Spending time with family outdoors sounds lovely. Especially, when you can enjoy the good weather and start a barbecue with your kids.
It may feel too dangerous at certain times to having children experiment and learn how to barbecue, however by teaching the basics of barbecuing to your kids gives them a skillset that they will cherish and appreciate in their near future. Fire is luxurious and children need to realize its’ importance, especially if you are already an “outdoor activist”.
The Barbecue Basics
1. Explain the grill safety
Before you start to barbecuing with your kids, you must make sure that they are aware of the danger when it comes to fire. Explain the do’s and don’ts: what they can do and what they can’t do.
Start by explaining the importance of cleaning the grill before use. Then, when one is done using the grill, one must make sure that the briquettes are completely “dead” and not burning: in the process of cooling down.
2. Preparing the food
Here comes the fun part, preparing the meat and vegetables. Allowing them to have influence on the food and you may even explain why it is so important to consume vegetables. That grilled corn has a high fiber content, which can improve one’s digestion. It also contains essential minerals such as zinc, magnesium and iron, which are important for our overall health. Perhaps, even choosing the meat based on the marbling of your meat could be something new and different for the kids. Or the high protein content in various types of meats, which actually plays an important role in sustaining our muscles. Making your barbecue into an informative and academic activity!
Barbecue Method
In case you don’t know, there are 4 different barbecue methods: Direct Method, Indirect Method, Snake Method and 50/50 method.
For starters, you can explain the 2 basic methods. We often use, the Direct Method or the Indirect Method. Understanding the difference may be more interesting for older children.
Direct Method
The direct grilling method is a simple and basic way to grill. The “Direct Method” is suitable for smaller cuts such as steaks, chops, vegetables, shrimps, and burgers. Direct grilling takes about 20-30 minutes. You can use any grill to do the direct method, but it works best with the grill lid closed during cooking: for absolute best results.
Indirect method
The indirect grilling method is best when one is grilling larger meals such as turkey, brisket, ribs, or other meats that require long, slow cooking – typically at a low or moderate heat. This indirect grilling is the suitable for grilling that requires more than 30 minutes of heat.
You can learn more about the barbecue method here.
It may feel too dangerous having children experimenting and learning how to barbecue but on the other hand it will certainly be a family activity that may bring you and your kids closer to each other. Most importantly, once you are done preparing and grilling the meat, it’s time to enjoy together.
