Grilling is one form of food art that often takes years to master. It doesn’t matter if you have been grilling for as long as you can remember because there will always be new areas to develop and things to learn.
If you think you are ready to try brand new things, it is easy to become a grilling pro in an instant. For all you know, those simple things you ignored through the years are actually the secret that can make a significant difference in your grilling experience.
Read on to discover some ways to further hone your skills in grilling:
Preheat Before Anything Else
It takes time for the grill to produce heat so it makes sense for you to give it enough time to do exactly just that.
If you want to cook your food evenly and properly, make sure your grill is fired early on. Ignite it, make sure the lid is closed and let it preheat on its own for 15 minutes prior to taking out the food.
There is a higher chance that the food will stick to improperly pre-heated grates. You can instantly tell if someone is not a pro if the chicken or fish skin is left behind on the grate once you are done cooking.
Oil the Grates Only After You Cleaned Them
It is ideal and recommended to clean the grates after using it. However, let’s admit it. Not everyone got the luxury of time to do this. During the stage of pre-heating, it will burn the residue of food from your previous barbecue session so you can easily remove it with a grill brush.
When cleaning, drench the grill with cooking spray lightly. You can also use tongs when dipping a piece of crumpled up paper towel into the oil. Use this to lightly coat the grates.
Use Various Cooking Zones to Your Advantage
To ensure that you will be able to avoid the much-dreaded scenario of your food getting charred outside yet undercooked inside, try cooking thicker cuts of high-fat meat or meat, such as chicken with skin still on and use both indirect and direct heat. Cook the cuts fast over direct heat for the outside part to become crispy and transfer the meat to the zone of indirect heat cooking to cook it through.
Use Your Thermometer All the Time
A lot of grillers often make the big mistake of taking their thermometer for granted every time they grill fish, meat or poultry. They think that they can just judge the level of doneness merely by looking. Forget the guesswork. To guarantee the safety of your food and enjoy perfectly cooked and delicious meat, make sure you use your thermometer to know if your food already reached the desired temperature.
Let Your Food Cook
If you are already famished but you are still waiting for your food to finish grilling, it is hard to prevent yourself from doing something. But, try to avoid pressing on the burger. Stop flipping your steak. Don’t open the lid every now and then to check. Just let your food cook through its own cooking time with no disturbance.