Barbecue Tips

People from coast-to-coast are rejoicing as barbecue season officially returns. Victoria Gourmet has some deliciously simple suggestions for creating the perfect backyard barbecue, whether you're just grilling a steak after work, or deep-frying a brined turkey for a family cookout.

Weeknight Grilling Made Easy with Victoria Gourmet:

Quickly cook full-flavor grilled meals on weeknights. Make a paste with one of Victoria Gourmet's seasoning blends, some olive oil, and citrus juice. Slather this on meat, fish or poultry just before putting it on the grill. It's a quick and easy way to create delicious meals any night of the week.

Great flavor combinations include:

New Orleans Seasoning	+ lime juice & olive oil	+ on chicken or fish
Kansas City Seasoning	+ lime juice & olive oil	+ on steak or pork
Sicilian Blend	+ orange juice & olive oil	+ on swordfish
Moroccan Blend	+ lemon juice & olive oil	+ on lamb or chicken
Texas Red	+ lime juice & olive oil	+ on steak or chicken

Quick Tip: Seasoned butters are another great way to add flavor to grilled meats, or grilled vegetables. Simply mix 2 tablespoons of seasoning blend with a stick of softened butter, form a cylinder, roll in plastic wrap, and store in the refrigerator. This is a handy way to add flavor to a plain piece of grilled fish or a steak any night of the week.

Check out our recipe section for great grilling ideas, from burgers to fish steaks.

Brining and Barbecuing: A Perfect Culinary Marriage

We've all experienced bad barbeques - chicken and pork overcooked to the point where they resemble cinders instead of meat. Brining, the technique of soaking lean meats in a salt solution, helps prevent dried-out grilled meats by infusing them with moisture.

Brining is compatible with all popular forms of outdoor cooking - grilling, smoking, and even deep-frying. Shrimp, chicken and pork profit from soaking in a flavorful brine before being grilled. Pork loins and whole chickens absorb layers of flavor before being cooked in a smoker. Whole turkeys benefit from brining before being fried in an outdoor kettle-style fryer.

Victoria Gourmet president Victoria Taylor, who developed a line of four new Brining Blends, says brining can be used with all kinds of traditional outdoor recipes. "Even something as basic as grilled chicken pieces and pork chops becomes elevated when the meat is brined before cooking," says Taylor. "The meat is succulent, filled with layers of flavor and has a wonderful moist texture."

For successful outdoor cooking after brining, Victoria suggests the following:

Be sure to thoroughly pat dry the brined meat before cooking. Adding damp meat to a grill will cause steaming instead of grilling. This is especially important when cooking meat in a kettle-style outdoor fryer. Any moisture on the surface of the meat could cause the hot oil to spatter.
Thoroughly preheat the grill, smoker or deep fryer before cooking to ensure a good sear.
Don't pierce meat with a fork, causing it to lose its juices. Instead turn meat with tongs.
Most barbecue sauces contain tomatoes, sugar and/or honey, all of which easily burn on the grill. To avoid this, rub meats with seasoning blends and oil prior to cooking, then glaze with barbecue sauce for the last five minutes of cooking over indirect heat.
Use flat skewers; they are easier to turn. Food tends to spin on rounded skewers, making it difficult to control the foods' cooking surface during grilling.
Shrimp can quickly overcook, becoming rubbery and inedible. Don't grill them more than 1 ½ to 2 minutes per side over high heat.
Buy a reliable meat thermometer to verify doneness.

See our Brining Blends page for details on our four blends, and additional brining tips, recipes and information.

Don't Forget the Sides

No barbecue is complete without a few great side dishes. Try a few of the great recipes on our website, including:

Quick Tip: To add a little heat to your summer cooking, stir a little Victoria Taylor's New Orleans Seasoning into your potato salad, cole slaw, or deviled eggs.