Beginners Guide to Getting Started in Barbeque  

Barbeque

Before you break out the grill and start cooking up some barbecue for tonight’s game, be sure to check out our Beginners Guide to Getting Started in Barbeque. Learn everything from the first step of what type of equipment is needed to tips on grilling anything off your grill. Give your family and friends a taste of some of the great barbecue from around the world today without breaking your wallet.

Below you can find our Beginners Guide to Getting Started in Barbeque.

What You’ll Need

Depending on your personal preferences, there are a wide variety of grill styles to choose from. No matter what grill you choose, you will need the following supplies:

Barbeque Grill

You will need a grill to put the coals on, of course. The average price of a basic bbq grill is $100.00 and can go up to several thousand dollars for smokers that are used for competition purposes. There are a wide variety of grill styles to choose from. The most popular include:

• Charcoal Barbeque Grills
• Propane Gas Barbeque Grills
• Electric Barbeque Grills
• Smokers

No matter which style of grill you choose, make sure the grill you get is big enough for what you plan on cooking. This will vary between the different types of grills since some cooking method require more space than others do. You can learn more about grills on a variety of grilling and smoking specific sites like Pat’s Bar and Grill. The most common is the charcoal bbq grill which takes up about 180 square inches and the propane gas bbq grill which takes up about 250 square inches.

In addition to a grill you will need other supplies such as the following:

• Fuel (Propane Tank, Charcoal or Wood)
• BBQ Rubs & Marinades
• Starter (for Charcoal Grills)
• Grill brushes (for Charcoal Grills)
• Grill gloves
• Quality Cuts of Meat

Grilling Basics

To get start grilling, you will want to warm-up the grill to get it ready to use. Here’s how for a charcoal grill:

1. Fill all the burners with one-third of a tank of liquid charcoal (also referred to as briquettes) or wood chunks, whichever you prefer. This amount is enough for about four hours of cooking time on average, so start low if you don’t have a large grill. You may need more if your fire is smaller or spread across many coals.

2. Light the coals or wood chunks with a lighter, then cover the grill and let it sit for about 10 minutes.

3. Uncover the grill, adjust all the burners to medium heat and allow 30 minutes to an hour for the grill to heat up fully.

4. Half-fill a spray bottle with water and lightly mist your food (especially any of your spicier cooked items) as you place it on the grill to keep them moist while they cook and to help them brown better.

5. After about three-quarters of the cook time is over, spray your food again with water. This will help it stay moist while cooking and give it a nice glaze as it cooks.

6. If you need to add more coals or wood chunks, do so about halfway through your cook time. If you leave them on the grill for too long, they will burn, or smolder and smoke a lot rather than actually producing heat.

Tips and Tricks for Grilling

Below we have prepared some great BBQ tips and tricks to help get you started.

Prepare your grill the night before or first thing in the morning and let it sit for a few hours. This will allow the coals to get hot and the grill to heat up so you get a good cook. If you just light your bbq up an right before dinner, there’s a good chance you won’t have enough heat to really cook well.

Make sure you know how to choose a great cut of meat. This can make a big difference in the taste of your meal. For example, if you use a less flavorful cut or a poor quality, it will lack flavor. In addition, there are different cuts of meat that work better for smoking vs grilling.

Make sure to allow the entire amount of time you set aside for the bbq to cook. It might take longer if the weather isn’t right or if you cut up an already tough part of meat and haven’t allowed enough time for it to cook all the way through.

Foil will work well to keep your food moist while on the grill and avoid flare ups, but it doesn’t do a great job keeping things warm. Try not to take too much food out of the oven or you run into problems with the food drying out, getting cold and losing flavor in the process.

If you have a very high heat bbq grill, use reflective foil to keep the heat in. This will also help you avoid flare-ups and help you cook things quickly.

When grilling, use a thermometer to make sure your food cooks properly. For example, if you are cooking a burger medium rare, it should be cooked to about 140F.

Many people make the mistake of trying to grill sweet things like chicken at too high a heat. This can give them a burnt taste, or make them dry or tough if they are pre-cooked or thrown on at too high of a temperature.

You will want to watch your food closely while cooking it so you don’t overcook any of the pieces, especially vegetables. You don’t want them to overcook and become bland or burnt.

If you want to make great barbecue, you need a good supply of wood chunks. They add the smoke flavor and the heat so it will make a better tasting meat, or vegetables anyway. When making a batch of chicken, you will want to use about 2-3 pounds of wood per two pounds of chicken.

Conclusion

Now you’re ready to start grilling, just remember these basic steps and get your grill fired up. Practice is important when it comes to grilling, so experiment with different cuts of meat and styles of cooking. Try some new flavors while you are at it! It’s also a good idea to write down all your recipes in order for you to have them ready next time you fire up the grill.

Well, that’s about it on how to get ready to cook barbecue. We hope you have a great time grilling and cooking some delicious food!