Grilling? Avoid These Mistakes And Seize The Day

Last updated on February 2nd, 2017 at 06:44 am

When a barbecue meal goes right, you have the makings of wonderful family memories and unparalleled delicious food. But when things go wrong, it can get bad pretty quickly. We’ve all been guilty of making minor mistakes that might build up to complete disasters. It’s never a fun thing to realize you’ve ruined dinner for your entire family, and sometimes it can even get dangerous.

The great thing about barbecue is that experience allows you to do so much more and it won’t be long before you perfect your overall routine. But until you consider yourself a true grill master, here are some of the absolute worst grilling mistakes you should avoid.

Not keeping your barbecue clean

This can be a rather annoying chore but it’s absolutely essential to keep all of your equipment sparkling clean when it comes to barbecue. You never want built-up grease or grime from your last meal to contaminate whatever your cooking. Some people leave the cleaning process until the day of the barbecue, but you should always make an effort to clean your grill after each cooking session. This ensures the cleanest grill possible that leads to better health and weight tasting food.

Lighting up the grill

If you happen to be using a traditional charcoal grill, you might want to reconsider using lighter fluid. While it might speed up the process, it definitely has the potential to taint the odor and taste of your food. It’s preferable to use traditional coals and an old-fashioned electronic lighter which will obviously require a bit more time. And if you happen to be using a gas grill, things are a bit easier but you have to make sure to preheat your barbecue just like you would in oven. A lot of people make the huge mistake of putting on food too soon which ends up with an evenly coat and burned food.

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Rushing the process

It makes sense that people get excited when it comes to barbecue because you are surrounded by intense temperatures and hoping he’d. But a lot of people underestimate how important patience is to the overall barbecue process. Whether it comes to direct grilling or slow cooking, it’s very important for you to let your barbecue do its job. Don’t try to rush things by putting too much food on at the same time and try to be as organized as possible. Most importantly, stay away from flipping your food too often or cutting into the meat to see if it’s done!

Taking on more than you can handle

Perhaps there is no form of cooking that is more conducive for parties then home grilling. But you have to be realistic about how much you can handle and keep your guest list type. You might be tempted to invite all of your friends and neighbors, but you have to think about tackling things in a practical manner. There’s no worse feeling than realizing you have invited a number of people that is far beyond your grilling capabilities. Start off gradually by feeding your immediate family and extend your routine from there.

Not preparing the meat

A lot of rookies think that home grilling is a simple matter of throwing food onto the barbecue until it’s done. But there are many factors you have to consider before the meat even hits the grill. Always make sure that your meat is properly thawed and you should generally stay away from frozen food altogether. Take the time to flavor the food beforehand and make careful preparations that will enhance the natural taste even more. Chicken and pork are two examples of great meat that absorb lots of flavor, so make sure that you have your homemade marinade handy.

Too much sauce

Sauce is something that you should never take for granted when it comes to barbecue. Unfortunately, some people treat it like paint and proceed to coat every piece of meat with way too much sauce. You should use it liberally as a tool that complements meat rather than overpowering it. You might also want to think about striking out on your own and using a homemade barbecue sauce. The bottled stuff has its purpose, but you can achieve so much more signature flavor by exploring your own personal barbecue sauce recipes. You know you’ve reached barbecue perfection when you have food that no one else can copy

Herbert Kikoy

Surigaonon by birth, Butuanon by heart and now an adopted son of Cebu, Herbert is a hobbyist photographer who focuses on Food, Sports, Travel and Festivals photography.