Beautiful Homes America

Summer is the time for outdoor living and barbecues. Here are 20 tips that will help you get the most out of your outdoor cooking :

1. You have to chose will it be gas or charcoal that you’re going to cook with? Chose charcoal if you like the smokey flavor; chose gas if like cleanliness, control and convenience. But do, do remember if its charcoal always light the fire naturally, never with fuel as it taints the flavor regardless of the time that you wait to start cooking!

2. Consider this carefully. Is your purchase of outdoor cooking equipment going to be an investment or a waste for money, because thats what it will be if you go cheap! Go for quality, it will pay dividends in both the short and the long term.

3. Go for the size of burner, measured in its BTU output, that meets your cooking needs; don’t go too small; large stockpots require powerful burners;

4. Buy the right kit for the job in hand. e.g. portable pick up & go grills are great for tailgating but they’ll disappoint on the patio when friends come around. Think about what you’ll be cooking; often its better to buy an all in kit rather than buying the individual items separately; e.g. a turkey fryer kit;

5. Think about ‘where’ you’re going to be cooking outdoors and buy your kit accordingly. Ask yourself, will we be cooking on the patio, or taking it outback, or wherever; this makes a big difference to your choice; indeed usually folk decide that they need quite separate cooking equipment for different situations.

5. Buy you outdoor cooking equipment with close regard for ‘where’ you’re going to be cooking outdoors most often; the patio, outback or beach each come with very different demands. If outdoor cooking is your passion then its far better to buy kit that suits where you’ll be cooking so that you’re not mixing and matching.

6. Think about what type of cooking you and the family prefer when deciding on your outdoor cooking equipment; don’t try and mix and match, you need kit that meets your needs. If Jambalaya is for you then get a Jambalaya pot; if your passion is turkey frying then it has to be a turkey fryer kit.

7. If cooking with LP have a second cylinder in reserve; what is worse than a meal cooking on the stove, friends awaiting your creation and the gas goes out…… and then you remember that you’ve forgot to get a reserve!

9. Share recipes & cooking tips and you’ll benefit in return from others. Avoid piercing food on the BBQ as the juices will escape and the food will dry out; ceramic grills are a good choice as their cooking process retains moisture & flavor; never cook meat that is not fully defrosted; generally speaking, try to cook slower rather than faster when cooking outdoors, except with steaks of course; avoid cooking meat too long on the grill as it easily dries out try to let meat rest once its cooked, without cutting it up, this allows juices to settle and the flavor to come out and marinating is great for meats & fish, especially when barbecuing, ideally overnight if you can for meats and just one hour for fish.

9. Share cooking tips & recipes and your friends will share their’s in return. When barbecuing, never pierce food as the juices will run out and it will start to dry out; ceramic grills are great buy as they are superb at retaining moisture & flavor; cook meat only when it is fully defrosted; generally speaking, cook more slower rather than faster when cooking outdoors, [except with steaks]; try to let meat rest after cooking without cutting it up. This allows the juices to settle and the full flavor to mature; try marinating your fish & meats before barbecuing, one hour is fine for fish but ideally overnight in the refrigerator for meat.

10. If you have a grill with a lid open it as little as possible or the ideal cooking conditions within will be lost.