Barbeques or braais are the quintessential symbols of summer. Braais? Braais are far more than a barbecue, they are a way of life in South Africa. A braai is essentially a party around a barbecue, starting sometime in the afternoon and finishing sometime at night. This is a culture at its very best.
While a traditional braai has the grill at the very center of the event, with the braai master entering “the zone,” where anything can be thrown at him or her, to be returned shortly thereafter cooked to perfection, it is very easy to ruin the perfect braai. The following 12 hacks are crucial to avoid disappointment.
Clean the grill with an onion.
While we all love the deep, dark streaks left on a steak where the hot metal seared into the meat, those caramelized sugar marks must be from your meat and not there because the grill was dirty. Many barbecues are shared commodities, especially when you go camping or simply step out to the park.
Simply warm the grid over the fire for a short while, then stick a fork into the back of half an onion. Use the fork to rub the onion all over the hot grill, applying just enough pressure to rub the gunk off. With the right heat, this is a very fast process as the acid in the onion cuts through the bake-on fat.
Make the grill non-stick using a potato.
Just before slapping the meat on the hot grill, take 2 minutes to rub a half potato all over the grill… simple yet effective, works best with waxy potatoes as the starch will be released by the heat and leave just the right amount of wax behind.
If you do not have a potato handy, simply put some olive oil on a paper towel and rub it on the griddle. There is a small risk that the oil catches fire, but the meat won’t stick.
Make use of the lemon!
Fish has a particular tendency to stick to the grill and is much more fragile meat that flakes off easily; just tugging at the stuck fish can destroy the look of the dish. To prevent disappointment, make a bed of sliced lemons by balancing large (not thick) slices across the grill and lay the fish on top of the slices. As an added benefit, as the lemon slices warm up, their essential oils will flavor the fish
Damp or wet coals? No problem… just use sugar.
Damp wood or coals can be tricky to light. The moisture in the wood tends to stop it from lighting. The simplest solution os to prepare the barbecue as usual, then sprinkle some sugar over the coals or logs, topping the lot with your firefighters. As the sugar is closer to the firefighters, it will ignite first. s sugar burns at a much higher temperature, the added heat will increase the coals’ internal temperature, preventing the dampness from extinguishing them. As an added bonus, the higher internal temperatures mean less smoke, which is better for the guests and also means that the meat can go on much sooner.
No firefighters?
No worries! Just about anything can be used to start a fire if you are a pro. Impress your guests by using pine cones as kindling or dried-out teabags… for extra fun, half fill an empty egg carton with some oil and set them on fire. The oil will ignite, and then the coals will burn.
For a real thrill, why not use potato chips as kindling? This always freaks out my guest and works like a charm…
With some planning though, why not recycle used teabags by letting them dry out and storing them in a jar filled with paraffin? Eco warrior and chef.. what else?
Double trouble… keep the bugs away!
As the afternoon gets cooler, we often get beset by flying bugs. For some reason, they just cannot seem to keep away from a good time.
Simply wrap some rosemary or sage in some foil. Poke a few whole with a fork and throw the foil on the fire. The smoke will be a lot more aromatic, imparting extra flavor to the meat and making sure that no one goes home smelling like a bad fire, but best of all? The bugs simply hate that smell and will leave the meat and guests alone..
Make friends … with the butcher.
A great barbecue starts with excellent ingredients. The best cuts of meat are not to be found in the supermarket or even large-chain butcheries. Your local butcher is the way to go – small enough to care, big enough to know the farmers in the area.
Let your butcher know a few days in advance (2-5 days) that you are planning an event, and they will ensure you have the best cuts possible.
Don’t braai cold meat – just don’t.
A barbecue cooks meat from the outside in. This means that the outside of the meat will be much hotter than the middle very fast. If you do not defrost your meat and let it come to room temperature, you will have burnt meat on the outside and raw meat in the center.
A barbecue should never be rushed. Give the meat time to prepare, loosen up, and warm up… Give the coals the same time to mellow out, and at the optimal moment, slap the meat on the grill…
Let your meat rest.
Meat should always rest for about half as long as it took to cook – simple and effective. This is a rule for pretty much any type of meat and any form of cooking, but it is particularly important when searing meat over the intense heat of a barbecue. Get it wrong, and the meat will be dry with no chance of rescuing it with a sauce.
Can Chinese Barbecue Spare Ribs Be Made Using the Ultimate Barbecue Hacks?
If you’re looking to elevate your chinese barbecue spare ribs recipe, try implementing some ultimate barbecue hacks. Marinating the ribs in a mix of hoisin sauce, honey, and five-spice powder can intensify the flavors. Additionally, using a combination of direct and indirect heat on the grill can ensure perfectly tender and juicy ribs.
Keep your burger patties moist.
Burger patties are tricky. Prepare them right, and a burger is heaven on earth, true comfort food served at parties. But, get them wrong, and suddenly you have a dry, burnt mess that feels like lead.
To ensure that your burger patty stays moist and juicy, simply indent the middle of the patty with your finger (use the back of a spoon or fork and a small knob of butter or an ice chip. The melting ice or butter will keep the patty moist while the indent will also prevent the patty from “popping out”in the middle as the meat cooks, yielding an even-thickness burger.
Create hotspots.
A proper barbecue will have areas with more intense heat and cooler areas. This will allow a braai master to cook the food evenly, searing the meat first and then using a cooler heat for cooking it to perfection.
More coal in 1 location will tend to generate more heat, while a space with no coals will gradually be cooler as you move further from the coals.
Once the coals are ready to cook, use bread to find out which spots are hotter and see how long it takes the bread to crisp up. This will tell you where each type of meat will be ready.
Best of all? If you make braaibroodjies (barbecue bread), then you will have a delicious snack for your guests who are waiting for the meat…
Stop the stickiness / prevent the burn.
Wooden skewers are great! After all, a major advantage of making a barbecue is that, if you plan ahead, you can have a fun time with no work afterward. These days, you can buy wooden cutlery, cups, and plates. Similarly, with skewers, you can get wooden skewers, which can be composted. The only drawback? These tend to burn!
Another challenge with skewers, whether metal or wooden, is that meat or vegetables can stick to them during the cooking process, making it harder to eat the meat off them, making a mess, and who wants to put meat pieces in the composter?
To avoid both issues, simply soak the skewers for at least 1 hour before using them.
As a bonus tip, if you are cooking skewers, simply create a 1-inch strip of double-folded aluminum foil that you position on the grill at each end of the skewers. Place the skewers so that the exposed parts of the skewers rest on this foil, preventing them from burning (if made from wood) or burning you (if metal).
Exactly!