6 useful tips on grills and outdoor cooking techniques

Come summer, and all of us begin craving for BBQ treats. Apart from the anticipation of mouthwatering dishes, the whole backyard barbeque ritual is enough to get people excited. The aroma of charcoal grills, wood smoking scents, and irresistible and flavorsome food are motivations enough to embark on the exciting grilling journey. While grilling is one of the most fun activities to enjoy with your gang, often the fun fizzles out when people end up overdoing BBQs.

Begin smoking when raw
Whenever you choose outdoor cooking, it is important you let the smoke settle in while the meat is still raw. If you are using one of the charcoal grills and outdoor cooking systems, it is best you let the food absorb the characteristic charcoal flavor early on. Starting the charcoal smoking process early can help you grill a flavorful treat for all your guests.

Go slow
BBQ is best cooked when done slowly and over low, indirect heat. Slow cooking is a traditional wood smoke technique that gives meat its tender, moist, and melt-in-the-mouth character. While grilling over low flames is the ideal way of BBQing, it is essential that you incorporate soothing wood aromas to all your veggies, steaks, shrimps, etc. to keep the smokiness lingering.

Heat regulation is the key
While sudden and persistent regulations in the grilling temperature may meddle with the food by making it tight and dried out, it is essential that you learn to stabilize the heat to work up the right flavors. In case you need to cook on charcoal for more than an hour, ensure you keep a pan of water handy to regulate the heat and bring in some humidity. While most water smokers may already keep the moisture coming, grills and outdoor cooking units that are exclusively charcoal based may need a disposable foil pan that must timely be refilled.

Remember not to overdo the meat
While some rookies may add too much wood, it is important to exercise discretion and control with every extra chunk of wood as it may lead the food to go bitter. Grills and outdoor cooking techniques require you to smoke using charcoal grills for not more than half an hour. Additionally, it is also required that your grill produces smoke only in mild streams.

Know the difference between good and black smoke
It is known that scents of smoldering charcoal chips in the meat give the dish an intoxicating and appetizing taste. It is, however, important to know that the pleasant aroma of wood is a result of clear white smokes. This is possible only if the fire under your grills and outdoor cooking sources are well-ventilated. In case of lack of ventilation, a blackish smoke is likely to taint your food and make it bitter, dehydrated, and practically not edible.

Ensure you keep the air moving
If you own one of those grills and outdoor smoking units that run on charcoal, ensure you keep their vents open. This will ensure your food receives the best quality smoke. While this is a universal technique in terms of patio cooking, it is also required that you refer to your grill manual to learn specific ways of ventilating that are suitable for your set of grills and outdoor cooking units.