Your local butcher or supermarket will always be the best source of advice on choosing the right cuts of meat for your BBQ. Following are a few tips to help you make the right choices on preparation, handling and choosing your meats.
Preparation
If your meat is frozen, defrost in the refrigerator before BBQing. Don’t worry if it’s not all the way thawed when you’re ready to BBQ - just allow extra cooking time and test accordingly.
Before BBQing, trim meat of any visible fat. This is also a good time to season or marinate your meat, but stay away from salt, as it will draw out juices, making the meat tough.
Marinating Musts
Always marinate meat, fish and poultry in the refrigerator. Meat and marinade on a countertop is bacteria heaven.
Typical marinating times for beef, poultry and pork range from 20 minutes to 12 hours (or overnight). More delicate foods such as fish require a shorter marinating time, usually 20 to 60 minutes. If you’re in a hurry, you can speed up the marinating time by placing the meat in a plastic bag, sealing it and massaging in marinade for a few minutes before placing in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
When marinating is complete, remove meat from marinade. Ensure you do not consume the uncooked marinade that has been in contact with uncooked meat. If the recipe calls for basting, always use fresh marinade
Best Cuts for Barbecuing
The rule of thumb when it comes to choosing your meat is to get good quality meats. Because BBQing is a relatively quick cooking process, it’s best to choose meats that are naturally tender.
Beef
Purchase your beef 2-3 days before you plan to cook it. Slightly aged beef is more tender as natural enzymes have had time to soften the muscle fibre. The best cut for BBQ steaks is a 20mm thick cut of even thickness. The sirloin, scotch fillet and porterhouse are ideal and need little more than a sprinkling of seasoning such as MASTERFOODS All Purpose Seasoning before grilling.
Larger cuts like the rump and T-bone are slightly tougher cuts and are best marinated before grilling. Marinades not only preserve refine your meat’s taste - they also tenderise the meat. Try MASTERFOODS Red Wine & Garlic Marinade for a rich, succulent bite.
Sausages
It wouldn’t be an Aussie Barbie without snags. Everyone loves them. For the perfect sausage, try parboiling them in a pan with water for five minutes before BBQing to lower the fat content. Also remember to prick them with the tip of a sharp knife to let some of the fat escape during cooking.
Lamb
Lamb roast is great in the oven – and even better on the BBQ. Coat a small roast in olive oil and MASTERFOODS Dried Rosemary before sealing on both sides and covering to cook slowly on the plaque.
Poultry
Poultry is a great healthy staple, but can often be a little bland. You’ve got many choices for flavouring poultry with our range of MASTERFOODS Marinades.
While cooking, remember to baste poultry regularly to retain moisture and maximum flavour. To prevent burning or charring, don’t baste chicken during last 5 minutes of cooking time.
Pork
Pork is one of the simplest meats to barbecue. Lean tender chops and ribs work a treat when brushed with MASTERFOODS Smokey BBQ Marinade while grilling.
Pork tenderloin is a leaner choice. Simply dust with MASTERFOODS BBQ Smokey Seasoning and seal well on the BBQ plaque before covering and cooking a further 40 minutes.
Seafood
Prawns, fish and other seafood need very little cooking time so it’s best to save them for last if BBQing along with other meats.
With seasoning, a little goes a long way. Try a little sprinkling of MASTERFOODS Lemon Pepper seasoning before grilling – it’s not just for squid!
To cook prawns, thread them onto skewers before BBQing to make them easier to turn. For fish, a whole fish grill will also make it easier to handle.
Choices for the Health Concious
Looking for a quick fix? Why not thread some lean, cubed beef fillet onto skewers? We’ve got loads of delicious kebab ideas in our recipes section.
Roast chicken is a lean alternative, but who wants to spark up the oven on a hot summer day? Try our delicious recipe for whole chicken in MASTERFOODS Portugese Chicken Seasoning and BBQ with the hood closed.
Fish is always a healthy choice. Smaller fish steaks or fillets can be wrapped in aluminium foil before placing on the grill to poach – this will minimise the use of cooking oils while retaining moisture. To learn a host of ways to cook fish, visit our recipes section