Grilling your way
Marinate, garnish, inspire! With our recipes and lots of tips and tricks, your barbecue summer will be unique. Discover the diversity of barbecuing with Kotányi - 100% natural and genuine in flavour.
A good barbecue is not rocket science. You often hear that. And yet you may feel a little overwhelmed when you stand in front of the barbecue for the first time. To help you avoid this, we've written down the most important tips for you. And don't forget: The right use of barbecue spices works wonders!
Choose the right grill
There are many different barbecues on the market: the best known are charcoal barbecues, gas barbecues and electric barbecues. For beginners, we recommend a simple charcoal barbecue. It is inexpensive, easy to use and gives the food an unmistakable smoky flavour. However, you can of course also delve deeper into the subject. Here we have covered the main differences between charcoal and gas barbecues.
Please note: The barbecue should already be hot when you start grilling: The charcoal must be red-hot and covered with a white layer of ash. Nothing should be burning or smoking. Then brush the grill with oil to prevent sticking. Alternatively, you can also rub the grill with half an onion!
Good barbecue food, good barbecue
We have to say one thing straight away: Please don’t skimp on the barbecue food. Even if you don’t have much experience yet, the simple rule is that high quality tastes better. If you’re grilling meat, make sure it’s organic and that the animals are being treated fairly.
Of course, there are cuts that are easier to grill and others that are more complex. If you’re new to barbecuing, it’s best to choose simple varieties. You can’t go far wrong with chicken, turkey or sausages. Even better are steaks or chops cut to a maximum thickness of 3 cm. This meat is cooked quickly, but does not dry out as quickly.
Large grilled food – for example complete roasts or whole poultry – is grilled indirectly. As a beginner, however, you should stick to simpler pieces.
- KOTÁNYI TIP: It is best to use an aluminium tray for fatty meats, grilled cheese or vegetables.
- Otherwise, fat or liquid will leak out, the food will become dry and too much smoke will develop!
Spices and marinades make the difference
Our speciality is, of course, spices. And they play a major role, especially for beginners – they provide more flavour and a unique finesse.
You can use many of our spice blends as a dry marinade. For example, the barbecue seasoning salt and herbs of your choice (e.g. rosemary), or simply the barbecue marinade spice mix. are applied directly to the food and rubbed in before it goes on the barbecue.
You can use other spices as a base for an oil marinade. It is best to marinade your food the day before, using oil and herbs. There are no limits to your creativity when preparing the marinade. But it’s best to keep it simple and use our perfectly balanced barbecue marinade spice mix , which you mix with oil and leave your meat to marinate in.
- KOTÁNYI TIP: If you are grilling meat or fish, you should only salt it just before grilling. Otherwise the salt will draw out too much liquid.
Ready for grilling
Before you invite lots of guests, you should at least try out your barbecue once. As a rule, everyone has their own particularities. Learn to control the heat properly: You will find that every barbecue has a hotter area that you need for searing and a less hot area where the food can cook. Larger pieces should therefore be placed closer to the centre first and then further out.
When barbecuing, don’t forget to turn the food regularly so that it cooks evenly. If you put a lot of food on the barbecue, it’s best to do it clockwise so that you don’t lose track! For smaller pieces, use a skewer to help with flipping.
The firmer the meat is, the more cooked it is. However, you can also tell by the colour or the beads of juice that have escaped. Remove the cooked pieces from the grill and keep them warm in aluminium foil to prevent them from drying out.
- KOTÁNYI TIP: Pouring beer over the food is a beginner's mistake.
- It does not penetrate the meat and only produces smoke. Well marinated, the juiciness comes naturally!
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