Flavoring Meat On Your Outdoor BBQ Island

Summer is rapidly approaching and many of you are already beginning to warm up your BBQ Islands and outdoor BBQ grills. Summer is grilling season and we’ve got some hot tips for those of you who are already smelling the smoky, mesquite aroma of grilled meat.

Flavor is of the utmost importance to anyone who loves grilled food. There are many people who just do not know how to add flavor to their meat. To avoid turning your expensive cuts of meat into tasteless disasters you can add flavor to them before even placing them on your outdoor BBQ Islands. Adding flavor to your meat can be done in a variety of ways. You can use everything from brining methods to a simple marinade or rub.

Marinating is the most typical option in adding flavor to meat before grilling.  Remember these tips when marinating.

• Completely cover your meat with the marinade.
• Marinate everything in the refrigerator.
• If your meat is tender it only needs to marinate for 2 hours or less.
• If the meat is tougher it can be marinated overnight.
• Marinated meat has a faster cooking time. The longer the meat has marinated the less time it needs to cook.
• If you use a marinade with sugar add it near the end of grilling because sugar burns easily.
• Your marinade should contain some sort of acidic ingredient like vinegar, wine, or fruit juice which will help tenderize the meat.

Some grilling gurus prefer to use a dry rub on their meat. A few of the same rules apply with rubs.

• Sugar should be used sparingly because it burns so easily. A small amount is usually enough to add the flavor you desire.
• Sprinkle the rub evenly on both sides of the meat
• With a dry rub you should apply it and let it marinate over night in the refrigerator.
• You can even a bit of liquid to create more of a paste. The liquid should contain an acidic ingredient as well.

Brining is another way to add lots of flavor to your meat before throwing it on your outdoor kitchen grills. Brining is a method using salt and water osmosis.

• When you are done brining rinse your meat off well. With the brining process this will not wash away the flavor.
• Add a sugar to your brine to prevent an overly salty taste and to give your meat its desired color. This is especially true with chicken. Using a brine with no sugar may result in a grayish colored chicken.
• You can find salt water ratios for brining online. Otherwise you may just be soaking your meat in salty water with no affect. Try 2/3 of salt, 2/3 of sugar, and a gallon of water.

So before you turn up the heat on your outdoor BBQ Islands this summer, remember to flavor your meat ahead of time for the tastiest BBQ ever.

Tagged as: BBQ, bbq island, grilling, grills, marinating, outdoor grills

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