MOST men think they are masters of the tongs, but those who have reached barbecuing nirvana believe there are secrets to the trade many of us are yet to learn.
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Now, the city’s tong master Ryan Dedini has lifted the lid to reveal how to create the perfect barbecue to herald the arrival of summer and daylight savings.
Mr Dedini – Aura Restaurant’s executive chef, who runs regular barbecue classes across the city and is an accredited judge in the annual Sausage King competition – said the great Australian barbecue has come a long way from “throwing a shrimp on the barbie”.
“This day and age, you get a lot of different types of barbecues, but we’re (seeing) more hooded ones,” he said.
The perfect barbecue starts with switching on all the burners and closing the lid for 10 minutes to preheat the entire plate.
To ensure meat is cooked perfectly, it must first be resting at room temperature to avoid it becoming tough.
Avoid cooking fatty cuts like sausages and lamb directly over the flame, while lean cuts of scotch fillet and rumps should be cooked directly over a burner.
If marinating meat, drain the liquid before throwing it on so the marinade does not stew and further cook the meat.
“Be careful when you turn the meat – tongs are best so you don’t pierce the meat and juices escape,” Mr Dedini said.
He believes the perfect barbecue should begin with grilled cheese and bread for starters, pizzas or honey-glazed lamb skewers for tapas and a mixture of steak and seafood to finish.
A move away from the traditional shrimp, snags and steaks to a new era of pavlovas, sconnes and roasts could be behind a growth in women taking up the tongs.
“It is amazing how much (barbecues) have changed,” Mr Dedini said. “It’s just they fit in so nicely with summer – you can have a glass of wine, a beer and there’s no mess. You can do everything in a barbecue. They’re unreal.”
Barbeques Galore camping and homewares manager Lesley Grauer has mastered everything from pizzas to pavlova in her barbie.
“People used to cook mainly meat and sausages, but now there’s so much more you can do,” she said.
“Anything you can do in an oven, you can do in a barbecue.”