When you decide to buy a barbecue or a wood-fired oven, it's important to master the different cooking techniques. Indeed, such equipment allows you to select several cooking modes, in order to vary the pleasures and, of course, the number of dishes that you can prepare. If you're new to the subject, this guide will certainly be useful in finding a cooking method that meets your expectations and desires!
Summary:
Understanding indirect cooking
How to cook successfully on the barbecue?
The different cooking methods
- The papillotes
- Barbecue marinade
- Barbecue roast
- The grill
- Smoking
What is the best cooking method for a barbecue?
How to cook on a barbecue without burning?
How to cook on a barbecue with a lid?
Understanding indirect cooking
When we talk about cooking techniques for a barbecue, we must know that it is most often what is called indirect cooking . If you are wondering what indirect cooking is, you will immediately see more clearly.
Indirect cooking on a barbecue is a cooking method that does not place the food or dish in contact with the heat source. For example, with a charcoal barbecue, the skewers are placed directly on the grill and practically in contact with the embers. Here, it's more a question of convection cooking, similar to a traditional oven found in many kitchens. It's therefore the cooking chamber at the right temperature that will allow cooking while avoiding flames that burn the food.
To know how to cook directly on a barbecue, you need a charcoal barbecue, a gas barbecue, or a wood-burning barbecue suitable for this cooking method. The temperature at the heart of the equipment is perfectly controlled, making cooking food much easier to achieve!
How to cook successfully on the barbecue?
Successful barbecue cooking depends first and foremost on the cooking techniques used, but also on the quality of its installation. Indeed, it is a high-quality barbecue that will allow good temperature control and perfect cooking. Therefore, when choosing your barbecue model, you must make sure to choose a high-quality model that will allow you to successfully cook your food.
At My Barbecue, we make it a point of honor to offer you models that will allow you to succeed in your barbecue cooking and enjoy cooking meat, vegetables or even fish according to your preferences.
The different cooking methods
As mentioned above, there are several cooking techniques that can be chosen based on your preferences and desires. Depending on the cooking time that suits you best, but also depending on the dish you want to make, some cooking techniques will be more suitable than others. In any case, it is interesting to take them all into account in order to master your recipes, but also to discover new ones!
The papillotes
Cooking en papillote is one of the barbecue cooking techniques that can be used when cooking in a conventional oven, but it is also very popular on the barbecue. It allows for even and gentle cooking, perfect especially for fish and vegetables. To do this, you will need aluminum foil. The food is placed in the center of the foil, then the foil is folded to enclose the food well. Then, the papillotes can be placed in the cooking space of the barbecue. They will be removed once the cooking time is complete.
The advantage is that they can be set aside while the other cooking is finished for a few minutes and the aluminum foil will keep the heat in. All that's left to do is unwrap everything onto your plate!
Barbecue marinade
Marinating is one of the most popular cooking techniques when barbecuing. This is more of a recipe than a cooking method. The idea is to coat the meat (chicken, beef, veal, pork, or even fish) with a marinade and then let it soak for a while. Typically, the meat is prepared the night before or in the morning for cooking in the evening so that the marinade penetrates well.
The marinade (depending on the ingredients chosen) will give the meat its flavor, which will completely change the taste of the meat for the greatest pleasure of your taste buds. There are also many marinade recipes to vary the pleasures such as:
- Sweet and sour marinade
- Barbecue sauce
- Pineapple Marinade
- Honey-lemon marinade
- Lebanese marinade
- Cajun marinade
Barbecue roast
Using the same principle as the oven, it's perfectly possible to cook a roast on a wood-fired barbecue . You can also use a marinade if you want to further refine the recipe. In its dish (and why not with its vegetables), the roast is placed directly on the barbecue for the required time. This is a great way to enjoy a delicious roast with perfect cooking, but also that unmistakable barbecue flavor.
You can then decide to prepare a roast of veal, pork, beef, or lamb, depending on your preference. This is one of the most suitable barbecue cooking techniques when you have guests over.
The grill
Barbecue grilling is one of the most common and popular cooking techniques. It gives food a delicious and incomparable taste that only this type of cooking allows, a scent of summer evenings. Just like with direct cooking, it is necessary to have a grill on which to place skewers, pieces of meat, or vegetables. The grill is then placed in the oven to take advantage of the heat of the fire for perfect cooking.
Smoking
Smoking is a method that uses the smoke emitted by the barbecue to give the meat a "smoky" flavor. This popular method is a completely different way to enjoy a delicious grilled meat. Smoking is suitable for cooking pork, beef, poultry, and even certain fish. If you're lacking inspiration to delight your taste buds, don't hesitate to discover and try this method!
What is the best cooking method for a barbecue?
The best way to cook a barbecue depends first and foremost on your preferences. As we've seen, there are many different barbecue cooking techniques, so there's plenty to vary your cooking pleasures throughout the summer months.
If you enjoy the distinctive taste of traditional barbecue cooking without wanting to expose your food to the flames, you can opt for indirect grilling. This is an opportunity to enjoy vegetables, as well as meat and fish, with a delicious grilled taste and quick cooking.
If you like trying new flavors with every recipe, try marinating! A simple chicken cutlet can have a thousand different flavors throughout the summer by simply changing the ingredients in your marinade. It's a great opportunity to discover the taste of spices and add color to your dishes.
For a family meal to bring your loved ones together, roasting is undoubtedly one of the most suitable barbecue cooking techniques. Choose beef if you like your meat rare and prefer quick cooking, or choose pork, lamb, or veal if you want to take your time.
For fresh, fat-free cooking, foil cooking is definitely your ally. It's one of the barbecue cooking techniques that's perfect for fish, it also enhances the flavor of vegetables, and it only requires a few herbs to be delicious. It's a fantastic way to vary the taste of grilled meat and surprise your friends and family with other barbecue cooking techniques.
How to cook on a barbecue without burning?
It's not always easy to appreciate the different barbecue cooking techniques when you tend to burn your food. To avoid the famous raw inside and burnt around, indirect cooking seems to be the secret! Indeed, meat in contact with the embers is more difficult to cook, because the high heat of the latter will not allow for gradual cooking at the heart of the food. If after some practice you can completely master direct cooking, indirect cooking helps limit the risk of burning.
This prevents you from burning your food, but also avoids being exposed to fumes (many of our barbecues have a chimney), which makes the cooking experience much more enjoyable for you and your guests. Perfectly cooked meats are yours to delight your family and friends!
Find out here how much meat (per person) you need for a barbecue so you don't waste anything and satisfy all your guests.
In short, there are many barbecue cooking techniques such as marinating, baking in foil, grilling, roasting and others that are a great way to vary the pleasures at the table. Don't hesitate to experiment with them all while using your wood-fired oven and keep trying new recipes!