Spring has finally arrived and that means it’s time to break out the grill. Whether you are BBQing, grilling burgers, or even steaks, you want your grill in tip-top shape going forward. Here are 5 grilling tips and tricks to improve your cookout.
Take Your Food Out Of The Fridge Early
A hot grill is key to making your food come out right. You can aid this process by taking your meat out of the fridge 15 to 20 minutes before cooking it. This is especially important with steaks.
By taking the meat out early and letting it get closer to room temperature, you ensure that the middle reaches your desired temperature. As mentioned earlier, this is crucial for things like steak which is often only cooked to a medium-rare or medium temperature. By taking the steak out earlier, you can get that medium-rare pink without the middle being cold.
Cook At The Right Temperature
All meats are not the same and thus require different cooking temperatures. Cooking at too high a temp can obviously burn your food, and too low of a temp can drastically increase cooking time.
In general, pork products like pulled pork are cooked low and slow, around 225 degrees. Chicken needs to be grilled at around 350 degrees. For beef you want a high temperature, at least 450 degrees. For steaks, the higher the better. Restaurants will cook their steaks in broilers with temperatures exceeding 1,000 degrees!
Pulled pork needs to be cooked low and slow because it is a tough cut of meat that takes a long time to get tender. There is also a lot of fat that needs to be rendered. Using a propane grill for this type of product is costly due to the price of gas, so I’d recommend using either an electric smoker or a non-gas grill.
Chicken must be cooked all the way through for health reasons. A nice medium temperature of around 350 degrees will get the inside done without burning the outside. Chicken can also be cooked low and slow, you just have to make sure the fat gets rendered.
Because beef is considered better at medium-rare temperatures, a high temp and short cooking time typically work best. You get a good sear on the outside and a beautiful pink center.
Looking for more info on grilling meat? Check out the 5 best types of meat for your summer BBQ!
Always Clean Your Grill When You’re Done!
I know it’s a pain, but cleaning your grill after each use is critically important to extending its life. Cleaning grease and food debris off the grates and drip pans will help prevent rust. This is particularly important in areas with high humidity like the American South.
If rust does form, don’t worry, it can be removed. A simple solution of vinegar and baking soda will do the trick. A little elbow grease may be required as well. Just don’t go too heavy with the vinegar, as you don’t want to erode too much of the metal.
Amazon has a ton of options for good grill cleaning brushes. Here’s a 21 inch 3 sided grill brush from Weber for just $12.99.
Oil Your Grates
Cleaning your grill is one key to extending its lifetime. Another is oiling your grill’s grates. This is another measure to help prevent rust. It will also keep your grill seasoned. Treat your grates like you would a cast iron pan, and it will greatly improve how long it lasts.
Get A Grill Caddy
Gathering all the items you need for a cookout can be a pain. A good grill caddy can help keep things organized and reduce the number of trips you take to the kitchen. Coupled with a good grill kit, this will greatly help speed things up. There are so many items you might need at the grill, from water bottles to sauces and seasonings. Having them in an easy-to-carry caddy is a nice luxury.
These are my 5 grilling tips and tricks to improve your cookout. These are all very basic, but we will be talking a lot more about grilling and BBQ throughout the spring and summer. This should help get you started.
