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Avoid burning or charring food as this has been shown to be unhealthy.
Don’t leave cooked food standing for too long before eating.
Keeping your food moist
It’s easy to keep food moist and succulent on a BBQ by following these guidelines:
• Use tongs instead of a fork when turning meat and poultry. A fork pierces the flesh and causes the juice to
seep out.
• Resist the temptation to keep turning meat over. Juices tend to rise to the top of a piece of meat, then
settle. Each time you turn the meat over, the juices are lost. It’s better to quickly sear the meat on both
sides (about half a minute) then with the burner controls down low, leave the meat cook on one side,
turning only once before serving.
• If you like salt with your food, try adding it at the end instead of before or during cooking. Salt draws the
natural moisture out of the food and dries it out.
• Baste the food with light marinade or canola oil a couple of times while cooking, though watch out for
excessive flare-up.
How covered cooking works
Place the food you wish to roast on one side of the BBQ. Turn on the burners that are not directly underneath
the food. Make sure the burners that are directly under the food are turned off. This way the food receives no
direct heat.
Moist, hot air rises from the burners and circulates around the food, trapping the juices and flavour.
Best results are achieved by using a roasting rack and drip pan.
Cooking times
Keeping the hood closed traps the heat, moisture and flavour that is normally lost on an open top BBQ. The
result is that food cooks considerably faster, using less gas, and with a juicier, more even finish. Foods require
less attention and less basting because the heat is less intense and moisture is more easily retained.
Grilling
Food may be cooked in about 3/4 the usual oven cooking time, producing well browned surfaces while still
maintaining the foods natural juices.
Roasting
Larger joints of meat achieve similar results as in a conventional oven, except in about 2/3 the usual oven
cooking time due to the natural convection effect created by the hood.
Cooking with your BBQ
Tips
Although cooking on the plate looks easier, cooking on the Grill gives you a more authentic BBQ flavour.
Natural juices drip onto the flame tamer then vaporise, with the vapours penetrating back into the food.
As an alternative to simply grilling, try marinating your meat, fish, poultry or vegetables first. The longer you
leave the food to stand in the marinade, the more thoroughly the flavour will soak through. Several pre-made
marinades are available and good recipes are easy to come by. It is best to leave food standing in the
refrigerator.
If you use a tomato or sugar based sauce for basting, apply it in the last 5–10 minutes of cooking. Using these
sauces over a longer period of time will result in over-browning.
To prevent meat from curling, slash the remaining fat at roughly 5cm intervals, taking care not to cut into the
meat.
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