result in over-browning.
• To prevent meat from curling, slash the remaining fat at roughly 5cm intervals, taking care not
to cut into the meat.
• Avoid burning or charring food as this has been shown to be unhealthy. Don’t leave cooked
food standing for too long before eating.
Great chefs will tell you that most meats need to “rest” away from the heat of the barbeque
before slicing for a few minutes to allow the moisture pushed to the surface to redistribute. If
you don’t rest the meat, moisture that has pooled near the surface will run out and the rest of
the roast will be quite dry.
Use the few minutes while resting the meat to open the barbeque hood, turn all burners to high
for 2 or 3 minutes to burn off food residue. After 3 minutes, turn the barbeque OFF. While the
cooking surfaces are still hot, take a long handled brush or scraper and remove remaining oil and
food residue. You should use an oven mitt to avoid burns. 3 minutes now will save 30 minutes
next barbeque.
Always remember to switch the barbeque OFF once you are finished cooking.