8 Tips for Great Tasting BBQ

It is no secret that people all over the United States love to make and eat barbecue. The country is home to four kinds of BQ; Texas, Kansas City, Carolina, and Memphis. Whether you prefer Memphis over Texas or to use a charcoal basket to make your brisket, there are some things you can do to make it all taste great.

  1. Start with the age-old question, charcoal or gas? There are a number of factors in play when people talk about which method is better than the other. These are cost, convenience, and flavor. Some people think using a system with a charcoal basket is even healthier while others insist gas cooking is the healthy option. There is no research to bear either idea out. Using a BBQ pit smoker with a charcoal basket will give you a much richer taste that is smokier than you get with gas.
  2. Take your time and preheat your equipment. It only takes between 15 and 25 minutes and the results speak for themselves. Before you add your meat, you need to make sure your grill has reached the right temperature for your desired flavor. If you prefer to do things low and slow, you need the grill to reach a temperature between 250 and 300 degrees. For medium, you need to get the grill from 300 degrees to 350 degrees. For dishes that need high heat, set it to between 400 degrees and 450 degrees. When you use only grills that have been preheated you ensure all bacteria are killed, the meat will be instantly seared and retains its moisture and flavor.
  3. Get the right charcoal. If you are looking to use a method with a charcoal basket, you need to get charcoal that has no additives. There are a number of things that can be placed in charcoal bricks. Some of the less savory are sodium nitrate, borax, lighter fluid, paraffin, and sawdust. When you get charcoal that is only made from charred wood, your food will have a better flavor.
  4. Brush off your grill when it is hot. As you use your grill, it will become more and more covered with debris from your cooking. The absolute best time to clean it is after you have preheated the grill. At this point, you need to take a wire brush and get off the debris before you add your meat or chicken. If you also brush off the grill when you are done cooking, you can keep the debris build-up from getting to be too much.
  5. Use oil on your grill. No matter how clean your grill is, meat can still become stuck to it. Once your grill has been heated and cleaned, you can use tongs to apply vegetable oil on the grill with a paper towel that has been soaked in it. It may be tempting to just spray the grill with oil spray but you should never do that.
  6. Get the right sauce and marinate your meats with it. The right marinate can pack your meat with flavor. This can also protect people from carcinogenic heterocyclic amines (HCAs) from forming on your meat. This can cut HCA formation from between 92% and 99%, according to the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR).
  7. Keep the fire where you need it to be. As your meats cook, grease can drip onto the flames. This can cause your fire to flare up. This will change the taste of the meat and expose people to eat it to dangerous HCAs. The best way to keep your fire under control is to use lean meat without a lot of fat. Another way to tame your fire is to use a squirt bottle filled with water and spray your fire if it acts up.
  8. Wait a few minutes before serving your meats. Take them off of the grill and set on a platter. Cover or tent this with some tin foil. If you wait about ten minutes, you will allow the juices in the meat to distribute themselves throughout the meat and make the flavor pop.

Americans love to grill their food. There is even a National Barbecue Day that takes place every July 13. These tips can really help your BBQ taste great.

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