These grill mistakes spoil the taste and are also dangerous
Created: 07/04/2022 08:54
By: Anne Tessin
Barbecuing and summer belong together and every year there are mishaps and mistakes that can spoil your enjoyment of barbecuing.
This is where the dangers lurk.
As soon as the days get warmer, clouds of smoke waft through the air in many places and the smell of the barbecue makes your mouth water.
In summer, many regularly shift the preparation of food and the garden or onto the balcony and grill like crazy.
They also?
Then you should check whether one (or more) of the following mistakes occur when grilling.
Not all consequences are harmless.
Grilling is summer, but common mistakes spoil the fun.
© Arnulf Hettrich/Imago
Not all meats can be grilled
Sausages, steaks and the like end up on the grill for most people.
Unfortunately, when it comes to choosing the food to be grilled, you can't draw from the full range, because there are types of
meat that shouldn't be on the grill
:
Cured and Smoked.
Cured meat contains nitrite curing salt.
At high temperatures, the nitrite reacts with the proteins in the meat, producing carcinogenic substances called nitrosamines, "which can cause stomach and esophagus cancer," as the German Cancer Society warns.
Smoked foods already contain combustion pollutants during production, which are increased by grilling.
It is therefore better not to regularly prepare Vienna sausages, Kassler, smoked ham and Co. on the grill.
Veal, game... and chicken?
These types of meat dry out very quickly on the grill.
Since veal and game are not exactly cheap types of meat, grill beginners in particular should keep their hands off them.
Chicken, on the other hand, is often grilled, but it's not as easy as many think and requires a sure instinct.
Breast meat in particular dries out very quickly, but it should definitely be cooked through to avoid pathogens.
It's a fine line that newcomers to the grill quickly reach their limits, but these tips will help you grill chicken perfectly.
Mistakes when grilling: don't put butter and oil on the fire
Oily marinades and buttery corn on the cob - fat is a flavor carrier and should not be missing when grilling.
Unfortunately, it is not particularly healthy in combination with an open fire.
If fat and oil get into the fire,
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs for short
, are formed in the high heat , which rise with the smoke, are deposited on the food to be grilled and thus get into our bodies.
But you don't have to do without it.
Grill marinated meat, place an aluminum tray underneath or grill the meat so that the embers are not directly underneath.
Then you are on the safe side.
You can also reduce harmful effects by choosing the right oil.
Refined sunflower oil and rapeseed oil
can be heated to high temperatures, as can coconut oil and refined peanut oil.
If you love a buttery taste, use clarified butter.
Wash before eating?
Definitely not with these foods!
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Other mistakes when grilling: aluminum foil, alcohol and beer
Aluminum foil
is often used when grilling, e.g.
B. with grilled cheese, baked potatoes or as a grill tray.
This is only a problem if particles stick to the food to be grilled or acidic or salty food is wrapped in it.
With longer contact with these substances, the aluminum dissolves, gets into the food and thus gets into your body, warns the consumer advice center in Hesse.
So keep contact as short as possible.
Many barbecue veterans swear by the special taste that comes from pouring beer onto
the embers
.
A lot of smoke rises, accumulates on the grilled food and provides the typical taste.
However, a lot of pollutants are also transported with the smoke.
So don't use this "tip".
You must also
never pour
alcohol into the fire.
The resulting flash of fire claims victims every year, who then suffer from severe burns.
Special grill lighters, which work well and are safe, ensure a proper grill fire.
(ante)