A normal BBQ…
I thought this was a worthwhile post, because I wanted to talk about what I’d cooked here, and why I wouldn’t cook it that way again.
A good ‘proper’ traditional BBQ can be tough to get right. Don’t get me wrong; anyone can fire up a BBQ, chuck some meat on it, and chow down with some side salad/jacket potatoes and all the usual. That in itself is not complicated, but… let’s just say you want chicken, ribs and burgers. All three of those things need very, very different cooking times to be perfect.
Ribs
Ribs need to be cooked low’n’slow, they dry out very easily, but cooked too quickly end up tough. Getting the right balance is tricky.
Chicken
Nobody likes being ill. And undercooked chicken is a sure fire way to spend a weekend in bed. But again, chicken dries out really quickly, and if it’s not had the right preparation and it’s not cooked just right, you have tough, dry chicken that’s not nearly as nice as it could be.
Burgers
Burgers should be cooked at a ridiculously high temperature, for a very, very short period of time. Simples. Nothing else. No arguments. You can’t argue because I’m right.
By the nature of the above, getting that combo right is a nightmare, if you’re cooking just on one BBQ.
So here’s how not to do it.
So first things first, I can see that chicken already looks overdone! I’d probably put it on at the same time as the ribs. What a schoolboy error. Tsk.
I then foolishly cooked the burgers whilst using a dish to keep the other meat warm. I can just tell as I’m sure you can, by looking at, it’s dry. Anyway, the burgers should be cooked at nuclear heat, and that looks just about ‘hot’.
The end result, is a reasonable dinner – but it could be so much better. Also, those burgers were from the butchers I was going to at the time, which is what I keep referring to as Pre-Harrisons. They were alright, but to be honest, the perfect burger should be made of a specific combination of Rib Cap and Brisket… but… I’m already giving away too much of the future… no more spoilers!
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