A tip for barbecuing

When you think about barbecue, what do you think of first? Which aspects of barbecue are important, which are essential, and which ones can you take or leave? You be the judge.

Here's a basic tip for barbecuing...

When cooking out with a gas grill it is seldom necessary to use the highest setting except when cooking with the lid up. Even then, with a good cooker, it is doubtful you will ever need to set it higher than medium.

I find that food cooked over medium heat with the lid down as much as possible during the cooking time is best. Cooking on the highest setting usually produces meat that is too dry.

The only exception to this rule is when cooking steaks. When cooking Porterhouse, Rib, or Sirloin I want the lid up and the heat high so that the flames from the gas lick the meat.

If your barbecue facts are out-of-date, how will that affect your actions and decisions? Make certain you don't let important barbecue information slip by you.

The drawback of using a gas grill is that it imparts absolutely no flavor to the meat. To achieve the barbecue taste you might want to try adding a bit of hickory flavoring or 'liquid smoke' to half of a cup of cooking oil directly on the meat just before it is ready to serve. The meat will flame and char, giving it that semblance of barbecue taste.

I also want flame-up because I like the flavor of a steak kissed by flame. Liquid Smoke is a product that is made by burning hickory chips and condensing the smoke into a liquid form. The liquid is then scrubbed and filtered to remove all impurities.

It's used to flavor meat poultry and seafood. Use sparingly as liquid smoke is very concentrated and a few drops can go a long way. You can buy it in most grocery stores in the Barbecue and steak sauce section.

For more ways to fake real barbecue taste when using a gas grill, and more specific tips, techniques, resources, and recipes, check out http://barbecue-secrets.blogspot.com.

As your knowledge about barbecue continues to grow, you will begin to see how barbecue fits into the overall scheme of things. Knowing how something relates to the rest of the world is important too.