Make Sure Your Grill’s Clean
If you had fish last night, the last thing you want is for it to flavor the chicken tonight. Clean your grate between uses using a good metal brush. It’s going to be easiest to clean when your grill is still hot.
Allow Meat to Warm Up
Take your meat from your fridge and allow it to warm up to room temperature. This will take from 20 to 30 minutes. When you want the perfect steak, you should cook it at high temperatures for a few minutes. If your steak is cold when you put it on your grill, it’s going to take longer to cook. When you have it on the grill longer, it’s going to be tougher. It’s best if your meat’s a little cool inside when you put it on your grill. This will help you have the ideal medium rare meat.
Take meat out of the fridge and let it sit out at room temperature for 20-30 minutes. The key to a perfect steak is cooking it at a high temperature for a short amount of time. The colder the steak is when it hits the grill, the longer it will take to cook it. And the more time it spends over the heat, the tougher it gets. Ideally, you want the interior of the meat to be a bit cool when it hits the grill. This helps you to achieve the perfect medium rare steak.
Don’t Squeeze or Flatten Meat
Yes, it’s cool when you see the burst of flame that happens when you squish your burger. But when you do this, it’s squeezing the fat from your burger. This means that your burger is going to be a lot less juicy. Though it’s tempting, don’t squish your meat since it will squeeze out the moisture and taste.
Have Water Nearby
One of the best things you can do is fill one of your spray bottles with water and have it close by. You’ll want it if there’s a flare-up. Flames won’t be good for your food, and they will char your food unpleasantly. When you are prepared, you can dampen the flare-ups and not interfere with the heat.
Have a Good Meat Thermometer
Unless you have a lot of experience, there’s a good chance you won’t know the temperature of the meat just by a touch. However, if you want to know how to do this, you can touch your meat and feel its texture. If it feels soft and similar to the piece of skin in between your thumb and finger, the meat is rare. If it feels like when you touch your cheeks, the meat’s medium-rare. If the meat’s firm, similar to your forehead, the meat’s well-done. But if you don’t want to leave it to chance, use the thermometer. They’re inexpensive and there’s no more guessing.
Slightly Undercook Food
There’s something called carryover cooking, and this means your food continues cooking even after it’s off the grill. So you should plan accordingly.
Rest Your Meat
Let your meat sit unsliced and undisturbed for 5-15 minutes after it’s been cooked. This will let its juices to go through the meat. Bigger pieces will need longer to rest. This will be the key to having a really juicy piece of meat.
Don’t Over-char
If you are grilling a piece of meat with bones in it, you don’t want to overcook it so that it’s cooked through. If you have meat that is thicker with bones in them, like chicken legs or thighs, it’s best to cook them with high heat. This will give them a lovely crust. Once the crust is there, move the meat to indirect lower heat on your grill. This will let your meat cook through slower and not overcook it on the outside. You also can park cook chicken in your oven for 15-20 minutes prior to grilling. This is also a good choice when you are having ribs.
When Serving a Lot of People – Keep Things Simple
Managing a lot of cook times for various veggies and proteins can become really stressful. It also can create overcooking and errors. Offer only a couple of options for protein and provide variety with some interesting condiments, sauces or side dishes.
Now that we have covered some of the tips that you can use for grilling and having a delicious barbecue meal, we’re going to go beyond the meats that are on the grill and talk about some of the other things that you can put on the grill. Some of these you may already know about, and some others of them may just surprise you.
- Vegetables – There is nothing more delicious than having a grilled vegetable. One of the most popular options is corn on the cob, but that is only the beginning. Things like eggplant, asparagus and many other veggies taste wonderful on the grill. There are even people who have grilled a Caesar salad. Surprising, but true!
- Fruits – Fruits are another tasty option for grilling. Peaches, watermelon, avocado, strawberries and more can all have explosive flavor and amazing aromas when they are added to the grill.
- Pizza – Okay, maybe you can understand vegetables and fruits. But pizza? It’s true! If you love pizza, give it a try. We are certain that you are going to love it and want to have it all the time.
- Dessert – You’re probably thinking to yourself, now this is going too far. There’s no way I am putting my dessert on the grill. But let’s think a minute. Why is it so far-fetched? Just picture fruit and cake kebabs on the grill, with the delicious sugary aromas wafting off of them. Is your mouth watering yet? We bet it is. There’s no reason why dessert can’t join in the grilling fun, too.
Did you learn some new things about grilling? We hope that you found this helpful and informative. If you are looking for some new grilling accessories for yourself or for a gift for someone else, since Father’s Day is coming up, we have a lot of grilling accessories from which to choose.
If you have any questions about the items that we sell or you are looking for something specific, please contact us and let us know how we can help you. We’re always adding new items to our store, so check back often.
