Tag: Grills

Ways To Enjoy Grilling Outdoors

While most of us probably grew up with having outdoor grills every thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year and whatever occasion there is, we cannot deny that it brings us a lot of joy even if we would still do it up to now. However, there are many ways of which we could make grilling outdoors more enjoyable and the good thing about it is that you dont really need an occasion to do it, all you would need is a grill and the company of some people.

While the food produced by grilling is undeniably enjoyable, the memories we have with it are just as enjoyable as the food we get from the grill. Just think about the many memories most of us grew up with that we can associate easily to grilling outdoors. So to make your grilling experiences more memorable, here are some ways to enjoy grilling outdoors.

Enjoy Grilling With The Company Of People

Whether these are your friends, family or your special someone it is definitely more enjoyable to have outdoor grilling sessions with people whom you would like to spend quality time with just like how you used to do when celebrating occasions while growing up. Dont wait for an occasion, just give your folks a call and invite them over for a barbecue. This gives you a good opportunity to bond with them as well as enjoy each others presence.

The focus of grilling for recreation is not only for the quality of food you produce but from the laughter, the memories and every pleasure that you can derive from the presence of people you like. Grilling just becomes better if you are with people you love.

Not To Forget The Food

When it comes to outdoor grilling, what we would usually think of could be the nice barbecue our parents cook for us during special occasions along with veggies and fish. However, since you are in control now you can do much more than that. Try to experiment with other items on the grill, bring out your inner chef and make every barbecue worth the time and effort youve spent. After all, you will also be enjoying this.

While typical sauces used for grills were mostly tomato based sauces, nowadays people use all sorts of pleasant bases for sauces such as yogurt, strawberries, oranges, apples, honey and even mustard. These might seem quite odd at first but these are sure to make very pleasant tastes in the grill. So the next time you have an outdoor grill, try to make some yourself.

Other Ways To Enjoy

Grilling outdoors becomes more enjoyable with the help of drinks. Try to mix up nice drinks, punches or juices for the kids the next time you grill outdoors. Also when grilling, try to give it a good variety which means not only grilled food but nice salads, sandwiches and fruits to perfectly compliment the gustatory pleasures offered by the grill. Just try not to put in too much, try to make sure that items on the grill are still the main attraction there.

It is also very important when grilling outdoors to have a good weather. A nice warm and sunny weather is perfect for having grills. This sets a nice ambiance and a good mood to everyone thus making the occasion more enjoyable.

Ways Of Grilling Outdoors

Classic Grilling

Classic direct-grilling is the most famous and the most traditional way of having things done in a grill. For us who have been into grilling for sometime already, we already know the process. This of which is typically have the items ready and toss them directly on top of the grills surface while occasionally turning them every once on a while. However, you should also be aware that there are a lot more processes of which your grill can do and this is just one of them.

Outdoor grilling is now not only grilling but other methods such as searing, broiling and smoking which would produce a lot of very delectable dishes. But even with that, outdoor grilling is still a very good way of having things in an outdoor grill. So much that it has become the essential part of it. So to educate you further about the other methods, here are good descriptions on how to do them.

Searing

Searing has become more popular in the grill than it was before especially for meats and other items of which you want to keep the flavor in. This is because searing has the outer part cooked first while still having the inner part with all the juices uncooked and have all the flavors sealed in. Doing this is quite simple, first you have to set the grill on high fire and while the meat is still raw and ready to be tossed on top of the grill, quickly put it on top of the high fire.

However, you have to be careful with this as not to cause the surface to get overcooked and break. This is most commonly done with steaks of which would produce what we know as rare, medium-rare, medium well and well done. This is also used in a lot of different items but is more popularly done on meats.

Roasting

Another method of having things cooked in the grill is roasting. The main goal of roasting is to have items continuously bathing in their own juices while being cooked causing them to taste more like themselves. Ideal items to be roasted include duck, beef, pork and ham. To do this, place an aluminum foil pan on top of the grills surface while having the items cook on top of it. Juices will later on drip on the aluminum foil pan, these of which you will use to soak the items in and use it later for gravy.

For added flavor, you can add flavorings to the aluminum foil pan such as lemon juice, herbs, garlic and whatever you can add to create more flavors. When roasting, remember that it is still like grilling and you will still have to turn the items on its sides while cooking it. The vapor produced by the juices also seep deeper if you turn the items on its sides occasionally.

Smoking

Another popular method of cooking meats and fish on the grill is by smoking. This method produces a tastes that is pleasantly different from all other since the items here will be flavored by the smoke from chips of wood that are also seasoned with spices. These chips of wood that are seasoned are most likely already available at your leading gourmet shops.

In doing this, have them placed by the fire so that they would burn along and produce smoke. The smoke then will make the items taste good.

Tips For Outdoor Grilling

The Outdoor Grill

There is no better way to cook food than to have it in an outdoor grill. The healthy ambiance of being outdoors also compliments perfectly the great quality of food you would produce when grilling outdoors. While most people think that outdoor grilling is only for barbecues, they are not aware of the many things you can do with outdoor grills, some of those are baking, roasting, searing, steaming and smoking. Cooking it in a grill is not only more fun but also has a distinct grill flavor.

Even if you might not see it, your outdoor grill can do more things than your kitchen oven, you just need to know some techniques and some great recipes that you can cook outdoors. So to help you get more stuff done at your outdoor grill, here are some methods of cooking that you can do and how to do each right.

Classic Grilling

Grilling outdoors would never be complete without some foods that are classically cooked directly on the grill. Direct grilling is best for cooking steaks, chops, sausages, fish fillets, kabobs and chicken cuts. Not only does grilling these items make it easier for them to cook but grilling them directly would also give them a very pleasant flavor that only a grill could produce.

As for whole fish, chicken, turkey or ribs, you can use another grilling method which is known as indirect grilling. This method involves having only one side of the grill lit and placing the items on the other side of the burner that is not lit. Another way of indirect grilling would involve having an aluminum foil placed on the center to regulate the temperature, moisture and adding a different flavor to the items to be cooked. You can also place spices, lemon juice and other flavorings to enhance the flavor of items on the grill.

Roasting On The Grill

There are two main methods of roasting that you can do on the grill. The first is pan roasting; this involves having an aluminum foil pan on top of the grills surface and having meats such as ham, ducklings or large cuts of meat. This method allows the meat to be cooked by its own broth which would drip to the pan while cooking and would turn into vapor during the process. For added flavor, you can add spices, wine, lemon juice and other flavorings to enhance it.

The second method of roasting on the grill is called spit-roasting. This method is best used for poultry, meat and lamb and is known to give these meats taste more like themselves. The process is similar to pan roasting, except you have the item rotate over the heat having it constantly soaked in its own juices. The juices gathered here can later be collected and can be used as gravy.

Smoking

When grilling outdoors, fishes, meats, turkeys, whole chicken and game tastes really great if smoked. Of all methods of grilling, smoking is known to have the most distinct and pleasant flavor and it is quite easy to do. The process of smoking involves the use of firewood, this if which would give that smoky flavor to the items to be grilled. To prepare it, have the wood soaked overnight in water.

After doing so, place them in aluminum foil and prick a few holes on the side. Place holes facing upwards along briquettes and you are ready to get smoking.

Tips For Great Fish On The Grill

Along with meats, vegetables and poultry, fish is also one of the most popular items anyone can put in on top of the grill. This is because fish has a very pleasant flavor, is quite easy and fun to cook and would offer a healthier option than most other items that are usually grilled. However, there are different methods and approaches to cooking different sorts of fish. Following these methods correctly would make your fish taste much better than how it has always been.

Take note that fish is to be classified into some categories when it comes to grilling and these are whole, fillet, firm and tender fish. These categories are what you should use as a basis to know how to cook it. So to further educate you with other guidelines you must follow when grilling fish, here are some helpful tips to guide you through.

Direct Grilling

Firm fish such as swordfish and tuna are much easier to grill since they do not crumble or break apart as easily as how some other fish would. Being that, you can have them cooked right on top of the fire, just make sure that there isnt too much fire that it would overcook it. Make sure the fire is set on medium when first having the fish grilled and you can later set it higher so that there would be pretty grill marks on the sides of your fish, these of which are the signs of a grill master.

It is also very important that you know how your fish should be. In being so, choose cuts that are at least 1 inch thick and are quite wide. Also when grilling those nice fillets, make sure that you turn them every once in a while or every 2 minutes or so. While you would want to have those nice grill marks, it is more important to have the fish cooked well.

Grilling Hygiene

When grilling, you would not want to have a nice sea bass on top of the grill cooked perfectly and later have it taste like steak. To avoid this, you should practice good grilling hygiene that is you should always see to it that your grill is clean and is fit for use. In grilling hygiene, there are three main guidelines to remember. The grill must be cleaned, it must be hot and it must be oiled too. Take note that fish could stick to the grills surface and damage it easier compared to other items.

First is you have to keep it clean, make sure that you scrub the grills surface each time before you use it and you have to make sure that there are no remnants of any food items on top of it. Another is that you have to keep it oiled. Before grilling, spray a small amount of vegetable oil on the grills surface to keep the fish from sticking to it later on. Last is you have to keep it hot, or pre-heated. Never toss fish on the grills surface right after setting the fire, wait for 15 minute before doing so.

Make Use Of Accessories

Accessories are now widely available to make grilling fish much easier and taste much better. A famous example of this is the fish basket which is a device which puts the fish into a cage like grill and makes it cook evenly on all sides easier. To enhance the fishs flavor, you can also add herbs, lemon and spices with the fish inside the grill for the vapor to sink deep into the fish.

There are a lot of accessories and you can use them depending on how you want fish to be prepared.

The Best Tools For That Perfect Grilling Experience

Importance Of Accessories

While we are already aware of the numerous pleasures that can be brought to use by simply the grill alone, we can even multiply that and make grilling tasks much more easier and faster by the use of some accessories. With grilling accessories, it is now easier to have items grilled evenly on all sides, have them cooked well and have grilling marks which is the mark of a true grilling master.

Grilling accessories are quite common and are most likely to be found on your favorite cooking shops. They are also usually quite simple materials and require little or no technology at all; they could even come quite cheap at some places. The best thing about them is you will be able to do more and make grilling tasks much easier with them.

Cleaning Accessories

When it comes to grilling, one thing that is just as important as grilling itself and does not have anything to do with actually grilling is cleaning the grill. After all, you would not want to put in a nice cut of prime rib and later have it taste like grilled seafood. So for you to be able to clean your grill easier and much faster, you can use wire scrubs and brushes that are custom fitted to clean your grills surface easily without damaging it.

Aside from that, there are also cleaning agents that are also made especially for your grills surface, typical detergents are too tough on the grill and could damage it. Use this along with the grill scrubs and brushes and cleaning your grills surface should be much easier than it has always been.

Accessories To Enhance Grilling

To even make grilling better, there are some accessories you can use along with grilling to make food cook or taste much better. Cooking fish is now much easier with the use of wire baskets and you can even use this to enhance flavor by having in the basket some spices, lemon and herbs. You can also use this for meat, other seafood and even vegetables.

The grill marks that are on the side have been considered as a mark of a grilling master, to make this easier, you can now have a grill press that would make this very possible. The grill press is a device which would allow you to push items into the grill and making the grill marks on the side appear much easier. With all those accessories, you are sure to have better experiences while grilling.

Other Accessories

While barbecue sticks have been long available ever since grilling became popular, it is now available to suit different types of items and is made to have them cook much better and much faster. Some sticks are made for marshmallows to make sure they do not fall of the stick while having them grilled and some are specifically made for kebabs to have them cook much easier and hold the pieces of meat in place while grilling them.

You can now also have a lot of options for grilling surfaces other than the basic, these of which are custom made to cook various meats effectively. For cooking ribs, you can now have a rack as a surface this of which would make it cook evenly on all sides and is also good for smoking.

With all these accessories available right now, grilling outdoors is sure to be much better and more memorable with you being able to do more with your grill.