Top BBQ Tips For The Perfect Summer From a Grilling Expert
We love everything about the summer: the longer days and warmer nights, the gentle breeze through our hair, the picnics, the BBQ’s and the late lunches in the garden or on the terrace. The seasonal foods that are just bursting with flavour and enhanced with a good glug of olive oil and a pinch of salt or smoked to perfection on the grill. But - it’s not always that easy. Grilling can actually cause a lot of problems, arguments, and a lot of wasted food - which makes our hearts (and bellies) sad. So, we have grilled one of the leading grill experts - Nichole Dailey, the Chef de Cuisine at Traeger Grills for her top tips in achieving BBQ perfection this summer. Traeger Grills are the Salt Lake wood-fired grilling experts who have literally revolutionised BBQ grilling over the last 30 years (that’s a lot of burgers and bangers!) so, we know we are leaving you in good hands. So sit down, grab a drink and enrol in this short masterclass and we will have you grilling like a pro in no time. Looking for some grill-iant recipes (no, too far?) to try your new skills on, check these delicious recipes out after.
Preheat For Perfect Results (Every time)
Regardless of your device (gas grill, or wood fired grill) we find that not allowing it to preheat before grilling can have the biggest impact on the results of your final dish. To achieve the best cook, it is important to give your grill adequate time to heat up, which means paying close attention to your temperature gauges. We recommend between 10 – 15 minutes before placing food on the grill.
Check Your Temperature Zones
It is easy for grills with a direct heat source (i.e. gas and charcoal) to have hot spots on the grates over the flames due to a lack of heat dispersion across the entire grill grate surface. That means you’ll have to watch all your food closely for even cooking and is why you need to flip and rotate food often in these older technology grills. Wood fired grills have the added advantage of indirect heating, which means your temperature will be the same along the surface of the grill grates, front to back and side to side, which in turns help cook all the food evenly at the same time without the fear of flare-ups. Still a bit unsure - some grills, like ours, come with a probe that allows you to monitor the internal temperature of meat you are cooking, or you can purchase one separately.
Preparation Is Everything
Make sure you have your grilling basics ready before you start. You will need a selection of the right tools to hand. I recommend:
- A good chopping board
- A really sharp chef’s knife
- A good pair of tongs - more than one if you are catering for dietary requirements or allergies
- Two spatulas – one smaller and a bigger one for flipping burgers and bigger items - again, more than one if you are catering for dietary requirements or allergies
- A microplane for grating everything from citrus to cheese and chocolate and everything in between
It’s also worth making sure you have store cupboard essentials like olive oil, pepper, good quality salt, plenty of garlic and rubs and marinades, close to hand, to enhance the flavours you are cooking with.
Season, Season, Season
This is a skill that comes down to personal preference and one that takes practice but here are some of my top tips:
Season at every stage of the cooking process, tasting along the way.
Use your fingers to handle seasoning vs. measuring spoons. This and tasting along the way allows you get the feel for how salt affects whatever you are cooking.
Season from high, about a foot above the ingredient, to ensure an even layer. Seasoning lower can create pockets of concentration
Play around with it and most importantly TASTE. Try different methods and amounts until you find what you prefer. In the words of a former Chef friend of mine “When you think it’s perfect, add a pinch more.”
Remember that salt draws water out of ingredients so seasoning different ingredients should occur at different times.
- Salads should be seasoned last minute so as not to wilt the lettuce
- Seasoning vegetables too early can pull too much moisture out causing them to steam instead of roast preventing them from getting any caramelization. And caramelization = flavour.
- Most proteins can be seasoned in advance depending on their size. Larger cuts of beef and pork can benefit from seasoning the day before, Steaks 30 minutes to an hour before, Whole chicken the day before and Chicken breast and Fish Filets right before cooking.
More Than Meat
While meat might be the first thought of many when it comes to planning the perfect grilling menus, it’s important to remember that BBQing can bring out the best in vegetables too. Wood fired flavour does amazing things to all veggies. For more tender vegetables the hot and fast approach works wonders. It gives you beautiful caramelization and grill marks while keeping them firm and fresh. I always use a little bit of fat (olive oil, avocado oil, butter, etc.) to encourage caramelization - about 1 tbsp per ½ kg is a great rule of thumb. Keep seasonings simple to let the natural flavour of the veggies you're roasting really shine.
Slow roast root vegetables to tenderize them and develop deep rich flavours. Smoke tomatoes, onions, garlic and peppers for a rich warm salsa.
For smaller sized vegetables or larger quantities of vegetables I like to use a sheet tray lined with parchment for easy cleaning and easy transfer on and off the grill, making sure to spread vegetables an inch or so apart to encourage browning. Larger vegetables can go straight on the grill grate for great marks and colouring!
Finally, roast tender vegetables (asparagus, peppers, cauliflower) at a higher temp (220°C) to get even browning – they only need about 15 minutes at this high heat to cook through. Tougher and root vegetables (carrots, butternut squash, potatoes) can go on at a lower temp (180°C) as they will have a longer cook time, around 25-30 minutes or more depending on the size.
Timing Is Key
When you’re planning your meal, work backwards from the serve time to find the start time. For quick, weeknight meals find recipes that are equal (or similar) in both cook time and temperature to keep things simple!
Larger cuts (brisket, pork butt and ribs) require a bit of a dance shuffling grill space, cook times and temperatures. These cuts all benefit from a nice, long rest after coming off the grill. Take advantage of the open grill space, increase the temperature and cook the sides. Keep the sides to a cook time of 30 minutes to an hour for as this is the perfect rest time for these cuts.
Add In (Flavoured) Wood Pellets To Enhance Flavour
Think of pellets as another ingredient in your dish. They bring an earthiness and smokiness to your dish, but flavoured ones offer a different profile. Fruit woods bring a little sweetness and sometimes a little tart (think cherry). Pecan and alder offer a mild smoke with a bit of nutty earthiness. Stronger, more aggressive flavours like Hickory and Mesquite need to be paired with an ingredient that can stand up to or match the big, bold, smoke forward flavours like brisket or steak.
Enjoy Yourself!
My biggest tip is to make sure you relax and have fun with your grilling. Don’t be afraid to experiment with flavours and don’t be afraid to cook things you don’t immediately associate with BBQing either. Why not roast a chicken on your grill or even make a pizza or desert?
Traeger Grills