It seems like the weather these days is getting more and more unpredictable. In New York, for example, it can be sixty degrees and sunny on Monday and snowing and freezing cold on Saturday. It can be hard to keep up – one day you are breaking out the sunglasses and sandals and the next you are taking your gloves and cashmere scarf back out of the closet. Maybe you already stored your snow shovel or the plow, and then within a week, you are taking it back out. It can get to be a bit of a pain.
But through it all, we all know that eventually, the cold weather will finally pass into nothing more than a distant memory. Spring will arrive, flowers will bloom, and the sun will shine. Eventually spring will turn to summer and we will be lounging poolside sipping on cocktails.
Summer is a great time of year – some would say the best. There are so many things to do during the summer. You can go kayaking down a river or hiking in a nearby – or distant – ravine. Whatever you enjoy doing during the daytime, there is one pastime universally loved by almost everyone for warm summer evenings. Whether you are a regular griller or a novice, there is always a way to improve your grilling techniques. Below are some tips and tricks for grilling like a pit master.
Get Organized In the Kitchen
A good grilling night starts in the kitchen, even though the actual grilling happens outside. From start to finish, keep yourself and your food organized. Especially if you are having guests, then keeping your kitchen organized will save you time and hassle. Slice your vegetables in advance. Mix your ground beef (more on the beef below!) with the flavorings in advance. Don’t start grilling until everything is prepped!
Build Two Fire Zones
Using two different fire zones is a great way to master the art of grilling. Ever wonder how you can get everything cooked to perfection but still keep it all warm. Keep your main flame on one side and leave the other side unlit. Grill your hot dogs, burgers, and vegetables on the side with the flame and then move everything over to the other side as they finish cooking. This will keep all the food warm until everything else is ready.
Use Top Quality Ingredients
If you want your burgers to taste delicious, then you need to make them with top quality ingredients. First of all, buy your beef unground and make sure it is organic, grass-fed, locally raised, or at least one of the above. This beef tastes better, is healthier, and leaves a much smaller carbon footprint. Buying even the cheapest cut of this meat will give you a better burger than buying regular ground beef. Try to make sure your onions, garlic, salt, herbs, and any other additions to the burger are also organic and/or locally grown. Grind everything together in your meat grinder for a delicious burger.
A Watched Cut of Meat Never Cooks
You know the whole saying that a watched pot never boils? Same goes for meat that you are grilling. Instead of watching the meat cook, close the lid and walk away. Keep your eye on the time so that it doesn’t overcook, but give the meat a chance to cook. You want to make sure that you are trapping the moisture from the meat inside of the grill’s cooking chamber. According to one grill master, you might even leave something cooking for as long as an hour. “If I’m cooking pork tenderloins on indirect heat,” a writer at Mademan.com has written, “the cooker lid stays on and it’s going to stay on for an hour before I even peek in there to see what the meat is doing.”
Don’t Buy Too Much Food
It can be very easy to buy more food than you need. You start with some burger meat, then you throw in some chicken wings, and soon enough your grocery cart is overflowing with enough food to feed fifty people and you’re only planning on hosting ten. It happens. But it shouldn’t. Do what you can to limit the amount of food that you are buying so you don’t let too much go to waste. You will also save yourself a lot of money if you refrain from buying more food than you and your guests can eat.
Writer Bio: Richard Dobbins writes about grilling and home décor topics for Northshore Fireplace in Evanston.
