Never miss another recipe... Sign up for our free monthly newsletter today!

Subscribing will not result in more spam!
I guarantee it!


NEWSLETTER
Current Issue
Newsletter Archive
Sign Up Now

Cook'n with Betty Crocker

Cook'n with Betty Crocker





Cook'n with Pillsbury

Cook'n with Pillsbury





Cook'n with a Taste of Home

Cook'n with a Taste of Home






Cook'n in Italy

Cook'n in Italy






Cook'n in Mexico

Cook'n in Mexico






See over 50 more titles...

The Ten Commandments of Perfect Grilling

Print this Recipe




1. Be organized. Have everything you need for grilling-the food, marinade, basting sauce, seasonings, and equipment-on hand and at grillside before you start grilling.

2. Gauge your fuel. There’s nothing worse than running out of charcoal or gas in the middle of grilling. When using charcoal, light enough to form a bed of glowing coals 3 inches larger on all sides than the surface area of the food you’re planning to cook. (A 22 1/2-inch grill needs one chimney’s worth of coals.) When cooking on a gas grill, make sure the tank is at least one-third full.

3. Preheat the grilL To THE RIGHT TEMPERATURE. Remember: Grilling is a high-heat cooking method. In order to achieve the seared crust, charcoal flavor, and handsome grill marks associated with masterpiece grillmanship, you must cook over a high heat. How high? At least 500°F. Although I detail this elsewhere, it is worth repeating: When using charcoal, let it burn until it is covered with a thin coat of gray ash. Hold your hand about 6 inches above the grate. After 3 seconds, the force of the heat should force you to snatch your hand away. When using a gas grill, preheat to high (at least 500°F); this takes 10 to 15 minutes. When indirect grilling, preheat the grill to 350°F.

4. Keep it clean. There’s nothing less appetizing than grilling on dirty old burnt bits of food stuck to the grate. Besides, the food will stick to a dirty grate. Clean the grate twice: once after you’ve preheated the grill and again when you’ve finished cooking. The first cleaning will remove any bits of food you may have missed after your last grilling session. Use the edge of a metal spatula to scrape off large bits of food, a stiff wire brush to finish scrubbing the grate.

5. Keep it lubricated. Oil the grate just before placing the food on top, if necessary (some foods don’t require that the grates be oiled). Spray it with oil (away from the flames-see page 13), use a folded paper towel soaked in oil, or rub it with a piece of fatty bacon, beef fat, or chicken skin.

6. Turn, don’t stab. The proper way to turn meat on a grill is with tongs or a spatula. Never stab the meat with a carving fork-unless you want to drain the flavor-rich juices onto the coals.

7. Know when to baste. Oil-and-vinegar-, citrus-, and yogurt-based bastes and marinades can be brushed on the meat throughout the cooking time. (If you baste with a marinade that you used for raw meat or seafood, do not apply it during the last 3 minutes of cooking.) When using a sugar-based barbecue sauce, apply it toward the end of the cooking time. The sugar in these sauces burns easily and should not be exposed to prolonged heat.

8. Keep it covered. When cooking larger cuts of meat and poultry, such as a whole chicken, leg of lamb, or prime rib, use the indirect method of grilling or barbecuing. Keep the grill tightly covered and resist the temptation to peek. Every time you lift the lid, you add 5 to 10 minutes to the cooking time.

9. Give it a rest. Beef, steak, chicken-almost anything you grill-will taste better if you let it stand on the cutting board for a few minutes before serving. This allows the meat juices, which have been driven to the center of a roast or steak by the searing heat, to return to the surface. The result is a juicier, tastier piece of meat.

10. Never desert your post. Grilling is an easy cooking method, but it demands constant attention. Once you put something on the grill (especially when using the direct method), stay with it until it’s cooked. This is not the time to answer the phone, make the salad dressing, or mix up a batch of your famous mojitos.

Above all, have fun. Remember that grilling isn’t brain surgery. And that’s the gospel!

This recipe comes from the Cook'n collection. Try Cook'n for FREE!

Download Cook'n for Free







Grilling Indoors
The Birth of the Kettle
Pit Cooking
What to look for in a Grill
Types of Charcoal
Cooking with Wood
Cleaning and Oiling the Grill
When to cover the Grill
When to use a Drip Pan
Making crosshatch grill marks
The Ten Commandments of Perfect Grilling
How to grill with out a grate
Barbecue Countdown
The Afghan Grill
The Vietnamese Grill
Stalking the Elusive Grilled Snail
The Tale of Three Barbecues: The Thai Grill
How to make ricw powder
How to rinse and dry Cilantro
Mesclun Mix
How to prepare fresh coconut
How to toast seeds, nuts, and breadcrumbs
Grilled Rujak
How to rinse salad greens
Larding the Beef
How to grill a perfect steak
In pursuit of the best Tuscan Steak
Butterflying a Flank Steak
Matambre: A hunger-killer from South America
On trimming fat from meat
Hawkers' Center
The Argentinian Grill
How to Butterfly Short Ribs for Korean-Style Grilling
Pork the Italian Way
How to Butterfly Pork or Beef
Jerk: The Jamaican Barbecue
A Traditional Barbacoa
The Moroccan Grill
How to Unskewer Shish Kebabs
A Special Word About Ground Meat, Burgers, and Sausages
Cooking Hamburgers
From Hamburg to Hoboken: A Brief History of the Hambuger
Grinding It Out
How to Stuff Sausages Like a Pro
Of Koftas, Lyulas, and Seekh
The Turkish Grill
Sumac
Aleppo Pepper
How to Grill the Perfect Whole Chiken
A Marinating Tip
How to Spatchcock a Chicken or Game Hen
How to Grill Perfect Chicken Halves and Quarters
How to Cut Up a Chicken
Uruguay's Mercado Del Puerto
How to Grill Perfect Chicken
Bombay Tikka "Taco"
The Splendid Resaurant Karim
To Render Chicken Fat
Grating Citrus Peel
How to Make Scallion Brushes
The Macanese Grill
How to Grill the Perfect Whole Fish
How to Dry Fennel Stalks
How to Grill a Whole Grilled Fish
A New French Paradox
The Most Famous Fish House in Indonesia
A Few Shark and Bake Tips
How to Grill the Perfect Fish
How to Skin and Bone Fish Fillets
Whole Fish, Tikin Xik Style
How to Grill Perfect Fish Fillets
Sturgen
When You’re Feeling Less Than Brave
How to Peel and Devein Shrimp
The Brazilian Grill
How to Grill Perfect Vegetables Every Time
Grate Expectations: Some Tips on Grilling Vegetables
The Japanese Grill
Black Gold
Raclette
The Indian Grill
Basmati Rice Five Ways
A Day with Najmieh Batmanglij: The Persian Grill
Stuck on Sate: The Indonesian Grill
The Four Styles of American Barbecue
Barbecue Alley: The Mexican Grill
A Griller's Guide to the World's Chiles
Cooking With a Blowtorch
Barbecue from the Land of Morning Calm:
Approximate Times for Rotisserie Cooking
Beef Grilling Chart *
Pork Grilling Chart
Lamb Grilling Chart
Ground Meats Grilling Chart
Poultry Grilling Chart*
Fish Grilling Chart*
Shellfish Grilling Chart*
Vegetable Grilling Chart*
Vegetable Grilling Chart*















































































Cook'n Organize your recipes with the Cook'n
Recipe Software





Affiliate Program | Privacy Policy | Other Resources | Contact Us


© 2008 DVO Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved.
Sales: 1-888-462-6656