Tips for a Good Barbecue at Home

Nothing better than a barbecue to receive friends at home, to spend a Sunday with the family or simply to enjoy a delicious meat prepared on the grill. If you are not an expert, if you love the plan, but feel that you still need to master the subject, this article is for you! Here are some tips for a good barbecue.

Tips before the barbecue

To make your barbecue delicious, there are some tips you should take into account before lighting the grill that will help you have a better experience. Here are some of them:

Calculate well the amount of food you are going to grill.

Think about how many people are going to eat at your barbecue, what food you are going to give them and how you are going to serve it because, definitely, the portions change if you want to make a picada and not serve a plate for each person. Keep in mind that meat is always reduced a little when grilling and do not forget the side dishes, which are as important as the protein.

Prepare the utensils necessary for the barbecue

Tongs, forks, spatulas, bowls, knives, cutting boards. Make sure you have everything you need to cook your food on hand. If possible, put a small table near your grill where you can put what you are going to use. Be sure that while you are looking for your utensils, you don't burn some of what you have on the grill.

Don't forget your Practi-Diarias Familia® Disposable Towels that will be a great help. They are perfect to clean up any spills or to remove extra grease from any ingredient after cooking, since they are double ply, they are super absorbent.

Marinate all products beforehand

Especially proteins, try to marinate them beforehand with some of your favorite ingredients so that they absorb all the flavor and are much better when you put them on the grill. You choose how to marinate your food, the important thing is not to leave it to the end.

Tips during grilling

Now comes the most awaited moment and here are some tips to make you look like an expert in front of your friends and family. Are you ready?

How to light the grill?

Lighting a charcoal grill may seem like a nightmare, but it's not as difficult as it seems. To do so, we recommend you make a mountain of charcoal, making sure to leave a small hole in the center of the charcoal. Once you have it ready, moisten some paper balls with vegetable oil, put them inside the hole, light the fire, and put some charcoal on top without crushing the flames and the paper.

Now it's time to wait until all the charcoals are lit. Once you see that most of them are red, you can sprinkle them all over the grill with the help of tongs. Important recommendation: do not put the meat while the coals are burning, this will only cause it to burn; it is better to wait until the fire goes down and the coals are red to start grilling.

How to distribute the heat in the grill?

Although it may seem incredible, the best recommendation we can give you is to divide the grill in two; put all the charcoal in one part and leave the other part completely empty. This way you will achieve the effect of indirect heat or low fire, to cook foods such as chicken, seafood or fish. The part with the charcoal is perfect for browning and sealing the food.

Prepare a good dressing for your barbecue.

Sauces and dressings are usually the perfect touch for any dish, and a barbecue is no exception. You can choose the ones you like the most, we will show you how to prepare a chimichurri that is a delicious classic and not to be missed.

To prepare it you will need: 1 cup and a half of parsley, half cup of chopped coriander, oregano to taste, 3 garlic cloves, 3 tablespoons of vinegar, 6 tablespoons of oil and salt and pepper. Put all the ingredients in a food processor, grind them until they are very well blended and that's it!

How long should the food be left on the grill?

This depends a lot on the temperature of the grill and your personal taste. However, we recommend that you always put the foods that take the longest to cook on the grill first, such as ribs, which can take up to 1 hour. Then you can put the thicker cuts of meat, which can be grilled slowly for 50 minutes. Chorizos, on the other hand, can be ready in 40 minutes, and blood sausage, which only needs to be heated, will be ready to serve in 15 minutes.

Tips for after the barbecue

And when the guests have left, it's time to clean up. This is the least fun part of all, especially because cleaning and washing the grill can take hours. Here are some tips to make this last step easier:

Should the grill be allowed to cool before cleaning?

Not necessarily! You can wait until it cools down a bit so as not to burn yourself, but this is the ideal time to clean the grill before everything sticks and it is more difficult to clean.

How to clean a grill?

While the grill is still hot, you can wipe it with newspaper to remove all food residue. Then with warm water mixed with a little vinegar and a very soft bristle brush, clean the grill. When you are done, use our Familia® Practi-Diarias Disposable Towels to dry and give a final cleaning and that's it!

And now that you have all the tips for a good barbecue, you are more than ready to invite your friends or family over and surprise them with a delicious meal.