The barbecue season in Germany has been open since the beginning of June. Hobby cooks and connoisseurs like to spend time outdoors and put meat, fish, sausages, various types of cheese and vegetables on the grill grate. And even if most foods can be grilled, some simply taste much better, while others lose some of their flavor. And there are some that are even dangerous. Whatyou can grilland what should you avoid? Grilling healthily – made easy. We come to your rescue with some tips.
Barbecue healthily: These foods are dangerous and should never be grilled!
One or two grill experiments can enrich the weekly menu. In some cases, however, experimentation proves to be dangerous. There are some foods that have no place on the grill grate. Here is a list of meats and sausages that you should not grill.
1.Vienna sausagesare boiled sausages in a sausage that were invented by a butcher in Frankfurt more than 200 years ago. Originally they were made only from pork and were very popular in the city and surrounding areas. When the butcher later moved to Vienna, he also presented his sausages there. There he adapted his basic recipe to the tastes of Austrian customers and began hisSausages made from a mixture of beef and porkto produce.
2.Ham, regardless of whether it is raw or cooked ham, does not belong on the grill for the same reason. The two types of ham are cured, and the cooked ham is also scalded after processing.
Why doesn't ham have a place on the grill? Because this is also cured meat, and all such products contain salts that have carcinogenic effects. They are therefore not suitable for grilling, as both electric and gas grills quickly reach a temperature of over 170 degrees Celsius.
3. You should also avoid grilling other cured meat products.
By the way, there are manufacturers who do not use nitrite curing salts. Your organic meat products are labeled accordingly and can be easily recognized by their light gray color.
Grill healthily: These foods taste better if they are not grilled
There are foods that are safe for your health and that you can grill if you wish. Nevertheless, we advise you against it. The reason: They simply taste better if they are not grilled. Here is a short list of foods that you should prepare differently:
- If you are the familywith juicy burgersIf you want to surprise, then you should prepare the burger patties in a deep pan or deep pot. Only then can you go on the grill for a short time (1-2 minutes maximum).
- For many people, shish kebab skewers are simply part of their barbecue program. Actually, a lot of prior knowledge and sensitivity are necessary to fry all the ingredients well. Beginners should stay away from it, because grilling vegetables and meat together is really an art in itself.
- Seafood is also popularly grilled. Shrimp in particular are very popular among amateur chefs. As long as they go on the grill with their skins on, they will be juicy and delicious. Without the shells, they are more reminiscent of a rubber band. It is therefore best to prepare peeled shrimp in a pot. They taste best boiled or cooked at low heat.
- All types of fish that are cooked at low temperatures are ideal for the oven. On the grill they lose their fatty oils and therefore lose a lot of their taste. These include, among others, skrei, salmon trout, cod and salmon.
- The same actually applies to types of meat that lose liquid on the grill and quickly become dry. This includes, for example, the chicken fillet, which you should rather cook in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius with a fan. Boneless pork chops are also much tastier marinated in the oven than grilled.
Grilling healthily: Which oil is best for the grill?
The choice of cooking oil also plays an important role in the final result. Here you should remember that the food is exposed to high temperatures and you should therefore use heat-resistant cooking oils. Butter is therefore not very suitable. When it melts at high temperatures, i.e. over 150 degrees Celsius, it releases dangerous carcinogenic substances into the air. It is therefore not the grilled food itself that is considered dangerous, but above all the foodSmoke produced when grilling. Olive oil is also heat-sensitive and can therefore only be used to a limited extent. However, rapeseed or avocado oil, which are considered to be heat-stable, are well suited.
Barbecue healthily: It's all about the right barbecue spices!
Seasoning the food to be grilled can prove to be a big challenge for amateur chefs. A common mistake many people make is seasoning the meat before or after grilling. Instead of always seasoning the food before or after, you should first think about how you will prepare the meat. Steaks are grilled at a very high temperature. So if you season your steaks before grilling, there is a risk of the seasonings burning. If you have a grill that can operate at low temperatures and you cook the meat at, for example, 90 degrees, then you can season it before grilling. Salting, on the other hand, is harmless. Salt is even said to improve the flavor of meat while grilling.
