Enjoy the Perfect Winter Barbecue

Enjoy the Perfect Winter Barbecue – You can still, enjoy a barbecue in the winter, and I have some great tips to share how to have the best winter grilling experience.

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Barbecues aren’t just for summer, and you can still, enjoy a barbecue in the winter. I’m going to share how you can have the perfect meat barbecue experience today, and all you have to do is to wrap up warm and enjoy the experience. There are plenty of things you can do to help you provide the ultimate BBQ for your guests.

The secret to the perfect meat barbecue is making sure you follow a few easy steps. There are so many factors that you need to account for when you are trying to enjoy the ideal barbecue when cooking meat, and hopefully you will find this guide useful. I’ve shared a few tips below, which will hopefully help.

Fuel

Since the dawn of time, mankind has used wood and fire for heating and cooking, and this most ancient of methods has endured and evolved into the artform we enjoy today. Barbecuing is an institution in many cultures of the world, and there are different forms of fuel that can be used to provide the catalyst for this meat cooking extravaganza. Of course, the classic, original, and best is cooking with charcoal and an open flame, which gives a much tastier flame-grilled flavour to the meat, however, there are other alternatives as well.

Since barbecues became more mainstream and popular it became essential to be able to cook meat in any kind of weather or climate, and so the grill was born. Grilling has allowed for a lot more versatility when it comes to barbecues, and it also allows us to grill all year round if we wish to.

There are also charcoal briquettes, as a further option as well, and it is important to know that you have options. So if you are looking to find the best fuel for your barbecue, there is some choice, but try to avoid compressed briquettes, as they burn too hot, and charcoal that uses accelerator fluid, as this will taint the taste and flavour of the food.

Preparation

So the next stage in the process is to prepare the meat and the barbecue. Now, the temperature of the barbecue needs to be hot enough to cook on, but not too hot that it is going to burn the food. If you can’t stand close to the grill then you aren’t going to be able to cook on it, so you need to get it lit early enough that the flames burn hot and then die down. They should be coated in a white-grey ash covering, which signifies the perfect cooking temperature to get your meat on and get things moving.

Generally speaking, you don’t always need to brush oil over the meat, as if it is the perfect temperature, the meat won’t stick. Seasoning the meat at the last minute will allow you to get the optimum flavouring whilst it’s on the grill. The optimum cooking temperature is something you will naturally learn over time with practice, and of course, each person likes meat cooked to different levels, such as rare, medium and well done.

The Meat

So, now we come onto the all important part of getting ready for the ultimate meat barbecue, the meat itself. There are many different types of meat that can be grilled on a barbecue, and each type will require a slightly different cooking time, preparation, and seasoning. Make sure you have an idea in advance for the meat you want at your barbecue, and head to the online butchers to stock up; here are some ideas to help you get started.

• Steaks: Steaks are an interesting one because they are not generally seen as a common barbecue meat of choice, perhaps because there are many different ways to cook a steak, and a lot of people have different preferences. But no meat barbecue would be complete without a few steaks to throw on the grill. Cook them on a high heat to give a nice chargrilled taste, and improve flavour as much as possible. The heat spectrum for cooking a steak ranges anything from 57 degrees Celsius (rare) up to 71 degrees Celsius (well done). Of course, when it comes to steak, you need to get the best quality meat you possibly can. 
• Burgers: Burgers are the classic barbecue staple, and you need to make sure you have plenty of these. The secret to cooking burgers is to make sure you do it on a high heat; you want to sear the outside of the burger and keep the inside slightly pink. Cooking the burgers for around 9-10 minutes is the perfect timeframe to get the most juicy burgers you can, but you can cook them for longer if you like. Once the burgers are cooked you should move them to the edge of the grill so they stay hot but stop cooking too much. 

• Sausages: Sausages are also a classic part of the barbecue experience, but they are a little bit more high-maintenance than burgers or steaks. You will have to be careful with cooking sausages, and ensure they have constant rotation as much as possible. You’ll have to ensure you cook them on a medium to medium-high temperature in order to ensure the middle cooks significantly, whilst also providing a crispy coating on the outside. Around 65 degrees Celsius is the ideal temperature at which to cook sausages.
• Chicken: Much like sausages, chicken is also a high-maintenance meat that requires a lot of care and attention. The thing to remember with chicken is that you have to make sure it is thoroughly cooked on the inside, but also that you don’t cook it so long that you dry it out. In order to get the best possible chicken, it should be cooked on a medium temperature once the rest of the meat is done, and it can stay on the grill unencumbered. You can also pre-cook it before finishing it off over the coals.

Marinade & Seasonings

The seasoning is one of the most important parts of the barbecue and meat process, and it’s a process that’s worth perfecting to really make your barbecue the best. Meat really needs to be perfectly seasoned in order to really get the flavour out. You can of course add salt, pepper and herbs, but you can also use this opportunity to experiment too.

There are loads of ideas that you can use in order to come up with the best possible marinade. Go online to source inspiration for seasoning, and use the contents of your cupboards to concoct your own marinade and use it to flavour your meat.

The Cooking Process

It is important to tend to the cooking process as well as you can, and this means constant attention and time spent at the grill. There are a lot of things that go into the ultimate barbecue experience, and you need to be sure you tend to the meat as well as you can. Constant turning is essential to ensure an evenly spread cooking process, and the meat that is ready should be moved to the edge of the grill to make room for the meat that still has to be cooked properly.

BBQ Recipes

There are plenty of things that you need to think about when it comes to making the right barbecue choices, and there are so many great recipes you can experiment with in order to expand your BBQ repertoire. There are plenty of barbecue recipes you can embrace that will help you add a different dimension to your barbecue. There are a lot of different recipe ideas that you can use to enhance things, and you should take a look at this stunning potato salad recipe so that you have a delicious side to accompany the meat you’ll be grilling up.

Here are the ingredients you need for this recipe, which is a potato salad, and makes a GREAT accompaniment to any barbecue, whether it be in the winter or the summer:

• 800g new potatoes
• 3 shallots
• 3tbsp mayonnaise
• 3tbsp olive oil
• 1tbsp white wine vinegar
• Parsley leaves, chopped

Boil the potatoes in salted water for 20 minutes and then drain and cool. Cut the potatoes into chunks and then throw them into a bowl with the diced shallots. Add the mayonnaise, and mix in the olive oil and vinegar; stir in the parsley and serve.

This is a quick and easy way of being able to come up with a tasty and delicious potato salad. It makes a wonderful addition to any barbecue, and an excellent side dish that will offset the delicious meat feast that you’re going to be coming up with.