Flavorings for Barbecue FoodWhat often sets each national or regional cuisine apart is how flavorings are used. Basic grilling and barbecuing varies little across the world. The USA is a rich patchwork of barbecue styles, which change from one state, one city, or one suburb to the next - with influences like smoking, vinegar sauces, and hot spicy rubs - often reflecting the mix of immigrants into that area. In India yogurt based, highly flavoured and richly coloured marinades are used to flavour and tenderize meat, traditionally lamb or goat, but often chicken as well now. These flavorings have their roots in the days before refrigeration. Over the centuries, creative ways of preserving food were discovered and developed which relied on alcohol, vinegar, yoghurt, and ingredients such as as garlic, juniper, chilli, turmeric - as well as smoking and drying techniques - all to keep food for longer. The following is a rough guide to the usage of marinades, rubs and sauces, along with some recipes. BBQ Marinade RecipesA marinade is a mixture of something acidic e.g. vinegar or citrus juice, with oil and seasonings. It penetrates the surface layers of the meat and (without getting bogged down describing the chemistry of the process) tenderizes but also flavours it.Marinades come in fluid form, but vary in thickness from thin and watery to thick, sticky ooze. Marinating time can be anything from 20 minutes up to a couple of days, depending on the meat used. For example, fish in a citrus
marinade
takes 20 minutes. But lamb in a yogurt based marinade (like
tikka
) benefits more from a couple of days in a refrigerator.
BBQ Rub RecipesA rub is basically a dry mixture of spices, although it may feature something moist like fresh garlic or ginger, like Cajun seasoning often has. They are often hot and spicy with a touch of sweetness like jerk seasoning is.Their main job is to flavour; as the meat cooks, the oils leak out and form a crust with the rub which seals the juices in. Recipes that use a rub can be served as they are like jerk chicken, or with a barbecue sauce, and/or smoked, as with pulled pork. Barbecue Sauce RecipesBarbecue sauces are really basting sauces, as they are brushed or rubbed onto the meat during cooking. Usually they contain something sweet like, erm, sugar (or maple syrup, etc), which caramelizes under heat giving meat a gorgeous smoky savoury sweetness.Finishing sauces can be added to meat during the final stage of barbequing, after cooking finishes but before it is served, as pulled pork is, and maybe as a condiment sauce on the plate and used as a dip, like ketchup, horseradish sauce, mayo usually are. There are plenty of good commercially produced BBQ sauces around, but homemade barbecue sauce is best! Smoked FoodSmoking food is a great way of flavouring food. The flavour of smoked food comes from the use of specific types of BBQ wood which have been tried and tested over the centuries and found to compliment the taste of the meat being cooked.BBQ smoking can be done using a standard lidded grill using the indirect grilling method with the addition of a smoker box loaded with soaked wood chips. Additionally smoked food is often coated in a barbeque rub, or basted with barbecue sauce during smoking, adding further flavouring to it.
Further Recommended ReadingSee more barbecue tipsReturn from Flavorings to Barbecue Grill Maestro |
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