10 Tips for Cooking the Ultimate BBQ

The sun is shining, the temps are balmy and the beers are cold, so what do we do? We barbeque! The ‘Great Aussie Barbie’ is an obsession we’re proud of, the only problem is, the sausages sizzling in our backyards sometimes take a beating they don’t deserve. We think it’s our birthright to be good at barbecuing (and it is), but a few easy tips and tricks can turn dad’s cindered steaks into juicy gourmet treats.

Choose the Best Barbie for You

Firstly, consider your space, in that you don’t want a barbeque on a balcony that smokes your neighbours out. The most popular choices are charcoal or gas-fired grills, with a lid to lock in the taste. Charcoal will give you that smoky flavour, but gas is more convenient. There are staunch fans of both options – so take your side and battle it out at the next get-together.

Avoid Singed Eyebrows

Here’s a quick but important note – always light a gas barbeque with the lid up. If you don’t, it may not ignite and instead, you’ll get a build-up of gas. This is bad for many reasons, namely possible explosions (don’t laugh, it’s happened). Guys we know you like fire, but trust us, this is not cool.

Heat up First

You want your meat to sizzle as soon as you whack it on the barbie. Make sure your hot plate is sufficiently hot, no matter how hungry the kids are and how many beers Andy from next door has downed. Sometimes good things take time – your stomach and taste buds deserve only the best after all.

Don’t Cook Cold Meat

It’s easy to go to the fridge and grab your steaks when it’s time to fire up. However, the best idea is to bring your meat back down to room temperature, before you start cooking. The warmer your meat is in the middle before you put it on, the less chances you have of burning the surface to a crisp before it cooks. This tip is for any type of cooking, try and get the meat out at least half an hour before the cooking commences.

Your Eyes are Always Bigger than Your Stomach

Fat, juicy cuts of meat are tempting, not to mention impressive enough to outdo your brother’s last barbie. But, the thinner your meat is, the easier heat can travel to the insides to cook it to perfection. You can also push the meat out before cooking, increasing the surface area and tenderising as you go.

Keep the Juice In

How many times have you watched someone squashing the meat down constantly with a spatula? While the sizzle sounds great, the juice is running out – which is not good news for flavour. The same thing occurs when you cut steak to see if it’s cooked. Instead, press it lightly with tongs and you’ll find that rare steak is soft, medium is firm and well-done is very firm. The finger test is a good way to checking the readiness of your meat.

Marinate Ahead of Time

Condiments, such as our delicious Drover’s Aussie BBQ Sauce, are a must for the table, but pouring sauces or marinades over your meat as it cooks, will only lead to charcoal flavour (and not in a good way). Marinate your meat overnight for optimum flavour, but drain the excess before cooking.

Let Your Meat Chill Out Too

After you’ve cooked your spectacular spread, try to keep the hungry hoards from eating it straight away. When you leave meat to rest, the juices will settle for succulent bites, rather than teeth-destroying chews.

Stay Clean for Hygiene

There’s nothing worse than everyone having a bout of food poisoning, the night after your arvo barbie. The number one rule is to never add anything to do with raw food, to cooked food. As in, serve up the snags on clean plates, rather than the board you used to chop raw food up on. Don’t let the prawn dip get overly warm and clean the hot plate – just because it’s hot, doesn’t mean it’s hygienic.

Cook before Beer

Lastly, but certainly imperative for a good barbie – throw your meat on before getting stuck into the icy cold goodness of beer, especially in the midday sun! This way, you’ll save everyone having to order a pizza.

For the BBQ heroes out there we have an awesome range of gifts which include gift hampers and tasty gourmet products especially for the BBQ lovers out there. You can even throw in a few beers to enjoy once the food has been cooked to perfection!