see how to avoid the main mistakes

As they say, the voice of the people is the voice of God! So, let’s go to this week’s column with the theme chosen by you in a vote on my Instagram page and on Good Gourmet. You asked and we will talk about: “COMMON ERRORS IN BARBECUE”.

Many people say that nowadays barbecue has become gourmet and the grills are full of frills. No!! Over time, the barbecue people have been developing and improving their techniques and extracting the best from the meat. By doing so, all the work of the cattle rancher and the slaughterhouses and butchers is not thrown away.

In this world of barbecue lovers, we have a phrase that says: “A good barbecue person can make a beautiful barbecue even with low-quality meat. But, a bad barbecue… This one manages to spoil quality meat and make a terrible barbecue even with the noblest cuts”.

That said, for you to stay away from the bad grill group, let’s go to the most common barbecue mistakes and how to avoid them:

1.Choosing the wrong, low-quality meat

First of all: You need to know which meat to choose for the type of barbecue you intend to prepare. What barbecue do you intend to have? Will it be a grill barbecue or a skewer barbecue? Will it be a slow or quick cooking barbecue?

That decided, talk to the butcher and choose the ideal cut. But, regardless of the type of barbecue you are going to do, observe the characteristics of the meat you decided to buy. See if it’s a big or small piece, smell it and see the colors. Also, check the conditions to which these meats are exposed.

Make sure the pieces are well chilled and choose the ones that are still whole on the counter. Ask the butcher to cut this meat on time, this will ensure less manipulation and a fresh product for longer.

2. Dirty grills and skewers

Grill cleaning is essential to prevent burnt-on food residue from sticking to the meat and spoiling the flavor. Plus, a dirty grill can cause meat to stick and tear during cooking. Other than that it will hinder the chemical reaction of caramelization, the famous Maillard.

3. Heat too high and grill too cold

I always tell my students that a good barbecue starts at least 40 minutes before any protein goes on the grill. That’s because the barbecue is made on the embers and not in the flames. The high flames will burn the meat on the outside but leave it raw on the inside. So, control the flames and keep the ember.

Also take care of the temperature of the grill. It is very important that the grill is hot enough to be able to brown the meat evenly. It will also be the hot grill that will allow us to extract all the flavor from the meat through the Maillard reaction, which only happens at high temperatures.

4. Extract the fat from the meat

Believe me, it happens, and a lot. But it shouldn’t. Much of the flavor and moisture of barbecue is in the fat. So, removing the fat from the meat causes it to lose flavor and juiciness. A lot of people take the fat off for health reasons. If you are part of this group, I ask you: remove the fat from the meat only after it has already been roasted. Thus, you will consume much tastier and juicy meat.

5. Using forks

I’m going to lie if I say I’ve never used a fork to turn meat on the grill. Yes, I already did. Several, many times, in fact. Especially in the beginning when I started roasting meats and barbecuing was just for my family and friends. However, we learn.

And I learned that the great responsibility of a grill chef is to keep the meat juicy. But, piercing the workpiece with a fork, it becomes impossible to do this. So keep the forks away from the grill and give preference to blunt tongs or even spatulas.

6. Turn the meat without stopping

Once again, we return to the main function of a good grill: keeping the meat juicy. Flipping her frequently won’t help you in this quest. In fact, it will cause the piece to lose juices and your barbecue to be dry.

To know the right moment to turn the meat, observe whether the piece has come off the grill and whether the first traces of liquid have appeared on top of the piece. If so, then it’s time to turn around. Before that, just contain yourself.

7. Don’t let the meat rest

There are still a lot of barbecue people who take the meat off the grill and cut it, without letting it have the necessary rest. Okay, she always has the pressure of the “starving” guests. But, she resists and does not give in. And here I will explain to you the real importance of letting the meat rest in due time.

Part of the liquid present in the meat, when it comes into contact with heat, groups and centralizes internally. As the meat leaves the heat and goes to the cutting board, these centralized liquids are redistributed. If you let the meat rest long enough, the liquid spreads throughout the piece, which will make your barbecue juicy completely.

But what time? There is no standard. The rest will depend on the size and thickness of the meat. I usually leave approximately one minute per centimeter of meat height. If it is a very tall piece, wrap it in aluminum foil and let it rest.

And won’t this meat get cold on rest? I tell you that very little heat is lost. That’s because internal fluids are hotter than external muscle fibers. With the liquids being redistributed, the tendency is for them to keep the muscle fibers warm, just right for guests to still enjoy hot meat, but much more juicy.

And here is the eighth and last mistake made by many and, for me, the main one:

8. DO NOT BARBECUE!

My people, we all know that barbecue is a national passion and there is no day or time to eat good meat, gather friends and family around the fire and have that barbecue. I am sure that, around a barbecue, stories and moments are created that will be kept for eternity. Therefore, never stop having a good barbecue.

Bye and see you next week!