If you’re new to BBQ-ing, you might be struggling with keeping your meats moist when cooking on the BBQ, but worry not! There are a few tips and tricks you can try to stop your meat from drying out this BBQ season. So, let’s get into it, how do you keep meat from drying out on the BBQ?
Keep meat moist on the BBQ with these five top tips:
Read on to learn more on how to make your BBQ meats juicy and stop them from drying out.
Jump to Section:
- How Do You Keep Meat Moist on a BBQ? Our Experts Give Their Tips
- What is the Best Cut of Meat For BBQ?
- How Do I Add Moisture To My BBQ?
- Let Your Meat Come Up To Room Temperature Before Cooking
- Get Your BBQ To the Right Temperature & Know Your Cook Time
- Keep the Lid Closed
- How Do You Keep BBQ Meat Juicy After Cooking?
- Our Favourite Juicy BBQ Recipes to Try This Summer
How Do You Keep Meat Moist on a BBQ? Our Experts Give Their Tips
Keeping your meat moist on the BBQ can be tricky if you’re new to it, but with our expert’s recommendations, you’ll soon be BBQ-ing like a pro. We asked Rich Pearse, chef at Uncle Hon's BBQ and Stuart Mathwig, BBQ content creator at @Artustbbq, former BBQ World Championship competitor, and 3x World Steak Challenge judge.
Here are our top tips on how to keep your BBQ meat juicy.
What is the Best Cut of Meat For BBQ?
First things first, you need to choose the right meat. Not all meats are equal when it comes to moisture and juiciness. Look for meat with a good amount of fat. The fat will melt when cooking, helping to keep the meat moist.
Stuart Mathwig explains:
“Keeping food moist on the BBQ all depends on the cut. Some just need a hot and fast cook to seal the moisture in. Some need a nice long rest to help the meat relax and reabsorb some moisture.”
As a general rule of thumb, smaller/thinner cuts respond well to a high and fast method, while larger cuts like Thor’s Hammer want a low and slow method. It’s also best to use high heat for naturally tender cuts while low heat can be used for naturally tough or chewy cuts.
Some great high-heat options here include:
Some of the best low-heat options include:
How Do I Add Moisture To My BBQ?
You can add moisture to your meat using a range of strategies, including:
- Marinating
- Add during cooking
- Create a moist environment
We explore each of these methods in detail below.
Marinating
Marinating your meat before cooking can help to seal in moisture and flavour. It can also help to tenderise your meat. For reference, some of the best cuts of beef (e.g. Ribeye, Sirloin and Fillet steaks) only need to marinate for 20-60 minutes. Lesser cuts may need a little longer to tenderise them. Chicken needs at least 20 minutes to marinate, but no more than an hour.
Always marinate in the fridge, never at room temperature. Here are some of our favourite marinades to try:
- Perfect for Chicken - Gochujang And Buffalo Sauce
- Perfect for Ribs - Cider Sauce
- Hot and Spicy Nashville Chicken
Add During Cooking
You can add moisture directly to the meat during the cooking process. One popular technique is using a spray bottle with a 50/50 mix of apple cider vinegar and water to spray the meat while it cooks. You can also use this to add flavour by using a spray bottle infused with coriander, garlic, or aromatic herbs.
If you don’t have a spray bottle, you can achieve the same effect by mopping the liquid onto the meat with a brush.
Create a Moist Environment
With the lid of the BBQ closed you can create a moist environment by placing a water tray inside. This technique works best when smoking or while cooking on low and slow heat, but you should also ensure that you don’t place this on direct heat so that it doesn’t evaporate instantly.
Similarly, many BBQ fanatics swear by adding a can of beer instead of a water tray. This is said to achieve the same moist environment while also adding the flavour of the beer to the meat. Read our guide on BBQing with beer for more information.
Let Your Meat Come Up To Room Temperature Before Cooking
Meat does need to come up to room temperature before it goes on the BBQ, ideally for around 15 minutes. This will help to produce a tender result and will reduce the cooking time slightly, meaning that there is less chance of your meat drying out.
Get Your BBQ To the Right Temperature & Know Your Cook Time
Depending on the type of BBQ you have, this can be tricky. Some modern BBQs let you set a specific temperature, like an oven. In this case, you can follow regular temperature recommendations in the recipe.
However, older-style BBQs are manual, and it’s difficult to reach a specific temperature, here you can use a thermometer to measure the internal temperature of the meat. Regardless of the type of BBQ you have, the grill must be hot before you add your meat to it. Here’s a list of BBQ cook times for different meats.
Here are the recommended internal temperatures for steaks (the temperature in the middle of the meat), and the time it should take to reach this on high heat:
- Blue - 50°C in 1 minute
- Rare - 60°C in 5 minutes
- Medium - 65°C in 6 minutes
- Well Done - 71°C in 12 minutes
For burgers on a high heat:
- Medium - 65°C in 7 minutes
- Well Done - 71°C in 9 minutes
For pork:
- Sausages (medium-high heat) - 62°C in 20 minutes
- Pulled Pork (smoked) - 96°C in 9 hours
Keep the Lid Closed
Our final tip for keeping meat moist on a BBQ is to keep the lid closed. This traps in the hot air, helping to cook the inside of the meat - like in an oven. It should also trap in moisture, helping to stop your meat from drying out.
Another tip here would be (for longer cooks) to add a pan of water to the grill (set a heat-proof pan on the grill away from the meat), which will help to create steam and therefore moisture.
How Do You Keep BBQ Meat Juicy After Cooking?
After cooking, the first step is to let your meat rest. This lets the meat finish cooking and allows it to reabsorb some of its juices. This is the same process as if you were to cook you mean on the stove or in the oven.
The length of time you should rest meat depends on the size of the cut. For smaller cuts such as burgers or ribeye steaks, you’ll only need to rest the meat for 5 to 10 minutes after taking them off the heat. For large cuts such as a roasting joint or brisket, you’ll want to rest them for 15 to 20 minutes.
Our Favourite Juicy BBQ Recipes to Try This Summer
Now you know how to keep your BBQ meat moist, why not try out some of our favourite BBQ recipes?
Make Your Own Five Guys Burger
Five Guys has taken the world by storm and is a firm favourite among burger enthusiasts. Fancy making your own version? Complete with two beef patties, cheese, bacon and other toppings of your choice, we have all the information you need to make a world-class burger.
How to Smoke Ribs
Ribs are a staple at BBQs, but have you ever tried smoking them? Why not give it a go with our simple recipe? We go into detail about the various ribs you can choose, before explaining how to infuse your ribs with that smokey flavour and how to cook them so that they retain that flavour.
Chicken and Chorizo Kebabs
Kebabs are the perfect BBQ dish; simple, easy to handle, yet incredibly tasty. Learn how to create the perfect sizzling kebab on our blog. We take you through the prep work, cooking and sides to help make your next BBQ a success.
Have the Perfect BBQ With Tom Hixson
At Tom Hixson, we’ve got you covered when it comes to exceptional BBQ meats. From succulent ribs and juicy sausages to brisket, steaks and burgers, we’ve got everything you need for the perfect summer BBQ.
