Four top BBQ tips from science to make your barbecue easier, safer and ten times better
From using less charcoal to cutting down waste and a foolproof way to make sure your food is safe, we explain it all.
WE don't get many opportunities to fire up the barbecue over the course of a summer, so when you do you want to make sure you get it right.
We've looked at the science behind grilling – with a little help from Barbecue scientist extraordinaire Meathead Goldwin of amazingribs.com – and have a few tips to make sure you can do just that - and put in less work than you ever have before in the process.
Chicken should be at 74°C, burgers, sausages and other ground meats should get to 71°C. At that temperature the heat will have killed off all the bacteria, and you know it's good to go.
Whole hunks of beef are more complicated - but if you want rare meat take it off at about 55°C, medium at 68°C, and well-done at 74°C.
Science of pasteurisation
If you want to kill bugs on your chopping board, you scrub it with bleach.
If you want to kill them inside food, though, it's even easier. Food-borne nasties can only survive in a relatively narrow range of temperatures, which you can use to your advantage.
Get the temperature of your food up to the point where those bugs all die off, and you're golden. The magic number for chicken is 74°C -- for burgers and sausages it's a bit lower, 71°C.
If you only have one thermometer, remember to keep it clean.
If you've just stabbed a piece of undercooked chicken with it, you don't want to plunge it into a steak you're about to serve without. Ideally, you'd have a couple so that you can keep your meats separate, but it's not essential.
- Meathead, The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling, from £11.39 on Amazon.co.uk -