There’s a fabulous irony that the latest cooking trend after molecular gastronomy is cooking over open coals, a return to primordial times – we’ve been cooking over coals for as long as we’ve been standing upright, says Pete Goffe-Wood, food alchemist, professional chef, author, and Ultimate Braai Master.
“Thankfully it has returned, but getting it right is all about mastering the technique – understanding the heat and its effect on what you cook.”
Here are Pete’s top tips for cooking over coals, both indoors and outdoors:
- Control your heat – think about the type of heat you need to cook different proteins. The heat required to sear a piece of tuna is very different from the heat needed to cook chicken quarters
- Season your meat before you cook it, just before you put it on the grill. It helps the juices form and will create a nice tasty crust on the outside of your meat or fish. Adding salt after you have cooked it, just leaves you with salty meat.
- Always use a clean and spotless grill, any charred build-up will mean that it doesn’t get quite hot enough and fish in particular will stick. And make sure your grill is heated well in advance to get that maximum grilled effect. There is nothing worse than a flabby grey piece of meat that has been cooked on a grill that is not hot enough. Your fish will also stick and fall apart.
- Brush your meat etc with a little oil before cooking; it will help the seasoning stick to the meat as well as stop meat sticking to the grill.
- Try to turn your ingredients only once. Try to keep meat etc in contact with the grill for the longest possible time. Continual turning means that your meat is not always over the heat and in the case of fish may begin to break up.
- Avoid marinades with high sugar and starch content, as they tend to burn easily, rather brush some of the marinade on the meat just before you remove it from the grill.
- Invest in a decent pair of tongs.
- When grilling fish, the freshest is always best – frozen tends to be flabby and watery, sticks easily and is nowhere near as tasty.
- Most importantly always rest your meat before you carve or serve. The meat contracts as it cooks and all of the juices are squeezed from the cells. If you cut into a piece of meat the moment it comes off the fire, all of the juices will be expelled and end up on the carving board. By resting the meat you allow the meat to relax and by doing so all of the juice is retained within the meat making it juicy and far tastier.
