stories:
The Ten
Tips for Successful Grilling
Hone your skills in preparation for barbecue season
By Roxanne Webber
1. Keep It Hot. Preheat your grill, otherwise food will stick. The Cook’s Illustrated Guide to Grilling and Barbecue says that when your gas or charcoal grill is ready to cook on, you will be able to hold your hand five inches above the grate for two seconds if the fire is “hot” and three to four seconds if the fire is “medium-hot.”
2. Grill Safely. The Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association has put together a helpful list of tips for safe grilling. Good reminders among them: Don’t grill in an enclosed area; use baking soda to control a grease fire, not water; have a fire extinguisher, bucket of sand, or garden hose on hand; and be sure your grill is on stable ground before firing it up.
3. Have Everything Nearby. Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison, authors of The Big Book of Outdoor Cooking and Entertaining, say that you should have everything you’re going to need close at hand before you start cooking. “The chicken breast will burn by the time you run back into the kitchen to find those tongs,” they caution.
4. Keep It Clean. Steven Raichlen, author of The Barbecue! Bible, says that “last year’s food does not a good seasoning make for this year’s food.” John Atkins, the pitmaster for the Virginia-based BBQ Connection catering company, offers tips for cleaning your grill on his barbecue blog.
5. Grease Your Grates. Once your grill is clean, Judith Fertig, one of the BBQ Queens, two grilling and barbecue experts who have written 20 cookbooks between them, says to make sure you oil it before cooking. This helps to keep food from sticking, and makes it easier to clean up later.
6. Decide If You Need a Single-Level or Dual-Level Fire. A single-level fire heats the grill evenly, either with all the gas burners on the same setting, or with the charcoal equally spread out. This is good for cooking things fast, such as vegetables and fish. A dual-level fire (also called indirect grilling) has most, and sometimes all, of the charcoal banked to one side, or the burners on a gas grill adjusted to high on one side and the others turned off or set to low. “When you’re grilling bone-in chicken or steak, you’ll want to sear it first on the hot side,” explains Fertig, “then transfer to the cooler side, put the lid down, and finish cooking.”
7. Leave an Unheated Space on the Grill. Even if you’re cooking over a single-level fire, the Jamisons recommend leaving a small space unheated so that you have somewhere to move food if you have a flare-up or if something is cooking too fast.
8. Keep the Lid Up for Veggies. In her book The New Vegetarian Grill Andrea Chesman says that the lid traps moist heat and smoke, which makes vegetables lose their crunch and take on a “dull, sooty patina.” She advises lid-down cooking only for large, whole vegetables that benefit from a little steam, such as winter squashes or potatoes.
9. Sauce Later. The Cook’s Illustrated Guide to Grilling and Barbecue says that saucing too soon is a common mistake. If you brush on sauces at the beginning of cooking, chances are they will burn and taste awful by the time the food is done. Wait until the last few minutes to apply them and you’ll get a nice glaze instead of a black, charred mess.
10. Don’t Forget Food Safety. Check for proper doneness with an instant-read thermometer and use separate platters for cooked and raw foods. If you want to use a marinade as a sauce, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service says to either reserve some that hasn’t come in contact with raw foods, or to boil it first to destroy any bacteria. Check out this food safety fact sheet for more tips.
I think only # 7-9 have any validity.
The rest is silly filler for people that should not be allowed around a BBQ.
Hey, everyone has to learn somewhere.
The high heat is bad advice. Novices, and bbq'ists who never learn, always cook ASAP over a briquet/charcoal fire. This invariably leads to grease fires in the coals that burn the meat. Cooking slowly over lower heat allows the natural enzymes to tenderize and make more flavorful just about all types of meat. Similarly, I'd cook over lower heat on a gas grill as well Sure, heat the grill up good, but turn it down once the items to be grilled are put on.
I never understood why people grease the entire grate when only the food needs a coating...cooking on a properly prepared fire or an infrared grill like RED (Char-Broil sponsors my web log www.sizzleonthegrill.com) or Quantum - the heat is so intense that oiling unused grate space results in smoke - not a lubricated grate. I will use a mop to add a touch of higher smoke point oil to meat before I turn it...but don't waste a lot of time oiling the grate. - CB
As to HIGH HEAT...grilling is about searing the meat and then moving it to indirect heat to finish. A steak over high heat charcoal or an infrared grill is the only way to go...I cook chicken, pork, fish, lamb and burgers (just ot name a few for starters) this way. Sear first on high temperatures 450F - 550F and then remove to finish using an indirect heat and sometimes cover the food in a tray.
Grilling the food until the appropriate internal temp is achieved (usually 5-10 degrees below desired) is a sure-fire way of drying it out. - CB
Barry CB Martin has it on the spot. Quick searing, then essentially finishing up in an "oven" type situation in the grill. In regards to flare-ups, stop cooking with the lid up! Learn to time your food, and only open the grill when it's time to turn/flip the items. You'll have less flare-ups and the food will cook a bit more quickly (every time you open the lid you're loosing heat).
i find the best way to clean my grill is too buy a bunch of smaller, individual grates, and just wash them with the rest of your dishes when you're done your meal
A big one missing for new grillers: Get a TIMER. Most books have cooking times and they're usually really accurate - best way to prevent over/under cooking. e.g. Burgers - 5 mins per side. Can just be a simple egg timer or use your phone (there are actually a couple of apps out, a Weber "On the grill" for iPhone and Barbeque assistant for BlackBerry).
A big one missing for new grillers: Get a TIMER. Most books have cooking times and they're usually really accurate - best way to prevent over/under cooking. e.g. Burgers - 5 mins per side. Can just be a simple egg timer or use your phone (there are actually a couple of apps out, a Weber "On the grill" for iPhone and Barbeque assistant for BlackBerry).