BBQ from A to Z The Knife Guide

Step 3: Time to grill. Tips for cooking your meat, fish or veggies to perfection

Let's get to the most important part: the actual grilling. Is everything ready? Have you cleaned the cooking grid and rubbed it with a potato to create a natural, non-stick coating? Go through your menu again and plan the course of events in your mind – what things would you like to serve together? Remember: perfect timing is everything. Don’t forget to check our timeline again so you can be sure you are on cue and that your salads are right on time with your grilled meat, fish or veggies.

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Grilling meat

Expectations rise with the temperature of the grill! If you want to feel like a BBQ pro, follow our tips and tricks for perfect grilling.

It’s crucial to ensure that the grill is properly hot before you put anything on it. Do the water drop test: if it hisses, you can start. It sounds obvious but start with the large pieces because they need a longer cooking time. A meat thermometer is a great help, especially for larger pieces of meat.

Our top tip is never to stab the meat with a carving fork, as the juices will leak out. To keep meat at its juiciest, use a flat spatula to move or turn the meat.

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Properly grilled: rib eye steak

The holy grail of grilling a steak is to get those mouthwatering branding stripes that make a steak look so good and taste even better. To do this, you need a really hot grill. The steaks must sizzle when you put them on the grill. If you want fence branding, turn the steaks 90 degrees after a couple of minutes. Once the branding is there, you can turn down the heat on your gas grill or move the steaks to the part of your charcoal grill that is not so hot. Depending on the thickness of the slices, the other side usually needs only a quarter or a third of the time of the first side. How long you leave them on the grill depends on how rare you like your steaks.

Properly grilled: spare ribs

Many swear by cooking the ribs in the oven before grilling them to make the meat even more tender – so do we. This helps the meat fall off the bone once the grilling is done. Cook your marinated ribs in the oven at 120 degrees Celsius for at least an hour, depending on the size.

After removing from the oven, add a glaze to your ribs – whisk equal parts maple syrup and Worcestershire sauce and brush the ribs with it before grilling.

Finish oven-cooked ribs on a hot grill using direct heat. This will take around 15 minutes, depending on the size of the ribs and how you like them done: still tender and pink inside or cooked fully through. If you use a meat thermometer, the core temperature should be 65° C for rare and 85° C for well done.

Grilling fish

Basically, the easiest way is to grill the whole fish with the skin on. Avoid very high temperatures or cooking over an open flame. Be sure not to turn a whole fish too often – otherwise the skin won’t get crispy or run the risk of tearing.

You can also grill fish in a fish basket or wrapped in aluminum foil. A grill plank is also a nice option – the advantage of using a grill plank is that the fish doesn’t stick to the grill and the wood adds a fine smoky note.

If you are using fish fillets with the skin on, always place them skin-side down on the grill.

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Grilling vegetables

As a rule, vegetables don’t take long on the grill. You should avoid excessive heat to preserve flavor and nutrients. Don’t forget your timeline if you want to serve the veggies at the same time as your other meat and fish dishes!

Vegetable packages are uncomplicated. As a rule, they are done at medium heat in 20 to 25 minutes. To make sure they don't get mushy, you can open the packages after 15 minutes to gauge the remaining cooking time.

If you are grilling vegetable halves or wedges, check them regularly depending on their size. They should take on some color but still be firm. This usually only takes a few minutes.

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  • Swiss Modern Carving Fork
  • Swiss Modern Carving Fork

Swiss Modern Carving Fork

black
TWD 1,150 TWD