23 BBQ and Grilling Tips and Tricks You Need to Know
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It doesn't matter if it's Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, or the dead of a blizzard-plagued winter...Millions of meat lovers across North America are now venturing outdoors to grill succulent pork, beef, chicken, and other delicious types of animal flesh. Mmmmm! The following is a list of handy tips to ensure in your grilling and BBQ successes.
1. Wash everything after handling raw meat, and don't reuse the plate that you used for uncooked meat.
2. Have a spray bottle full of water nearby your grill in cause of flare-ups.
3. Using charcoal briquettes for your grill's heat? Then light the coals about 30 minutes before to cooking. If you're using lighter fluid, make sure the fire is completely out before slapping the meat on the grill, or else you'll have the nasty fuel taste in your meat (believe me, I know this from experience). At this time, the charcoal should be mostly an ash-gray color with a little bit of glowing red underneath.
4. Using a smoker? Light the charcoal with a chimney starter. It's relatively quick to get some hot coals going and you won't have to fret about getting nasty lighter fluid fumes in your smoker.
5. If you're a charcoal fan, first line the inside bottom of your cooker with a couple of sheets of aluminum foil before you put your briquettes in. This will give you a quicker and easier clean-up of the gray coals and ash once you're done barbecuing. The only downside to this is that the opening holes in the bottom of your cooker will get covered up. So when you first light your fire, make sure it gets plenty of oxygen to stay lit longer, thereby giving you hotter and longer-lasting coals.
6. If using a smoker, minimize the amount of times you open it. I know you're anxious to see how the meat is doing, but opening it frequently will keep the smoker below the necessary heat levels. The old adage says, "if you're looking, it ain't cooking".
7. Cooking chicken? If you intend to eat the skin, rub the outside with a little butter or oil and then lightly season it. It'll give the chicken a nice, crispy, savory skin. Not eating the skin? Don't season the outside, as it can't penetrate the skin.
8. Although thick bands of fat may be undesirable, try to pick a steak with thin specks and strands of fat in between the muscle tissue. At cooking time, these small bits of fat will melt (in a process called marbling) and make the meat juicier.
9. Leaner steak cuts possess more flavor but will be a little tougher if cooked past medium.
10. Don't leave the meat out in room temperature for longer than one hour. This will make bacteria grow at an exponential rate, plus it will make the meat less fresh. If you need to thaw out meat, do so overnight or all day in the refrigerator.
11. Don't piece your meat with a fork or prongs. The juices will escape, making the meat drier and less flavorful. Use a spatula or tongs to move and flip your food.
12. Get a dutch oven or a large pot (depending on the amount of stuff you grill) with a lid when transporting your cooked meats inside. It will help keep your barbecue moist, juicy, and warm until it's time to chow down.
13. Quick and easy way to grill large vegetables such as potatoes and ears of corn: coat heavily in butter, sprinkle on some seasoned salt, wrap securely in aluminum foil, and throw it on the grill.
14. To reduce the amount of browning or blackening of meat, only apply barbecue or other tomato-based sauces containing sugars during the last 10 or so minutes of grilling.
15. Lots of people like steaks rare, but don't do the same for your hamburger. More bacteria is present in ground beef, so cook until it's well done and no pink is in the middle. If in doubt, grab a meat thermometer and make sure the temperature reaches no less than 160 degrees in the burger's center.
16. Don't reply solely on BBQ sauce to flavor your meat. Experiment with different types of marinades, seasonings and rubs to give your food unique and delicious tastes.
17. Got a regular grill that cooks hot and fast but want a little smoke flavoring? First, only line charcoals on the bottom of one side of the grill. Then, place some hickory or mesquite wood chips on top of the hot coals for extra flavoring. Place your meat on the side of the grill away from the coals (indirect heat), and keep the lid closed as much as possible. This will increase cooking times quite a bit, but it will be worth it. In fact, this added smokey taste may be so good you may even decide to forgo the barbecue sauce next time you do this.
18. Marinades tenderize meat (and addition to giving them some wild flavoring). If it all possible, marinade overnight; but if you can't, try to give at least an hour of the meat soaking in the marinade sauce.
19. Don't add any salt until the meat is cooked to prevent it from getting dry and tough, as the salt will draw away moisture.
20. Tired of the same-old BBQ sauce? Test out some new sauces you might have never thought of using, such as teriyaki, hot sauce, chipotle, Caribbean "jerk"-style sauce, and others. Add a little bourbon, rum, beer, or wine to your standby sauce. Mix in some honey, brown sugar, or paprika. Put in lemon juice, chopped onions, red peppers or chile peppers to perk things up.
21. Use these cooking times for grilled fish: Salmon fillets, 6 - 8 minutes per side; Salmon or halibut steaks, 5 minutes per side; Trout fillets, 4 minutes per side; Small whole fish, 7 minutes per side; and Large fish, 15 minutes per side. If your whole fish are stuffed, give it a few extra minutes per side. Use these general cooking times for grilled chicken: Breasts and wings, 15 - 20 minutes; Thighs and legs, 30 minutes; Chicken halves, 40 - 45 minutes; Whole chicken, 75 - 90 minutes. On individual chicken pieces, apply sauce and turn every 5 minutes. Whole birds, grill breast-side down and turn over after 45 minutes. Half birds, cook skin-side down for 5 minutes and then flip over and grill for remaining amount of time. If you're in doubt as to whether or not the chicken is done, the center of the meat should read 170 to 175 degrees on your meat thermometer.
22. Keep your grill grate clean with a stiff wire brush or a piece of crumpled-up foil (with a subsequent wipe with a dry paper towel). When it's time for cooking, grab the grate with an oven mitt and clean it after the grill heats up after started your fire and also after you're done grilling. Dip a folded paper towel in oil and apply to the bars of the grate. This is to ensure your meat won't stick to the grill AND you'll get awesome-looking grill marks.
23. Remember, it takes a bit of an adventurous spirit and a whole lotta trial and error before you get really good at barbecuing. Experiment with different kinds and cuts of meat, flavorings and seasonings, types of grills and smokers, and cooking methods. You just might stumble upon something you really like. Happy grilling!
Comments
2011-04-06 12:49:06
2011-04-09 21:34:54
2011-04-09 21:49:19
2011-04-09 22:19:25
2011-04-10 06:26:29
2011-04-10 06:40:39
It's cowboychef from Twitter-
Great article on the aspects of perfect grilling, nicely done.
Chef
2011-04-10 09:59:02
#3 - I'll second Grill King - stop using lighter fluid use a chimney starter. I can still taste fluid fumes on food even after 30 minutes, which can ruin a tasty cut of meat. Plus using the chimney is cheaper in the long run and environmentally friendly.
#4 I say poke some holes in the foil. It's more important to have oxygen and easier regulation of your heat than a slightly easier clean up in my opinion.
#8 Not sure I agree with the "leaner is tastier" statement. A lot of flavor comes from properly marbled meat and that marbling is fat.
#11 Amen. One of the worst things you can do is to poke the meat witha fork or knife while cooking.
#12 I like to wrap the meat in foil and then put it into a cooler filled with towels to keep it warm. See my resting tip below.
#18 - Be careful to not over-marinate thin cuts of meat. Some marinades will overpower the meat flavor if left for more than four hours or so.
#19 Plus many marinades have a lot of salt to begin with, so adding salt may overpower the flavor.
Extra Tips:
Grilling or smoking chicken or turkey - you can put spices, garlic etc between the meat of the bird and its skin for a lot of flavor.
Give the meat time to rest - Once you've pulled the meat off of your grill or smoker, make sure to let it sit (wrapped in foil) for at least 10 - 15 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute through the meat.
(@BaldMan on Twitter)
2011-04-10 12:10:21
#17: Have you tried Plank cooking? That's my next challenge. This adds a lot of different flavors based on the kind of wood you use.
2011-04-13 06:42:19
2011-04-13 06:45:26
2011-05-06 06:21:22
2011-05-20 17:02:10
2011-07-01 03:24:50
2011-07-03 07:55:52
One tip to add to the list: if you have a gas grill, and the flame goes out, do not attempt to re-light it with the lid closed. Trust me, I have the singed eyebrows to prove it!
2011-07-03 08:51:58
2011-07-03 09:06:57
2011-07-04 07:16:59
The only other point I think that could have been addressed, though maybe a whole other topic, would have been the temperatures for the times you discussed and how to actually control them. I could do that here, but then I'd be in a sense, blogging in your blog, and I don't really blog.... LOL
Any way, keep up the great work Scott, Really enjoy spending my free time on my days off in the morning reading with my cup of coffee.
2011-07-04 08:39:30
I wondered if this would also work with ribs.
2011-07-06 10:46:30
As the smoker/griller in our house, I hate to admit it, but her method works almost perfectly every time!
2011-07-10 16:56:50
The reason we just reversed the bake/grill thing was because we were unsure how stable the ribs would be after baking. We were afraid them would come apart while grilling.
2011-07-11 08:55:10
We find baking them first only par-cooks them. Out of the oven, when the meat has just barely pulled back a tiny bit from the bone ends, they are still fairly firm as a whole.
I have had a rack or two start to get fragile after being on the grill for awhile, but I just try to be careful as I move them around.
2011-07-23 10:32:14
I usually boil chicken and ribs first and "finish" them on the BBQ. Tastes great and always DONE on the inside!!!
2011-09-06 11:42:26
The idea that the salt draws out moisture is true, to a point. America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Illustrated did a test of this. It turns out you either want to salt immediately before cooking, or 40 or more minutes before cooking. The reason being that (as you state) the salt will draw moisture out of the meat, but after a few minute that moisture will soak back in, acting as a quick-brine making the meat much more resistant to loosing moisture during cooking (and a lot better tasting).
Alton Brown also mentions that salting meat draws additional proteins to the surface of the meat, enhancing browning and crust formation.
So, unless you have medical dietary restrictions, *always* salt your meat before cooking!
I'll add my own tip, if using a charcoal grill, the best way to control flare-ups is to use the grill lid. If you see flame, put the lid on and close the top vents for about 10-15 seconds (no longer, you don't want to put your fire out!). You will see a lot of smoke pouring out from around the lid. Open the vents, but leave the lid on. Trapping the smoke will keep the coals from getting enough oxygen to form actual flame. The smoke will also add significant flavor to your meat.
Thanks for the tips!
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