#2. Get Your Grill Hot Before You Start
Many of us wait to the last minute before starting the grill. This isn’t as critical with a gas grill as a charcoal grill since you only have to turn on the gas and ignite but do you give the grill grates enough time to get hot?
More often than not, I find myself rushing to get the grill started and before it has time to really get hot, slamming the burgers, strip steaks or salmon steaks onto the grill before the grates have had time to get hot and then wonder why everything is sticking.
Not everything you cook needs the grill to be super hot but most of the time you’ll be starting on a really hot portion of a grill to sear what you are cooking and getting those beautiful grill marks and then moving the meat or fish over to a less hot side of the grill. If you don’t start with a hot grill, you won’t get the sear or the marks you may be looking for.
And remember, as soon as you start adding ingredients to the grill, they are going to absorb some of the heat and cool down the grill. If you add 8 burgers and 6 hotdogs all at once, don’t be surprised when the grill looses some of its heat.
The best way to prevent this from happening is to start with a hot grill or a hot portion of it.
You left out probably the most important thing in grilling like a pro tips. Since nearly everything is done to a stage or (doneness), a thermometer for internal temp is required to ensure tremendous success. With a thermometer a novice can actually cook a 2 lb rib eye to perfection better than a restaurant. I’m finding out at my over middle age that nearly all people that grill get lucky if they happen to cook with success and do not use such a simple tool.
That’s a good point that a gas grill will only get as hot as it’s rated in btu’s. Charcoal lets you control the heat more directly. You can also take charcoal wherever you go.
Good points Larry. Thanks for sharing.
Some great points – especially “don’t play with your food”. That was one of the things I had hard time with when I started grilling. I would get worried it was burning so I kept moving it around, flipping, etc. Just leave it be! 🙂
Great points!
If you haven’t ever tried Porter & York Brand Meats, you might want to give it a try. They ship their meat out in special packaging designed to keep the fresh, never frozen, beef that has been raised naturally (grass fed, grain finished). I was able to cut one of their filet mignon’s with a fork. Delicious.
I’m planning on getting my husband a new grill pro for his birthday. So thanks for the suggestion that he should use some oil or something else to grease up the grill unless what you’re cooking has already been using oil for something. I’ll be sure that the hamburgers and hot dogs we make on his birthday with his new pro tool are cooked on an oiled up grates.
I am getting my husband a grill for his birthday and I wanted to include some tips with it so he can learn how to grill like a pro. These are all wonderful tips! I didn’t know about grill zones before! That’s cool that you can get direct heat and indirect heat to help cook the food. Thanks for the tips! I’m sure these will help my husband cook like a pro!
You are welcome. I’m sure he will be thrilled with his new grill.
Wonderful points especially on grilling techniques. Surely using charcoal is more convenient in managing the heat transfer, but both have advantages and disadvantages. thanks for sharing.
You are welcome Hilmy.
One reason to not use olive oil is that it smokes/burns at a lower temperature than Canola or Safflower.
Thanks for your tips about how grease in the middle of the trap can make it a lot harder and making sure that the grill is clean can be really useful in making sure that there is better heat. I have been trying to cook more for my kids and I really want to make a great BBQ and learn how to do it with ribs so that we can have a great dinner. Getting some better equipment from a professional could be really useful and help me understand how to do some better cooking.
Thanks for letting me know that it is easier to cook barbecue on a gas grill. I’ve been serving vegetable meals to my kids for the past few weeks and they requested for spicy barbecue for next week. Aside from practicing my grilling skills, it would be a good idea to look for a condiments store that sells good hot sauces that they would love.