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A trick I learned from Argentinian circus people, who make amazing BBQ, is let the grill heat up and then cut an onion in half to rub on the grate. It imparts a
by bfuller 10y ago
A trick I learned from Argentinian circus people, who make amazing BBQ, is let the grill heat up and then cut an onion in half to rub on the grate. It imparts a nice flavor and cleans the grill very well.
- markdown 10y agoFijian here. I assumed that was a trick everyone knew.
- dntrkv 10y agoYeah, I'm in the US and I've yet to BBQ with someone that doesn't know this trick.
- Retra 10y agoI'm in the US and I've yet to BBQ with anyone who does. This is the first I've ever heard of it.
- 91bananas 10y agoSame and I real bbq quite frequently and know many people that do and have never heard word of this
- titanomachy 10y agoOK, I think that covers all the possibilities.
- jerkstate 10y agoNot quite. I've heard of it, but nobody I know has.
- slim 10y agoYou should make a habit of sharing your knowledge
- godshatter 10y agoNobody I know knows whether I know about it or not.
- reitoei 10y agoI'm in Ireland. WTF is a BBQ?
- munificent 10y agoImagine you're boiling potatoes. Get rid of the water. Replace the pot with a metal grill. Replace the potatoes with meat. Pretty much that.
- reitoei 10y agoTip o' the hat to you, sonny!
- jrowley 10y agoOff topic but any other tricks you learned from Argentinian circus people? Or circus people in general?
- whenwillitstop 10y agoI'll second this
- lvs 10y agoThere's one where you put six relatively small guys on motorcycles inside a spherical metal cage. They drive around in circles but can't for the life of them get any mobile phone signal while inside.
- SturgeonsLaw 10y agoGood thing that, using a phone while driving sounds risky
- nathancahill 10y agoThanks, I spit out my coffee.
- jtolmar 10y agoIf you throw a balloon animal into a ceiling fan, it's pretty funny. (When I was very young we had a family friend who was a clown, and we visited his house once. This is everything I learned.)
- jonathanstrange 10y agoFor added effect, put the fan on the floor and paint inside the balloon.
- zentiggr 10y agoThen sell the carpet for hundreds!
- 10y ago
- danneu 10y agoIt's also the canonical method here in Guadalajara.
- elboru 10y agoSame in Chihuahua, it would be interesting to know when and where it became a thing.
- mighty_atomic_c 10y agoNice idea! I'll keep it in mind!
- estebank 10y agoOtherwise, if you have fatty meat, you just use a strip of fat in the same way. That's what I do, and I happen to be Argentinian :)
- dguaraglia 10y agoThe Argentinian trick is basically: 1. let the grill get hot 2. rub with something to clean old grit 3. rub again with a chunk of fat (from the meat) for flavor The "something" in step #2 has varied over the years. Back in the day, my grandpa used to use old newspapers... which of course we know today it's not such a great idea, heh. Onions, half a potato, a corn stalk, even a chunk of brick will do the trick. You just want to make sure you don't have old chunks of stuff clinging from the grill.
- nikatwork 10y ago> old newspapers... which of course we know today it's not such a great idea, heh Why is it a bad idea? The newspaper thing is common in Oz, and a quick Google turned up nothing.
- mattashii 10y agoThe ink in newspapers is often 'not good' to 'bad' for your health, which makes rubbing it onto your cookwares a slightly dubious choice.
- smsm42 10y agoHmm, I always do that, but now when I'm doing it I'll be thinking about Argentinian circus people. Definitely makes it better.
- izendejas 10y agoi like to use a lime/lemon. figure the acidity may help kill off some bacteria with the acidity and the vapor once the grill is hot.
- ceejayoz 10y agoWhat kind of grilling are you doing where the grill grate doesn't get to at least 165 degrees F?
- titanomachy 10y agoSous-vide barbeque?
- yhager 10y agoSame method was used (and probably still is) in Israel when I was growing up. I guess I'm going back to onions now :)
- itaysk 10y agoYes.. There no 'al haesh' without that onion dipped in oil
- cdibona 10y agoNice trick. I heard Argentinian circus people hate the tin foil rub method to clean a grate, but my question is this: why? Is it the thickness of the foil? The foilness? The lack of onion? Please help.
- eyan 10y agoIn behalf of the Argentinian circus people, I thank you.
- ErrantX 10y agoDefinitely a good plan (unless you're not planning to use it for months) is to clean the grill the next time you use it. That way you'll have good consistent heat and any bits that come free will burn up in the coals. Onion is a good tip; will try that thanks!
- goda90 10y agoSame in Chile. My friends and family here in the US always question why I'm rubbing an onion on the grill.
- elboru 10y agoI guess this is a Hispanic American thing? I'm from the North of Mexico and that's how we do it too.
- posterboy 10y agoWe use bacon to grease the grate before using a steel brush. Maybe the chemicals in the onion do help, but substituting a steel brush for an onion seems rather curious.
- justinclift 10y agoAnother approach is to heat up the grill, then throw on some table salt + pour on a bit of white vinegar. Use a flat blade spatula to work it around, then lightly scrape it off. It strips the hot plate back to metal (not joking). So, no residue from previous meals is left. Probably not be a good idea to do this on a hot plate coated with (say) teflon or similar. Did that once on a friends BBQ years ago, which stripped it back to the metal. Oops. Unsure what the coating was though. It definitely "wasn't there" any more afterwards. ;)
- hoodoof 10y agoThose carny folk have tricks us ordinary people can only dream of.