Have you been to a restaurant multiple times ordering the same dish, yet they taste slightly different every time? Once in a while you might even catch the chef’s taste-bud off day and end up with a meal that’s either too salty or too bland. The reason for this kind of hit and miss is because the chef took a shortcut and did not use the necessary BBQ tools to ensure consistency.
While there are many BBQ masters and professional chefs trying to show you how to cook using a dash of this and a dash of that, that is not a good way to produce great food. The key to consistent success and earning the well-deserved accolades from your raving BBQ fans day-in and day-out is having the discipline of using measuring tools and food temperature probes every single time. Great chefs who care about how their food turns out will never take a shortcut nor trying to just wing it.
MEASURE YOUR SEASONING
Preparing a great piece of BBQ meat starts with proper seasoning of the meat. After you perfect the recipe exactly the way you like it. DO NOT forget to write down what you did!
I am very lucky to marry to a man who loves to experiment and create all kinds of delicious dishes. From BBQ to chicken mole’, to Chinese spicy Szechuan noodles, to cheesecake… he does them all. Unfortunately, in the early days, many memorable dishes he created ended up being one-hit wonders. Since he never bothered to write it down, it was never repeatable. What a shame!
The moral of the story? Don’t let your genius creation be lost forever. Write it down!
To create your BBQ magic, measuring spoons and cups like this is a must.
Use tools like this to measure out the amount of dry rub or marinades suitable for the amount of meats you are cooking. This guarantees that your BBQ will taste right every single time.
KNOW YOUR TEMPERATURE
In order to ensure food safety, different types of meat must be cooked at least up to a different temperature. Below are the guidelines from our local county health department:
So rather than guessing whether your meats are done or not, a good food temperature probe makes all the difference. The probe doesn’t necessarily need to be fancy. It just needs to be as accurate as possible.
Now a days, a digital food temperature probe is preferred over those old-style analog ones. There are many styles and functions to choose from. After going through so many different types, ThermoPro TP-17 Dual Probe below is what we currently use. We are quite happy with this probe.
TESTING YOUR MEAT
Most experience BBQer would know, no two pieces of meat are exactly the same. Depending on its size and whether the meat is on the leaner side vs. marble side, the cooking time can vary.
For a large piece of meat, never assume it is done when the time is up. Besides using the temperature probe, Pros test each piece of meat individually for tenderness before taking them out. How do they test them? They usually test the meat using a BBQ meat fork like the picture below by inserting the fork into the center of the meat and giving it a light twist. If you can’t twist it easily, the meat is not done yet.
GLOVES ARE YOUR BEST FRIEND
As far as getting the meat out of the pit or off the grill, while tongs like below are very useful in taking out chickens, ribs or even fish.
If you are cooking a big piece of brisket or a whole pork butt, it is essential that you have a good pair of heat resistant gloves and use your hands to take the meat out.
When you select a pair of gloves to pick up a very hot piece of meat, being functional is MUCH MORE important than being fashionable. When I saw many of those good-looking short gloves advertised as for BBQ but have big portions of the gloves being made of clothes or Nylon, I laughed. OK, if you are just grilling a bunch of cut-up pieces of meat, Fine! That’s probably sufficient. You are probably using a tong to pick up your meat anyway. However, if you are doing serious BBQing like a whole brisket, a turkey or pork butt, you would definitely want to have a pair of gloves ideally all rubber and at least with the length that cover your whole forearms like what we have below.
As you can see, BBQ does not require a lot of tools, but having the right tools can make all the difference. Whether you have the tools I mentioned above at your disposal can determine whether your BBQ is going to come out juicy or dry. And whether you are risking burning your arms and hands BBQing or not. Now, with the Pro-Tip we shared with you in this blog, have fun with your BBQ!!!
Note: Links to Amazon on this page are our own recommendations. We actually used them in our restaurant and at home.
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