The marinade
Are you familiar with marinating for barbecues? This method involves marinating food for several hours before cooking it. It's a great way to give your food a whole new flavor and enjoy a delicious lunch or dinner with friends and/or family. Want to try it? We'll explain how! Contents: How to make a marinade? What are the basics of a marinade? How to properly marinate meat? What other foods can be marinated? What are other barbecue cooking methods?
How do you make a marinade?
When wondering how to make a marinade, it's important to know that a barbecue marinade involves soaking food in a specific mixture for a certain amount of time before grilling it. This process tends to tenderize the meat and also imparts a delicious flavor to the dish. While it's necessary to plan ahead, barbecue marinades have the advantage of being suitable for all kinds of food. Fruits, vegetables, meats, poultry, fish, and other seafood can all be marinated on the barbecue.
What is the base of a marinade?
There are several basic marinade recipes that can be used to make a barbecue marinade. These include:
- The acidic marinade with lemon juice or vinegar
- The marinade for tenderizing meat, based on wine
- The marinade is brine-style, made with water, lemon, and salt.
- The marinade adds flavor with oil and herbs
Then, according to one's taste, the following are added to the base:
- Aromatic herbs
- Onions, garlic or shallots
- Spices
How to properly marinate meat?
To properly marinate meat, we must first prepare the meat or fish. We can leave it whole or slice it into strips, depending on our preference. The barbecue marinade is then prepared separately. The food can then be placed in a dish and covered with the marinade, or completely submerged, depending on our preference and the quantity available. The food is then placed in the refrigerator. For a large cut of meat, allow 12 hours; for a whole bird, 6 hours; for fish fillets, 2 to 3 hours; and for fruits and vegetables, one hour. Once the meat is marinated, it can be drained and then cooked on the barbecue grill. Discard any leftover marinade. The meat is then cooked as usual, according to our desired level of doneness.
What other foods can be marinated?
As mentioned earlier, barbecue marinades can also be used for fish and vegetables. They are also a great way to enhance their flavor and create delicious and original recipes. The process is the same as for meat; you simply need to adjust the marinating time and cooking time. Barbecue marinades thus allow for the creation of many different recipes!
What are the other methods of cooking on a barbecue?
There are many other barbecue cooking techniques besides marinating. It's an opportunity to create new recipes and discover new flavors.
Indirect cooking
With indirect cooking, the idea is to avoid putting the food in direct contact with the heat source, as can be the case on a charcoal barbecue, for example (where the meat is practically in contact with the coals). A
brick barbecue therefore allows for indirect cooking if desired.
The papillotes
Cooking en papillote involves wrapping food in aluminum foil or parchment paper and then cooking it all together. This method of steaming keeps the food tender. All that's left to do is remove the packaging and enjoy.
The barbecue
Grilling is the most common cooking method for a barbecue. It relies on using a grill on which the food is placed. Grilling allows the food to be charred on the outside and tender on the inside. It allows you to cook all kinds of meats, fish, vegetables, etc.
Barbecued food
Barbecues are perfectly possible. Just like with an oven, you can easily cook a roast or a chicken on a barbecue. Add some vegetables to create a simple yet complete meal!
Smoking
Finally, there's also the technique known as smoking, which involves using the smoke produced by the barbecue to flavor food. This very distinctive flavor is highly prized, but it does require a certain level of expertise. See also:
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