We are in the middle of the hottest barbeque season! Grilling is considered as a light cooking method; you don’t have to add a lot of fat when cooking the food. If grilling belongs to your routines, here are some tips to make your cooking even more healthy:
1. Charcoal-black is not the goal. Whether you are grilling meat, chicken, fish or vegetables, favour indirect barbequing where the food is not exactly above the fire. This reduces the formation of harmful compounds. Foil between meat and the flames works as well.
2. Avoid poking the meat with sharp objects. Use spatula or cooking tweezer to turn the meat so the surface doesn’t break and the meat juices don’t drip into the flames.
3. Favour marinades. Marinades tenderise the meat and protects the surface of the meat during grilling. Ready marinades work as well as self-made ones.
4. When grilling red meat, prefer medium cooking. This way the meat stays juicy and the health risks are much lower compared to well done/charcoal black.
5. Remember vegetables. Good tip is to use double the amount of vegetables for every meat portion. You can even grill fruits: plums, nectarines, strawberries etc. are perfect for grilling.
6. Finally: clean your grill. Those harmful compounds attached to barbequing are most effectively avoided when grilling is done with clean utensils.
While Southern countries, like South-America, South-Africa or Australia are considered the grilling “meccas”, we are getting more experimental also here in Nordic countries – and grilling all year round too.
Barbeque gives the food an authentic flavour! Follow these tips above and make your barbequing even more enjoyable. Tasty grilling!
Soile Käkönen
Manager, Health and Nutrition
