The central element of cozy summer evening meals is grilling, which simultaneously adds a special flavor to prepared meals and to social or family life. However, it is not enough to put the ingredients on the grill, there are some practices that should be followed in order to get the best, tastiest results.
What device do you have?
The charcoal grill is the classic version, and the most common devices also come from this category. Charcoal gives food its characteristic flavor that cannot be achieved in the oven. A step forward if you choose a grill with a folding top, the food will soften faster without burning. With a gas grill, you don’t have to worry about setting the fire, you can bake with it at an even temperature, but you may miss that certain extra flavor. On the balcony, however, it can be useful so that the smoke does not disturb the other residents. The electric grill can do the same and can even be used indoors because it takes up little space. It will serve you well when the weather is cooler or rainier.
However, what you have to pay attention to with all types is that the grill device is stable and horizontal. Do not even accidentally have any flammable material near it, and for safety’s sake, prepare a bucket of water there when baking!
What should the fire be like?
If you put the ingredients on an open flame, they will burn, so light the charcoal 35-40 minutes before baking. Always put the things to be baked on the grill when the fire is just smoldering. In this case, the embers glow red and their surface is covered with thin, gray ash. If we think it’s still too hot, we push the embers apart a little with a stick, and if we want to raise the heat a little, we dig them up. There are foods that can be placed in aluminum foil directly into the cooling ashes. Potatoes, for example, will have a wonderful taste this way, which can be made crazy with a little sour cream, cheese and fried bacon.
Let’s get ready for the barbecue!
Almost anything can be grilled, from various meats to cheeses to vegetables and fruits. If you don’t have a lot of time to prepare, it’s worth buying foods that are specifically recommended for grilling, be it cheese, grilled sausage, bacon or berner, which is a hot dog with a high meat content, pre-cooked to a crisp, wrapped in bacon and prepared directly for grilling. It is enough to grill the berner for six to seven minutes, during which the bacon will not separate from the hot dog. And we really don’t have to worry about anything, all we have to do is to take the irresistible hot dogs from the grill to the plates.
If we have more time, let’s pickle it! Meat for 2-6 hours, fish for one, and vegetables for half an hour. Don’t overdo the marinade so that the flavor of the meat comes through. Do not add salt, as it dries out the meat. Also, make sure that the pickling is done in a container whose material does not react with the food in it. A glass container, for example, is ideal for this. If possible, use fresh and not frozen meat, and take it out of the refrigerator before baking so that it is at room temperature. Slightly fattier meats cook really well on the grill, leaner ones dry out more easily and become chewy. But not if we wrap them in bacon, which even gives them an extra flavor! The meat slices should not be much thicker than 1-1.5 cm, otherwise they will not cook well.
We make our work easier if we prepare all the food and tools near the grill. Soak the skewers in water for at least half an hour before baking. Grease the grill grate with oil or rub it with bacon before putting it on the fire and putting the meat on it. This way, it will stick less and the flavor will get additional benefits from the bacon.
Let the baking come!
You don’t have to constantly turn the meat slices, just once when the meat turns white from the heat. Do not poke or press during baking, as it will dry out. Just turn it with a spatula or tweezers. If the meat is hard when pressed in the thickest part, it is ready, and the fish is ready when the meat is no longer translucent. A lower temperature and a shorter cooking time are enough for vegetables, so grill them on weaker coals on the upper grill grate, because if they are overcooked, they will taste bitter. Feel free to experiment with fruits, such as apples, pears, and peaches, they are also very delicious grilled as sweets or wrapped in bacon as a savory dish. The point is not to put too many things on the grill at once, because then they will steam instead of roasting!
And the best program of the summer: the evening bacon roast!
Here, too, the rule is to sit around the flickering fire, not to keep the spit on a high flame. Choose high-quality bacon, the slightly meatier, thicker slices will be the winners. This summer, there is also an applewood-smoked version on the market, which is worth trying, because the flavor is a little different from the classic beechwood-smoked ones. Next to the bacon, onions or sausage can be put on the skewer, this time with fresh white bread, on which the professionals occasionally drizzle the melted bacon fat. Let’s eat a lot of tomatoes and peppers on the side so that we don’t throw away healthy nutrition. And what we should pay attention to in all circumstances is to put out the fire completely before they leave!
Source: www.patikamagazin.hu
