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Cooking hints
It's easy to keep your food moist and succulent on a barbeque by following these
guidelines:
• Use tongs instead of a fork when turning meat and poultry. A fork pierces the flesh and
causes the juice to seep out.
• Resist the temptation to keep turning meat over. Juices tend to rise to the top of a piece of
meat and then settle. Each time you turn the meat over, the juices are lost. It's better to
quickly sear the meat on HIGH each side (about half a minute) then with the burner
controls down near LOW, leave the meat cook on one side at a time, turning once only
before serving.
• If you like salt with your food, try adding it at the end instead of before or during cooking.
Salt draws the natural moisture out of the food and dries it out.
• Baste food with light marinade or canola oil a couple of times while cooking, though watch
out for excessive flare-up if too much oil is used.
• Using the roasting hood as outlined later in these instructions is an excellent way to
preserve moisture and succulence and takes the hard work out of barbeque cooking.
• Although cooking on the optional hotplate looks easier, cooking on the grill gives you a
more authentic barbeque flavour. Natural juices drip onto the flame tamer and then
vaporise, with the vapours penetrating back into the food.
• As an alternative to simply grilling, try marinating your meat, fish, poultry or vegetables first.
The longer you leave the food to stand in the marinade, the more thoroughly the flavour
will soak through. Several pre-made marinades are available and good recipes are easy to
come by. It is best to leave food standing in the refrigerator.
• If you use a tomato or sugar based sauce for basting, apply it in the last 5-10 minutes of
cooking. Using these sauces over a longer period of time will result in over-browning.
• To prevent meat from curling, slash the remaining fat at roughly 5cm intervals, taking care
not to cut into the meat.
• Avoid burning or charring food as this has been shown to be unhealthy. Don't leave
cooked food standing for too long before eating.
Covered cooking
Cooking with the Hood Closed:
Using the roasting hood traps heat, moisture and flavour that is normally lost on an open top
barbeque. For covered cooking, there are two basic ways to cook: (A) Direct Cooking and (B)
Indirect Cooking.
(A) Direct Cooking Method:
This is when you place the food directly over the lit burners, either on the grill or the hotplate.
This method is great for frying, searing and grilling, especially with thinner cuts and foods that
require shorter cooking time. Cooking takes less time than with the hood open, and the
results are more tender and juicy.
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