How to cut meat for barbecue: advice from professionals and experienced housewives

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

There is an opinion that only men can make a good barbecue. But it is not so. Gender is completely irrelevant here. In order for such a dish to turn out to be truly tasty, it is necessary to correctly perform each stage of the process of its preparation. Particular attention should be paid to how to cut meat on a barbecue. There are many points in this matter that you should know about before you take on the job.

Helpful tips

The process of cooking barbecue includes several mandatory steps:

• choice of main components;
• chopping products (cutting);
• preparing them for work (pickling);
• putting blanks on skewers;
• direct frying.

Each of them is important in its own way and requires appropriate attention. However, some believe, for example, that it is absolutely not important how to cut meat for barbecue. However, there are subtleties to this process.

Not every chopped piece is good for barbecue. True professionals pay special attention to the shape of the workpiece. Ideally, if the pieces are cut into cones. This will make it easier to put them on the skewer and will contribute to a good frying in the future. But before deciding how to cut meat for barbecue, you need to prepare all the necessary tools for this. Usually in such cases it is required:

1. Sharp knife. It is desirable if it has a wide, even blade without any notches. Tools with serrated blades will not work for this.
2. Wooden cutting board with special groove to collect liquid. After all, when cutting meat, juice will definitely stand out from it. It is undesirable that it accumulates on the surface. If this is not available, then you can take an ordinary wooden board. In any case, it must first be doused with cold running water. So it will absorb less meat juice.

Having everything you need, you can safely get to work.

Main ingredient

Before you decide how to cut meat for barbecue, you must definitely consider which product will be used for this. For example, it is best to choose tenderloin or loin from beef. With pork, the situation is different. Here it is better to use the neck for barbecue. This is the meat located along the ridge. It is necessary to take exactly the part that is located in the neck area. What goes lower along the back, of course, is also suitable. But in this case, you will have to spend extra time to cut off a largethe amount of fat that is located nearby. It is better not to take the back part at all. From the lean meat that is there, the barbecue will turn out dry and not juicy. This must be understood and not made mistakes. Lamb is a completely different story. Here, of all the carcasses, only tenderloin, loin or hind leg are suitable for cooking barbecue. But the popular spatula is better to save for another dish. When the issue with meat is finally resolved, it will be possible to proceed to the next stage.

The secret of pickling

It is known that the use of fresh meat does not guarantee that the barbecue will be soft and juicy. Even inexperienced housewives know that the main product must first be subjected to additional processing. This refers to the marinating process. First you need to understand why it is needed. Here it is worth remembering the lessons of chemistry. After all, it is known that meat mainly consists of proteins (elastin, collagen and reticulin). During heat treatment, it partially softens. But best of all, this process goes under the action of acid. In such an environment, the protein gradually becomes loose, which means it will be able to hold the juice and after frying it will turn out soft. In practice, marinades prepared on the basis of:

• kefir;
• wine;
• mayonnaise;
• vinegar;
• mineral water.

Everyone chooses the option to their taste. But most often they use the method for which it is necessary: for 1.2 kilograms of meat (for example, pork) 8 grams of sugar, 3 onions, s alt, 60 grams of vinegar and any spices.

Everything is done very simply:

1. First, rinse the pork and lightly dry it with a napkin to remove excess moisture.
2. Then we cut the meat into kebabs, taking into account the advice of professionals regarding the shape and size of individual pieces.
3. Sprinkle the blanks with spices and leave for 10 minutes so that the meat can soak them well.
4. Add diced onion, sugar and vinegar diluted 1:2 with water.

In such a marinade, the meat should lie for at least 9 hours. Only after that it will be possible to start frying.

Important details

Experienced housewives know how to properly cut meat for barbecue. Novice cooks who want to master the art of cooking this dish need to pay attention to a few important points:

1. Only sharp tools should be used. You can correctly divide the meat into pieces with a well-sharpened knife in your hands. With it, you can easily cut off excess fat, films and tough tendons.
2. Blanks should have the optimal size. Any deviations in one direction or another negatively affect the quality of the finished product.
3. For all types of meat, use the same cutting method. The exception is beef. Due to the stiff long fibers, it requires an individual approach.
4. Remember that a six-piece kebab is considered ideal. Practice shows that such an amount for this dish is considered optimal.

If all these points are taken into account, then you don't have to worry about the quality of the finished dish. All that remains is to follow all the rules for roasting meat over an open fire.

Cutting rules

There are subtleties in the preparation of each dish. For kebabs, they mainly relate to the way the main product is cut. The same question always arises here. Very often, novice cooks are interested in how to cut meat for barbecue: along or across. The answer to this question is ambiguous. It would seem that everything is clear here. Separation into pieces must be done taking into account the bite line. Therefore, almost all types of meat intended for barbecue are cut across. Then it is put on a skewer along the fibers. Only in this way can the finished product be quite juicy and truly soft.

If you do the opposite, it will then be difficult to bite off a whole piece, since the meat itself will gradually shrink during the frying process. The skewers will be tough and tasteless. Although, using pre-marinating, the meat can be minced in any direction. The exception to this rule is beef. It should only be cut across.

Piece size

To finally achieve the desired result, you must also know what pieces to cut the meat on the barbecue. As practice shows, size plays an important role in this matter.

Experienced chefs are sure that a piece of 3 to 5 is considered optimalcentimeters. It will weigh approximately 30 grams. If you make the workpiece smaller, then when cooked on an open fire, it will quickly fry and become dry. Large pieces are also undesirable. In the allotted time, they will not have time to properly fry from the inside and remain raw. If you hold them on fire a little longer, then the surface layers can be very charred. Such a barbecue will not bring pleasure to anyone. In addition, we must try to keep the pieces as even as possible. Thin hanging edges will immediately burn and spoil not only the appearance, but also the taste of the finished product. Also, when grinding a whole piece, it is imperative to cut off the fat. Under the influence of high temperature, it will gradually shrink, releasing fat to the outside. As a result, an additional dense tissue will appear on the piece of meat, which will be difficult to chew.