At the slightest ray of sunshine, barbecues, skewers and papilottes are out. In addition to being very user-friendly, this cooking method is particularly beneficial for health.
How to enjoy the benefits of barbecue?
Bet on the vegetables! Forget the thin slices of peppers or the few cherry tomatoes that accompany your meat skewers. Rediscover the flavors of vegetables with generous slices of tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, mushrooms and even pineapple! Not only will your antioxidant intake be higher, but your scale and your taste buds will thank you. Colorful and rich in vitamins, seasonal vegetables can even be simmered in a marinade beforehand, to bring your barbecue full of flavor.
Head for lean cuts of meat! Filet mignon, veal, beef steak, chicken breast, poultry or fish skewers… In each meat, there are fatty or, on the contrary, very lean pieces. You don’t know anything about it? Ask your butcher for advice, he will direct you to the best choice.
A marinade for the soft… Who says less fatty meat also says drier texture. Give it softness by letting it marinate for two hours with a little olive oil and lemon juice.
Also consider whole fish for grillingpreferably rich in protein and omega-3, such as sardines, mackerel, herring…
Prefer home-made For your side sauces. Mix, for example, tomatoes and spices to obtain a barbecue sauce or even half tomato sauce and half homemade mayonnaise to make your own cocktail sauce.
>> Caution: any material marked by the flames remains potentially carcinogenic. To prevent the formation of these carcinogenic chemicals, be sure to adjust cooking height not to exceed 220°C. Your food should be cooked by the heat of embers and not flames, which reach 500°C. Ideally, position your grill about ten centimeters from the embers.
Barbecue: how to make it lighter?
- Avoid skewers that alternate cubes of meat and sections of chipolatas or merguez sausages, which are much fattier than those made solely of meat.
- Skip the tartar sauce and mayonnaise. Prefer mustard, minced shallots and fresh herbs. Or a little ketchup or salsa sauce (zero fat).
- For dessert, a large fresh fruit salad. Zero fat, full of fibre, this is the tailor-made dessert to end a menu that is not necessarily easy to digest. Infinitely better than ice cream.
- As an accompaniment, forget the chips. Provide salads: for example Greek (tomatoes, cucumberonion, olive oil), cold ratatouille, homemade tabbouleh… You can also prepare vegetable skewers to cook on the grill: cherry tomatoes, zucchini and eggplant cubes, peppers and whole mushrooms lend themselves perfectly to the game.
- Don’t forget to prick the sausages during cooking. You will allow the fat to drain. This way, you will easily gain the equivalent of a teaspoon of oil per serving!