Grilling Tips

If you are anything like me you enjoy grilling outdoors. I live in an area where I can do this year-round but I find that I grill more often in the warmer months. Partly it is more pleasurable to be outside during warm weather and certainly it is a relief not to heat up the house with the oven on warm evenings. Regardless, of why we're out there grilling let's make the most of it. 

Many people have a tendency to overcook meats on the grill. One possible reason for this is that recipes for grilling tend to be less specific about times and temperatures as grill temps vary wildly from one model to the next. Another factor is the experimental nature of grilling. Compared to a kitchen it is a not as structured, and let's face it, often the less experienced cook "mans" the grill so to speak. 

So here are some tips for insuring you give your grilled meats the best chance at making it to the dinner table perfectly done.

Let meats reach room temperature before they hit the grill. If we move meat from the fridge (or God forbid the freezer) to the grill we are going to burn the outside of the cut well before the center reaches its target doneness. So, keep meats in the fridge until they are completely thawed and then "rest" them at room temperature for 15 minutes or so just before they hit the grill. This will allow them to cook through more evenly.

Take meats off the grill a few minutes before they are ready. You can expect most cuts to move one category closer to well done even after removing them from the fire. In other words, even though you have cut the heat off the meat is still cooking. If you are grilling a piece of meat at 400° and you turn the burners off the meat does not instantly drop to ambient temperature. Rather it slowly cools down to room temperature and while it is cooling it is still cooking. So take meats off the grill just before they are finished cooking so that they hit their target doneness on the platter not the grill. 

Resting meat on the platter is another area that often gets overlooked. In our rush to serve "before it gets cold" we end up with wet juicy plates and meat that seems dry and spongy. Resting the meat on the platter for 5-10 minutes allows the meat to reabsorb its juices and keeps us from having to wipe our plates several times before serving them. This is especially true with roasts and other dishes that you are going to cut before you serve. A flank steak or london broil that is not allowed to rest turns into a bloody mess on the plate.

All of these tips apply equally well to chicken, pork, lamb, and other meats. Try to implement these tips the next time you grill out, and see if they don't improve your results.