Making entre'es BBQ style doesn’t have to be limited to the summer months. The way to enjoy this easy living way of cooking is to invest in a gas BBQ that is ready to cook on in minutes. It’s a great alternative to cooking on the stove or in the oven.

Basically, there are two kinds of BBQ products. One is a Sauce and the other is a Marinade. A Marinade should be put together in such a way that the meat that is marinating will soak up the flavor of the marinade. There is a fine line on what makes a marinade work. If it’s too thick, which means the water portion that contains the flavor is tied up with either starch or gum; it cannot go into the meat. If you marinate overnight, the flavor should be all the way through your entrée.

A sauce is usually thicker and is meant to be brushed on an entre'e, after it’s cooked, during the last 5 minutes of grilling. This burns off the vinegar in the sauce and permits the sweetness to come through. A good rule of thumb is to cook with a spice like Jezebel or Steakhouse Rotisserie & Grill, then coat with a sauce 5 minutes before taking it off the grill & flavor profile to come through.

Baste your entrée as you cook with fresh marinade; this will give you a juicy and delicious meal. It’s important not to use the leftover marinade if you baste right at the end of cooking. If you do, you’re basting with dangerous levels of bacteria from uncooked meat. The water content of the meat will mix in with the marinades and begin to dilute the preservative system. Also, all meat contains bacteria which will multiply under these conditions.

Suggested Marinade Techniques :

The marinated meat should be left in the refrigerator until the next day if possible~

Fresh Marinade

When you begin cooking use additional fresh marinade to baste with. Remember to wash the dish the raw meat was on before returning the cooked meat, to prevent the cooked entrée from being contaminated with bacteria from the raw meat.

Fish

When marinating fish, usually a few hours is sufficient to marinate, due to its delicate texture.

Large entre'e

When cooking a large entrée like a Roast or Chicken on the grill, turn off the gas directly below it and keep the top closed so it cooks evenly without burning or drying out. You may want to put in some moistened wood chips or even a small pan of water to keep the meat moist. On a charcoal grill, if you use a charcoal lighter, be sure you burn off the petroleum paper to start your coals, use care to avoid getting paper ash in your food.

Use Stainless Tongs

We recommend using a long pair of stainless steel tongs to safely turn your meat over. Not only can you get a good grip on the meat, but should your fire flare up, you can grab the meat securely and it also saves the hair on your arms from being burned off. Using a fork to turn over your meat pierces the meat and allows all the natural juices to run out.

Let Roast Stand

Allow a roast to stand at least 5 to 10 minutes before carving it. This will give you a juicier cut of meat. Just cover with aluminum foil immediately after removing from the grill or oven. Always thaw meat in the refrigerator or the microwave and not open on the kitchen counter.

Remember

Even if you use the most exquisite sauce in the world, but prepare the entrée incorrectly, it will taste terrible. Some examples are leaving fish to marinate too long, where it ends up being cooked by the vinegar content of the sauce; or putting a seasoning like Santa Maria on a Roast as a coating and then letting the meat sit it its own juice. This would make it taste very salty. This problem can be avoided by using a wire rack to set the meat on.