Paleo Cookbook Exposed

Before announcing a barbecue party or cook-out you will do well to master the fine art of barbecuing:

Learn how to build up a fire, and how to maintain and control the heat. Do some research to get some healthy cooking recipes.

Learn by experience, the approximate time for cooking various foods and the amount of food that can be cooked in a reasonable time.

Some foods take longer to cook than others and you should plan the order in which to add food to the grill. If done correctly all of the food will be cooked through and ready to be served at the same time.

Start by cooking the foods that will take the longest to cook like chicken or steaks, then after the appropriate amount of time add sausages or burgers and last to go on the grill is fast cooking foods like spicy prawns.

If you want to be known as the king of the barbecue make sure to try out a number of healthy cooking recipes before hand to find some food that can become your signature dish, if you can make it work for your barbecue, news of your success will spread and you and your barbie will become legendary.

It will help if you can prepare the food in advance. Set it out on a table next to the barbecue with several pairs of tongs for turning and lifting out the grilled food. Trim off as much fat as you can before grilling, as the fat will drip on to the coals and cause flare-ups

For the real wow factor marinate the meats and poultry before grilling. As well as brushing on additional marinades as the meat is cooking. For extra aroma throw sprigs of thyme and/or rosemary on the coals. Baked potatoes are best pre cooked in the oven and wrapped in tin foil so that they only need to be warmed up by the coals. Likewise garlic bread wrapped in tin foil only needs to be placed at the edges of the grill where the heat is not so intense. This will allow the bread to gently cook.

When I do out-door cooking at home, I find that my hand made kebabs are probably the most popular: small pieces of marinated meat or chicken that are threaded on 6 inch to 12 inch long metal skewers with either a vegetable or fruit added to each.

I also recommend doing oak or hickory smoking. Place a number of small chips of oak or hickory wood into a cup and fill the cup with cold water. Allow the wood to soak for 20 – 30 minutes.

Once the food is nearly ready to be served drain off the access water from the cup throw the wet wood chips onto the barbecue and close the lid. This will create a large plum of smoke that when trapped by the lid with add additional flavour to the meats.

Healthy cooking at its best – all you need now is a bit of practice and some sunshine.