We love a BBQ, don’t you? But cooking your food just right can be tricky, so here are some tips on how to cook on a gas BBQ and make your food as tasty as possible.
Preheating Your BBQ
Always preheat your BBQ until the cooking surface reaches the optimum cooking temperature. For the best result, lightly oil the surface before lighting the BBQ. For BBQs without a hood (like ours), turn all burners onto high for about 10 minutes.
In cold or windy weather, you may need to give it a bit longer. For this reason, we recommend setting up in a sheltered spot to shield your BBQ from the wind, so you’ll find it easier to light the BBQ and keep it at the right temperature for cooking.
Then, once you’ve got the temperature you want, lower the burners again. For safety reasons, you should never leave your BBQ unattended.
Cooking on Your BBQ
When thinking how best to cook on your gas BBQ, you should consider what type of food you want to cook, how thick it will be, and what type of BBQ you’ll be using to cook it. A grill or a griddle?
Cooking on a Grill
A grill is normally the best option for thinner cuts of meat and fish that will cook rather quickly.
Once you have oiled and preheated your grill and it is nice and hot, place the food directly onto the grill, and this will quickly sear and seal in the juices and flavour.
Cooking on a Griddle
A griddle is normally best for foods with plenty of fat content, foods you would normally cook in a frying pan. For example, if you’re cooking thin steaks, fish fillets, or bacon.
When cooking these foods, you want them to keep their natural juices and flavour. To do this, you’ll be better off cooking them slowly on a moderate to medium heat. If you turn it up too high, the food could end up burnt on the outside and raw on the inside.
Resting the Meat
When cooking meat on your BBQ, you’ll be pushing the juices into the centre. If you’re planning to cut the meat afterwards, this means you’ll lose a lot of that juice (and flavour). In this case, you’ll be better off letting the meat to rest first before cutting, giving the juice time to spread out from the centre again.
Thinking of starting a BBQ catering business? We have some advice for you in our blog! If you’re in need of a new gas BBQ grill or griddle for catering purposes, take a look at our range of Catering Barbecues.