Bonfire BBQ Basics
September 30, 20202 min readWalden Backyards
Can't wait to get to grilling with your new Walden BBQ Grill Grate? Before you get started, check out these tips to make your first open flame grilling experience as easy and successful as possible:
Seasoning Your Grate Before Use
Before you use your grate for the first time, we highly recommend that you coat the surface of your grill grate with a high-heat cooking oil, such as a vegetable oil. Wipe excess oil off of the grate with a paper towel. Learn more about seasoning your BBQ grill grate.
Choosing A Wood
Hardwoods, such as oak, hickory, and mesquite, are ideal for open flame cooking. Because they are high in density, they will stay consistently hotter over long periods of time than other types of wood.
Red Embers > Yellow Flames
Your primary concentration while grilling should be to maintain a steady base of red-hot embers. These embers are what will give off the most radiant heat into your meal. If you put too many logs on at once, it will create a flame that kicks up through your BBQ Grate, and will ultimately dry out your food.
A convenient way to maintain a hot ember base, without having to remove your grate to access your logs, is to use a Stoker-Poker to blow oxygen through the diamonds in your grate, allowing you to rekindle embers that are dying out.
Offset Your Flame
A great way to avoid flare-ups that can dry out your food is to offset your flame from directly under where you are cooking. For instance, if you are cooking meat, refrain from placing it directly above a log that is likely to flare, as fatty meats tend to exasperate flare ups. Rather, place it above a spot where you have a good concentration of red-hot embers.
Avoid Overcooking
A common mistake in open flame grilling is to overcook your meat, out of fear that it may not be done well enough. However, many beginners to open flame grilling make the mistake of forgetting that their food will continue to cook internally well after it is removed from the grill.
A good rule of thumb is to remove larger pieces of meat from the grill about 5 degrees below your desired internal temperature, and let them rest for about 10 minutes underneath aluminum foil before serving.
For a brisket or a pork shoulder that needs longer than that, an insulated BBQ blanket holds heat better than foil and keeps the meat hot for hours while the rest of the meal comes together.
We hope that you enjoyed these bonfire BBQ basics, and we wish you success on your first cook!
