How To Make The Perfect Barbecue
A good grill, an hour or two of preparation, quality charcoal, and the best cuts of meat (or good vegetables) is all you need for an unforgettable day in front of the embers.
On previous occasions we had delved into which are the best cuts of meat for a barbecue or grill, the differences between grill and barbecue, and even how to calculate the perfect amount of ingredients, so that, at the end of a Sunday day in front of the embers there was nothing left over. Today, we go into step by step to achieve a perfect barbecue from start to finish, regardless of whether it is the first or the tenth barbecue of our life. Let’s go there.
First decision: grill or barbecue
First of all, we need to choose if we prefer grill or barbecue. The grill is the wrought iron grate that is placed over the coals. The barbecue has a grill and also includes a lid that, when closed, allows for slower cooking.
The grill is ideal for cooking tender meats and for achieving a crispy touch thanks to the direct heat source and fast cooking. In the market we can find the double grate grill, ideal for fish, and also the electric one, a highly recommended option for everyday life from which we cannot expect the juiciness and aroma of embers.
The barbecue, on the other hand, is ideal for preparing tougher meats thanks to the possibility of slow cooking. This increases its versatility and is therefore the favorite. We can find charcoal, gas or electric barbecues. For many, gas is the safest and easiest option to handle, although if we opt for a charcoal barbecue we ensure an enriching culinary experience.
When deciding what our ideal barbecue would be, Juan Manuel Benayas, charcoal burner and founder of the first barbecue school in Spain, is clear that the important thing is to look at the quality of the materials. Better to invest in a solid, stable barbecue (nothing that moves with a light wind) without the risk of a piece of enamel ending up between our potatoes and entrecôtes.
Wood or charcoal for the barbecue?
Once you have decided on a barbecue or charcoal grill, you only need to decide on the fuel: firewood or charcoal. The use of firewood characterizes the meat with an aroma associated with the wood itself. It gives the bite a more complex flavor and allows the grill expert to play with a much wider range. The big drawback, as Pablo Liste, owner of the Albanta restaurant, a specialist in wood-fired cooking, told us, is that we need up to 2 hours to get the embers. If we add this to the fact that the incandescence of the wood embers, which allows us to cook for about 15 to 25 minutes, it can be a very difficult fuel to handle for beginners.
Now, the charcoal is ready in just 40 minutes. The charcoal embers remain active enough for at least 1 hour or even an hour and a half. Its big con is a possible unwanted charred aftertaste. To obtain the best results, the safe bet is oak charcoal, large in size and not very smoky. If you are about to prepare a barbecue in Argentina, you will find quebracho charcoal your greatest ally.
Wood and charcoal mixtures: yes or no
In addition, there is a third option: mixing firewood and charcoal to achieve the aromatic finish of the firewood and the malleability and durability of the charcoal embers. A game that experts like Liste recognize as an extremely valid solution that elevates the final product with less difficulty.
The fire, from less to more
For a successful barbecue, we need to apply a combustion gradient. That is, use materials that burn at different speeds: very fast, fast, and slow. Newspaper or some dried pineapples are the starters par excellence. The thin wood from fruit boxes or thick cardboard feeds on that fire and extends the flames long enough for firewood or charcoal to catch. The rest is waiting under supervision to have the embers ready.
Don’t worry, if you don’t feel prepared to create a fire from scratch, we have a couple of alternatives. One is the direct use of ignition pads. Although anyone who loves the product and barbecue would be against it due to the possible chemical aftertaste, today, there are alternatives to petroleum-based tablets and instead they are made with vegetable wax and firewood or straw. In this way, we have extra help that does not harm our food.
If, in addition to being simple, we want it faster, we can opt for the use of a chimney ignition. This device is a metal cylinder that allows the ignition pads to burn at the foot of the coal. Thanks to the vertical structure, the charcoal ignites much faster than in the classic way. Then it will be enough to spread our charcoal along the base of the barbecue.
Wait to reach the optimal temperature
Of course, once the embers are incandescent the next question is: How do you know that the embers have the optimal temperature to start cooking?
Pablo Liste is clear that color is the key. If the embers are red, that is synonymous with high radiation. We need some radiation for our food to cook, but we want to avoid burning it at all costs. So the advice is: wait until the incandescent red decreases and the dull tone is uniform. We will have to be especially attentive while chorizos, bacon, and other fatty pieces are on the grill, their fat fans the flame when they fall and we must appease them.
If we want to add another measurement we can opt for the rule of seconds. Although Benayas places them at 7 and Liste at 5, what is clear is that, if our hand at the height at which the grill will go (about 10 or 15 cm) can be held comfortably for about eight or ten seconds, it means that the embers need to be fanned with a good poker. If, on the other hand, our skin burns in less than five seconds, we should wait a little longer.
How to keep the heat of a barbecue?
The height and play of the barbecue base have a lot to say when it comes to homogenizing the temperature. For a beginner, just getting some good coals will be enough to enjoy a more than an appetizing table of vegetables, meats, and the occasional starter such as blood sausage. Cooked at more or less the same height, and in the time that the embers of a good charcoal last, without major technical requirements.
However, if in the same round of barbecue, we want to cook meats of different thicknesses, fish, and also vegetables and starters, things get more interesting. To maintain heat, one of the tricks that Liste de Albania shared is that, if the base of the barbecue is wide enough, do not hesitate to create two briquettes. On one side, keeping the embers alive while on the other the embers at the optimal temperature for cooking. In this way, we can play fanning whenever we need our cooking temperature, which allows us to continue cooking at a good pace without suffering because the last pieces may remain raw.
The ingredients, tempered and in the right order
It is important that meat, fish or vegetables are tempered before coming into contact with fire. The cold of the skin of the meat could cause it to stick together. Furthermore, the style of grilled cooking that is most popular in Spain seeks a less cooked center and a crispy surface, so with meat that has just come out of the refrigerator we would risk obtaining a charred exterior and a raw interior. It is always a good idea to make a marinade or marinade to get more out of it.
The order in which we cook the pieces is also important since each one has its own cooking time. Approximately, a kilogram of entrecote would need at least 4 minutes on each side, while one of fish needs up to 15 minutes. The main reason is that the fish is expected to be well cooked to the inside while the meat, on the contrary, is expected to be tender and little or not cooked at all in the center.
The type of fish and meat must also be taken into account. Some general rules speak of up to 10 minutes on each side in the case of pork and only a couple of minutes if the meat in question is lamb.
So, when we are in front of our solid, stable, quality barbecue, with embers at the point, hot but not incandescent, the next step will be to start the barbecue round with all the smallest and fatty pieces: black pudding, bacon, chorizo, which Just in a couple of turns they acquire the warm and crunchy touch that we are looking for. Next, or in the same scenario, we can also add the lighter vegetables (we already know that potatoes take longer and we can always camouflage them in aluminum foil among the embers, without haste or pause). And continue with the main dish, from smallest to largest in size and hardness, starting with the beef and lamb, the chicken, and ending with the pork.
All this in the right amount. As Roberto García, winner of the award for the best barbecue in 2023, recommended to us, we must remember that a good barbecue is made with meat, vegetables, potatoes, in his case, a favorite, octopus, so When going through the butcher shop we must keep our feet on the ground, more than 300 g per person will be excessive in almost any circumstance.
Ensures the life of the grill
After everything we have learned, what we wish is that our experience does not stop here. To repeat more successful barbecue days, it is important that we take good care of our grill. During cooking, the main thing is to grease it well before placing the pieces, for the sake of the grill and the final result.
When you finish cooking, still hot, it is time to clean it thoroughly so that no charred remains spoil the next menu. To do this we can rub with newspaper and plenty of salt or get a barbecue brush that will leave it like the first day, and us eager to repeat.