Features / Food
How to barbecue
There are mere barbecues and there are grills.
Many people (myself included) heap some coals in the bottom of a frequently-neglect, rain weathered barbeque, crumple up some newspaper, slosh over some fire starter/turps/petrol and sit forlornly with a box of matches waiting for the bloody thing to catch before incinerating some burgers and sausages in the dark. Some, so disillusioned with the fire making process, have given up and gone gas.
We picked up some tips from the undisputed experts at Grillstock so you can pick up some serious respect at your next cookout.
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The kit
- kettle barbecue, or at least one with a lid
- temperature probe
- chimney starter
Kicking the tyres before firing up
The how
Season well
- Lightly season each side of the meat with a rub (recipe below) and leave in the fridge overnight. The salt works as a dry brine to seal the moisture in create a delicious, crunchy bark, as those in the know call it.
- Half fill the chimney starter with coal and place a fire starter underneath it. Light it and let the chimney starter work its rocket powered magic to draw in air and heat the coals to the right temperature in 5-10 minutes. Add woodchips for a smokey flavour.
- If your barbecue has one, use the coal bucket to divide the grill into two ‘zones’ – hot and not-so-hot. If it doesn’t, pile the coals up on one side to give the same effect.
- Cover with the lid with the air vent positioned at the opposite side to the coals to draw the air up, through the coals, across the meat and out.
- Brown your pre-seasoned meat on the ‘hot zone’ then transfer to the ‘not-so-hot zone’ and cover with the lid to continue cooking, effectively roasting the meat without burning it.
- Use a probe to check the temperature and remove from the heat when ready. Roughly an hour for chicken thighs, three hours for a chicken, four hours for ribs and 18 hours for a pork shoulder (you’ll need to top up the coals for that).
- Serve with slaw. Feast. Soak up praise.
Recipe: barbeque rub
Here’s the rub
- 2 tbsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 4 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tbsp celery salt
- 1 tbsp chiptole powder
Mix together et voila.