Need summer barbecue help and ideas...?

Question

We have a gas barbecue and also a small charcoal barbecue, but I've never been able to make anything really impressive on it. Generally things come out worse than if I'd cooked them indoors. I can try the injection thing on meat but I'd have to buy the parts. Plus I want to include vegetables and all that. Menu suggestions and or recipes for barbecue welcome. What makes for a good barbecue?

Answer 1

1. Buy a good steak and marinate it for at least 24 hours prior to cooking. You can get marinade recipes online or find several ready-made marinades at the grocery store that are actually quite tasty. Some of the store-bought marinades say things like "30 minute marinade!" on the bottle; but you should still marinate the meat for 12-24 hours before cooking, in my opinion. Then buy bamboo skewers and soak them in water for several hours prior to cooking. Chop up 1 yellow bell pepper, 1 red bell pepper, 1 onion. Take the marinated steak out of the fridge and cube it. Stick the pieces of steak, onions, and peppers on the soaked skewers, along with a few cherry tomatoes, and...presto!...you have tasty kabobs. Keep an eye on them while cooking and turn them often so they don't incinerate.

2. Buy (or better yet, catch) a fresh rainbow trout. Clean the fish and stuff it with diced onions, cilantro, and a few small lemon peels. Then sprinkle the fish with lemon pepper and very small amount of dried parsley. Wrap it in foil or put it in a fish basket and throw it on the grill! Yum. You know it's done when the meat is opaque and white...not translucent, wet, or grayish-white looking. Cut off the head and pull it up and backwards toward the tail and the spine should come right out. You'll be left with the flanks and your veggie stuffing. The meat will have a few small thread-like bones in it, but most of the big bones will come out with the spine. If you've never had trout, it's a very delicious fish with a mild flavor. Enjoy.

3. Get fresh white or yellow corn (white is better, I think). Husk the corn and cover it with a thick coat of butter....I mean LOTS of butter. Don't worry, most of it will melt off while cooking; for now, more is better. Then sprinkle the corn with crushed black pepper and seasoning salt. The pepper and seasoning will stick to all the butter. Then grill it. It's simple and yummy.

4. Another easy one is to just buy a whole bell pepper, any color (I prefer the yellow ones). Wash it and cut it into quarters and stick it on a long metal skewer. Then hold it over the fire and slowly roast it like you would a marshmellow. Then enjoy your fire roasted pepper.

5. Another cheap and easy way to add a bit of flavor is to buy a smokebox. You can get them at a BBQ store. Basically it's a small iron box full of holes on the lid. You fill it with wood chips and a bit of water and let it soak. When the woodchips are soggy put it on the grill next to your meat. The wet woodchips smoke and add a smoked flavor to the meat. Granted, it's nothing spectacular but it makes a small difference.

6. As far as gas vs. charcoal: Everyone says charcoal is better for flavor...and they are probably right. But charcoal is such a pain in the @$$ and so slow. I'd use gas or propane until you become a pro.

7. Add beer, friends, and good music and you should be on your way to a great BBQ.

Answer 2

First, if you use the charcoal one, try not light it with this lighting liquid, it gives a horrible taste.
Second of all, when the meat cooks on charcoal, the fat that melts creates flames. Avoid that by not putting the meat directly over the charcoal.
Third, the fire must hot, but not too much.

Now here some original recipes, I hope you'll like them

SKEWERS :
Diced sirloins steaks
Diced veal or beef liver
Diced green or/and bell peppers
Sliced onions (thick)
Cherry tomatoes

On skewers, slide a piece of vegetable, one of meat, one of liver, etc. Salt and pepper


GRILLED VEGETABLES :
4 zucchini
2 eggplants
4 yellow zucchinis
olive oil
thyme, salt & pepper

In an aluminium foil, put all the vegetables that you would have sliced or diced,
the salt, pepper, thyme and olive oil,
close the foil but leav a little opening, and cook on the barbecue.
Very simple and very tasty. In fact you can do the same proces with any vegetables.
Portobella or wild mushrooms are great like this.

MUSTARD SARDINES (or Mackerels) :
Cleaned sardines
Onions
French mustard (Maille is better (Walmart), but Grey Poupon will do)
Salt & pepper

Stuff the fish with sliced onions and spread them with the mustard. Salt & pepper.
On the barbie

You can do it ;-)

Answer 3

There are some excellent books on barbecues and grilling. Our favorite is the Weber Big Book of Grilling. It has lots of great recipes and advice. It also has recipies for some amazing rubs and marinades. You might want to check out the cooking section of your bookstore, or reviews of these types of books on amazon.com.

For grilling times and instructions for things like steaks, boneless chicken breast, pork chops and burgers we use the cookout calculator at charcoalbob.com. Enter the details of the items to be grilled (cut of meat, thickness, doneness you want) and it will give you precise instructions for how to grill steak, pork chops, etc. so that everything comes off the grill at the same time, cooked the way you want it on either your charcoal or gas grill. It also has grilling tips.

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

you already have good answers up there so I'll just try to give a different suggestion:
also barbecue some fruit - I wouldn't recommend watermelon of course but try banana, sliced apples, melons etc. The heat caramelises the sugar and it is just fantastic.

also, aside from injecting your meat with the flavourings. try marinades instead. I recommend fresh lemon juice with some fresh herbs (basil or oregano or rosemary). let the meat sit in a plastic container, cover it well and pop it in the fridge overnight.

have a fun barbecue!

Answer 5

a great summer barbecue is something different from everything. i can u gr8 idea. make it a live barbecue party.
that mean that on table keep things like different kinds of sauces , marinades, vegetable and meat pieces .then as a person comes up u ask him which kind of dish he wants 2 eat . then as a person says u mix the spices and that type of meat and then barbecue it. so every person has the meat according to there own taste .

Answer 6

A good bbq is not only some wonderful food, but good times with friends as well. Put the gas grill in the yard sale, then buy some Kingsford Charwood for the grill. Buy a couple of packs of chicken, cut up ( you can pick the types- I do breast & thighs) and rinse well. Sprinkle both sides with your favorite dry seasoning, then grill over medium coals til juices run clear - about 40 minutes. The last 15 or so, you can baste with your favorite bbq sauce. Serve with baked beans, homemade potato salad, cole slaw, pasta salad, etc.......Don't forget plenty of brew for the grown-ups & cokes for the kids!!

Answer 7

One favorite secret of mine is that you can marinade and cook with Italian dressing! I mean it- alot of people boil ribs for a while before cooking on the grill, I like to pour the Italian over the ribs in a pan and cook in the oven, either in a roasting bag, a baking pan or even on a roasting pan so they aren't sitting in the liquid but steaming-and keep basting! Any which way the flavor gets in them, then throw them on the grill with your fav sauce and brown them a bit!
Yummy-
Again you can use Italian Dressing and marinade 3 different meats such as beef, pork, and chicken cut up in chunks with red potatoes, pineapples, apples, onions, bell peppers and tomatoes- make shish kabob. Mix the meats even on one skewer-or make individual ones.
Also for veggies- you can cut up potatoes into wedges and grill them in foil packets with butter,garlic,and season salt.
Corn on the cob,Or a simple baked potato-for a quick one microwave for a few minutes then put it on the grill!
Happy Bar-B-Q!!

Answer 8

corn cob smoked ham baked beans

Answer 9

grilled veggies such as corn on the cobs ,pepers ,jaket potatos through they need cooking and then browning on barb..... pitta breads ,chicken kerbabs ,or veggie burgers....
serve with salads...... greek salad ,pasta,rice salads ,potato salads dip such as humus ,ect ect
after.... grill mashmallows and fresh strawberrys on a barb stick and serve with toffee yog or chocolate....

good luck have a nice time x