Grilling your meat on a barbecue is a tradition for the summertime in America.  When you take proper precautions, you are able to safely barbecue on your grill. And the results are going to be even better than cooking your barbecue in your oven.

Proper Utensils

Use some utensils that are made for grilling – in other words, they should have handles that are extra long. You need to have tongs so you can grab your meat, as well as turn the meat over and put it where the meat should be on your grill. Spatulas work well for meat pieces which are wide and thin, like fish. A grilling fork lets you spear your meat to see the inside of it and check juice color to see if it’s cooked. Another essential item is a brush for basting.

Keep It Juicy

Due to the dry and high heat of a barbecue, you want to make sure that the meat doesn’t dry out. This is done by basting or marinating, or both. When you marinate you soak meat that is raw in a liquid which is flavorful for anywhere from 2 – 12 hours. If you find yourself without a recipe for marinade, there are lots of marinades that you can buy at the store.  Meat cuts that are low-fat get a lot of benefits from a marinade.

When you baste, it means that you are brushing a sauce or liquid that is flavorful onto your meat while it cooks. This is also going to keep your meat juicy as well as adding flavor to its exterior. Even if the meat’s been marinated, basting is still important. Put aside some of the marinade for basting or use a favorite sauce, such as teriyaki or barbecue sauce.

When your meat is almost done, put it your meat to the side and keep it away from the direct heat.  You can also put it on your platter and cover it loosely with some tin foil before putting it in a place that is warm. It should sit there for anywhere from 5 – 30 minutes, depending on big the meat is. This is going to allow the juices and the heat to have even distribution.

Charcoal

If you’re barbecuing with charcoal, it’s often very hard to light. A lot of brands available are now self-lighting, so all you need is a lighter or a match.  You can use a charcoal lighter that uses electricity or a good propane torch.  Pile your briquettes like a pyramid before you light them. When you have a big pile, you are going to have a lot of heat.

It’s also possible to use some lighter fluid. It makes lighting your briquettes very easy, but it also may give your meat a taste of petroleum.

You can also use the charcoal chimney, which is a cylinder which is tall and made for helping you light charcoal.  Put some crumpled paper in the chimney’s lower section and your briquettes in the upper part of the chimney, then light your paper. When your briquettes are ready for cooking, then you rearrange them in your grill.

If you wish your food to have a flavor that is smoky, add hickory or mesquite chips. Before you put them in your charcoal, soak your chips in some water for at least 30 minutes.

Gas

Lighting as well as adjusting temperature is easy when you use a gas grill, but your food isn’t going to have as much flavor as it does with charcoal. It’s possible to add some wood chips to give it that smoky flavor, but it’s going to be required that you put them in a smoker box made of metal before you put them down into the heat.

These are some tips that you can use when you are cooking on your grill. If you would like to get a grill for your home or to upgrade your current one, we have plenty of outdoor grills from which to choose. Just contact us to find out what we offer.