With the 4^th of July holiday right around the corner, and the summer season upon us, we start to cook outdoors more often. I enjoy cooking on the grill, and over the years I have learned a few tips about making your grilling experience a good time rather than a hassle or disaster. In the following article, I will give some tips on preparation and grilling.

The prep work for grilling is the most important step you can take. When you decide on what you want to have to eat, make a list and gather everything you need from the store. Once you start grilling there is no stopping.

Some tips for getting ready are basic and simple but very important.

1. When wrapping corn for the grill place a small amount of butter on the corn along with a little water if you are not leaving the husk on. The corn will dry out faster without the husk, and will have more of a chance to burn.
2. Make the burgers ahead of time and keep refrigerated until needed.
3. Spread your cheese out on a plate before hand so you are not trying to pull it apart and put it on the burgers at the same time.
4. Always let the grill get hot before you start to cook.
5. Beef or pork ribs should be slow cooked to 90% done before you put them on the grill.
6. Bone-in chicken should be placed in a slow oven or blanched in a pot of boiling water before you place on the grill. Chicken, just like ribs, are items that should be finished on the grill, not cooked from start to finish because they have a tendency to burn quickly.
7. Have plenty of BBQ sauce on hand when cooking. You don’t want to run out of BBQ sauce.
8. Have all your tools handy when you start.
9. Don’t walk away from the grill if you can avoid it. Anything can burn fast on the grill.
10. When wrapping baked potatoes, make sure you poke them a few times with a fork before you wrap them in foil. They will explode inside the foil if you don’t do this.
11. Brush BBQ sauce on, don’t pour.
12. Anything marinated should be allowed to drain slightly before you place on the grill, or you will probably get that dreaded flare up.
13. Open your rolls and buns up before you take hot dogs and hamburgers off the grill.
14. Steaks should be turned frequently so you don’t over cook them on one side.
15. When grilling fish make sure the grill hot and you brush the grill with a little oil before you put the fish on.
16. Fish will break up on the grill if it is to thin or you have over cooked it. The best grilling fish are Swordfish and Mako shark, cut about 1 to 1 ½ inches thick.

Some safety tips for you. Always keep the food refrigerated or in a cooler until you put it on the grill. It is very easy to acquire food poisoning if you are not careful. Lift the lid on the gas grill before you light it. Do not put a lot of lighter fluid on the coals. A little bit will be enough. If you think the coals are not lit because you can’t see the flames don’t spray more on the coals. Spray a little water to see if the coals smoke. The other thing is to look at the corners of the coals; if they look white they are hot. Even if you turn the burners off on a gas grill you still have to turn the gas off.

Much of the meal can be done in the kitchen. Some easy to make marinades can be done to make your meal great. Here are a couple of recipes to help you this summer.

Orange Chicken

½ cup orange juice
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons of dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons of olive oil
A pinch of salt and pepper
1 clove of garlic chopped fine

Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer over a low heat for 3 minutes. Let cool and brush over the chicken before you put it on the grill. Continue brushing on the chicken every time you turn the chicken. The recipe only makes about ¾ of a cup. It will cover about 6 pieces of chicken.

Lemon and Herb

1 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/3 cup of red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
1 tablespoon of dried thyme
1 teaspoon of black pepper
½ teaspoon of salt

In a small bowl combine all ingredients. Refrigerate unused portion. This recipe can be used on anything but it goes best on fish or chicken.

Barbeque Chicken

1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 teaspoons of salt
6 oz of tomato paste
1 ¼ cup of cider or red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper
1 ½ cup of nonfat chicken broth
1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon of black pepper
2 tablespoons of butter

Mix all ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes. Refrigerate unused portion.

Enjoy your summer time cooking on the grill and again if there is any question I can answer for you please click on Chef Mike at the bottom of the page.

Chef Mike