In our first blog post, we want to touch on 5 mistakes that we very often do not pay attention to, and they affect the taste of the meats and vegetables we cook. Familiarize yourself with them and follow the tips included to take care of the fundamentals of healthy grilling.

1. do not clean the grill before each use.

A garden barbecue is an appliance that is outdoors most of the year and exposed to the weather, including but not limited to acid rain. Undesirable substances adhere to the grate and penetrate the old coals and ashes. On the grate additionally you will find grease from previous grilling and, in the case of grates made of ordinary steel, rust.

In order to enjoy the healthy taste of food, it is necessary to remove old ashes and coals with a spatula and clean the grill grate and grill hearth. For ongoing cleaning of the grate, a hard wire brush is useful, with which you scrub the bars lengthwise. At the beginning of the season it is worth thoroughly washing the grate, using grease-dissolving agents (highly concentrated citric acid works very well). It should be mentioned that grates made of stainless steel are much easier to keep clean. Before grilling , always burn the grate over hot embers for a few minutes.

2. we do not wait until the coal reaches the right temperature.

The first reason to wait before throwing meat on the grate is that various compounds, such as soot and sulfur, are released when lighting coal. Coal begins to burn cleanly after it reaches a high temperature. The second reason is to be sure of the burnout of the kindling used, so it is worth waiting until the coal or briquette makes a heat-beating, red embers. Leaving aside the above issues, steel grills take some of the heat generated when firing up (the grate, housing must heat up), and meat must be fried at the right – usually high – temperature.

3 Put the meat straight from the refrigerator on the grill.

Meat thrown on the grill straight from the refrigerator loses its flavor and becomes spongy. Always wait until the meat has reached ambient temperature. However, it must not lie in the heat for too long, as bacteria develops very quickly in meat with marinade. 20 minutes is enough for the meat to reach the right temperature. Just pull off the excess marinade and throw it on the grill.

4. improperly marinate meat for grilling.

There are several types of marinades and thousands of recipes for them. The basic mistake is to marinate right next to the grill and at the same time :). It is necessary to put the meat for marinating in the refrigerator, so that bacteria do not develop in it. If you use a wet marinade, never exceed the maximum marinating time, otherwise the meats will be spongy. For tougher meats the maximum time is 24 hours, and for softer meats 3 hours.

5. we do not use trays, aluminum foil and pans.

When grilling, we should use solutions that will limit the dripping of grease on the embers, as it produces harmful substances. Very useful are reusable stainless steel trays, which we can wash and reuse after grilling. A cast iron pan, on which we will prepare steaks and burgers, also turns out to be salutary. If we do not have the above-mentioned accessories then it is worth using at least foil or aluminum trays, which will perform the same function.