The season is here where it’s perfect for grilling. It’s time to clean the grills, fire up the barbecue and enjoy some delicious meat. But you might not be confident behind the grills cooking for your family and friends, worry not because below are 50+ Grilling Hacks To Transform You Into A Grill Master:
1) Apply Rub An Hour Before Cooking
You need to apply your rub in advance for the tastiest meats. The rub should be applied to your food an hour before you’re ready to cook. Make a simple rub using equal parts salt, pepper, granulated garlic, and grilled onion.
2) Save Some Marinade
Most people marinate their meat overnight or for at least a couple of hours. But you should save some of that tasty juice and put it aside before you toss your meat in. This way you’ll have marinade to glaze your meat with while you have it on the grill.
3) Marinate With Beer
Try marinading your meat with beer. It will enhance the flavor of your meat. Here is a great garlic beer marinade recipe.
4) Do This Before You Cut
Want the juiciest cuts of meat possible? Let your meat sit for about 10 minutes before you cut it. The juice gravitates toward the center of the cut and stores it there until you cut it.
5) Cook Evenly With Briquettes
Stick with briquettes instead of lump wood charcoal for an even cook. They make grilling a lot easier. This is because they have additives that help them to burn evenly and consistently.
6) Let Coal Turn Grey
When it comes to eating delicious barbecue, some of us having a hard time waiting. But waiting for your coals to heat up is worth it. Make sure they turn grey and have a little glow to it before you start grilling.
7) Have The Right Tools
If you want to grill correctly, you’ll need the right tools. Most pros will use two sets of tongs— one for the meat and one to move coals around. You’ll also want to use two spatulas, one for raw meat and one for cooked meat.
8) Keep It Simple
Don’t get fancy with your beef patties. Don’t prepare it like meatloaf with onion and/or pepper chunks. Just make it a nice piece of meat. Season if you must.
9) Add Some Wood Chips
Want a smoky flavor added to your barbecue? Toss a few small wood pieces in with your briquettes. Add the wood in after the initial fire starts to die down.
10) Use Lump Wood Charcoal
While briquettes cook food more evenly and consistently, they do have additives and chemicals. Using lump wood charcoal is a more natural alternative. It also gives your food an authentic smoky BBQ flavor
11) Use An Onion To Clean The Grill
Using a wire brush can leave dangerous metal particles in your food. Use an onion instead. Slice an onion and place it face down on your grill. Stab it with a for or prongs and use it to scrub your grill.
12) Take It Off A Minute Or Two
Take your meat off your grill a minute or two before it’s done. The heat gets trapped inside the meat and continues to cook it after you take it off the grill. It won’t get overcooked this way.
13) Only Flip Your Meat Once
Make sure you’re only flipping your meat once. Flipping it multiple times can cause your meat to lose its natural juices. Cook one side fully, then flip it over to the other side.
14) Charcoal Grill For Authentic Taste
Gas grills make barbequing super convenient. However, if you want authentic barbecue, you’ll want to opt for a charcoal grill. A charcoal grill gives your food that classic barbecue flavor.
15) Ice Cube Your Meat
Make ice cubes from beef broth and place it on top of your meat when grilling. This will keep your meat moist. You can also use plain ice cubes or butter.
16) Pro Grill Marks
Let your meat look great as well as taste great with perfect grill marks. Place your meat so it points to 10 o’clock and ear for two minutes. Rotate so the same side points to 2 o’clock. Flip and repeat.
17) Use Two Skewers
Use just one skewer can cause your food to twist around when you flip it on the grill. Use two instead. This will keep your food in place so you can cook it evenly.
18) When To Take Steaks Out
Want the perfect steak? You’ll want to takes your steaks 0ut of the refrigerator about 20 minutes before you start grilling. Cooking room temperatures steaks allow for a more even cook.
19) Put Condiments In A Muffin Tin
Having a bunch of containers on a table takes up a lot of space and looks messy. Place your condiments in a muffin tin instead. Each condiment can be placed in a muffin slot.
20) Fire Roast Your Veggie
Want the best-tasting BBQ veggies? Throw them right onto your hot coals or wood and blacken the skin. Fire roasting enhances the true flavor of the veggies.
21) How Are Your Propane Levels?
You can check your propane tank levels by pouring a cup of boiling cup water on the side of the tank. The top will be hot and the bottom will be cool. You can see where the propane level is at by assessing where the hot and cool spots meet.
22) Add Mayo Into Your Meat
Want to keep your meat moist? Mix a dollop of mayo into your raw meat. Then mold it into a patty. It will keep moist on the grill.
23) Keep Pork Moist
Fill a spray bottle with apple juice. Use it to spray your pork cuts and other meats. This will keep it moist and give it a touch of sweetness.
24) Condiments To Keep Track Of Orders
Keeping track of how people want their meat cooked can get hectic when you have a lot of orders. Use condiments to keep track. Write medium, rare, or well with ketchup or mustard on the buns so you know what is what.
25) Don’t Let Fish Fall Apart
Place lemons on your grill and place the fish on top. Lay some more lemons alongside the fish. When you flip the fish, pick up the lemons and flip it onto the other set of lemons to prevent your filet from falling apart.
26) Easiest Way To Light Charcoal
Ditch the lighter fluid and place your coal inside an egg carton. Set the carton on fire with a lighter. Your coal will light up as the carton burns.
27) Use Chips To Light The Grill
Another way to avoid using lighter fluid is using chips. Light your chip with a lighter and place them on your charcoal. The coals will eventually light up.
28) DIY Food Warmer
Don’t let those burgers and franks go cold. Place them inside a tin and tape another tin on top of it. The heat will stay in between the two tins and keep your food warm.
29) Spiral Cut Your Dogs
Spiral cut hot dogs cook better and are nice and juicy but crisp. The grooves also hold condiments better. Skewer a hot dog and run a knife down your dog while spinning it to get a spiral cut.
30) Keep One Side Of The BBQ A Lower Temperature
Turn your grill into a two-zone grill and only heat one side. Cook your meat on the hot side (obviously). Then place the meat on the other side about two minutes before it’s done so that it the natural juices can cook it the rest of the way through.
31) Smoke Your Lemons
Add a smokey flavor to your lemons. Place halved lemons on top of your grill for a few minutes. Then squeeze over your dishes for a smokey flavor.
32) Smoke Food With An Electric Grill
You can still create a smoker effect with an electric grill. Make a smoking pouch by wrapping wood chips in a foil envelope. Poke holes in it and throw it underneath the grate on top of the top burner. This will add smokiness to your meat.
33) Quick Barbecuing
Need to grill something up in a flash? Cook meat most of the way through in the microwave. Finish it up on the grill.
34) Foil Tent Your Food
Another way to keep food moist is to put it under a foil tent. Loosely place a piece of aluminum foil over your piece of meat for about 10 minutes. This will allow it to soak up juices and stay warm and moist.
35) Poach Sausages Before You Grill Them
Poach your sausages before you toss them on the grill. Poaching them first keeps them nice and juicy. It also gets rid of unwanted fat and makes sure they cook evenly.
36) Clean Your Grill With Aluminum
Another way to avoid cleaning your grill with a wire brush is aluminum foil. Crumple up a ball of foil. Use it to scrub the gunk off your grill.
37) Toast Your Bun Without Burning Them
Nobody likes burnt buns. Keep them toasty by creating a warming rack. Place a small rack on top of a few cans and put your buns on the rack.
38) Dessert On The Grill
You can make some pretty good desserts on the grill. You can make grilled banana boats’ mores inside a banana peel. Get the recipe here.
39) Brine And Boil
Is it too hot to stand over the grill? Brine and boil your meats before you toss them on the grill. This will cut down on your grilling time.
40) Cheese On The Grill
This may be the greatest hack of them all. Put a cheese with a rind on it, like brie, on the grill. When you take it off the grill and cut into it it will be all gooey on the inside and you can dip bread in it.
41) Make Tin Foil Dinners For Your Family
Tin foil dinners aka ‘hobo dinners’ are a must-know for families. Hot dogs, hamburgers, and steaks are staples when it comes to grilling but once you know how to make a tin foil dinner? It’s a game changer. Poofy Cheeks explains how to make these full meals in just one piece of tin foil – head over to their site for recipes.
42) Check Meat Temp Using Your Palm
Using a meat thermometer to check your meat temps seems like a good idea, but if you poke a hole in the meat, delicious juices could flow out – losing moisture and flavors. Instead, use your hand to check the done-ness of your meat by pressing the ‘ball’ of your palm. Here’s a handy guide.
43) Don’t Leave The Cast-Iron Inside
Just because you’re grilling doesn’t mean you should forget about that amazing cast-iron skillet you have in the cupboard! Use the cast-iron skillet on the grill for meat that falls apart easily (like fish) and to distribute heat evenly.
44) Another DIY To Make A Smoker
Earlier, we mentioned how to add wood chips to the grill or turn an electric grill into a smoker but we have another alternative method for you as well. All you’ll need are some wood chips, tin foil, and a disposable loaf tin. Head over to Happy Money Saver for the full tutorial.
45) Grill Your Citrus
If you’ve never had fresh lemonade made with grilled lemons – you’ve been missing out. Grilling your lemons and other citrus fruits help bring out their citrusy flavor even more. If grilled lemon lemonade isn’t your thing – simple squeeze the grilled fruit over your fish or chicken for extra flavor.
46) Don’t Forget To Let Meat Rest
When cooking (and eating) a steak, it’s important that it’s moist and juicy. To ensure you have a perfect cook on your steak every single time, resting is just as important as grilling. Always let your meat sit for about 10 minutes before cutting it – it will let all those yummy juices marinate into the meat even further.
47) Peel Fire Roasted Veggies With A Paper Bag
Trying to peel the skin off of roasted veggies is a nearly impossible feat. Ever tried to take off wet jeans before? Yeah, sort of like that. Avoid disfiguring and mangling your veggies by using a paper bag instead. Just drop the roasted veggies in a paper lunch sack, let it sit for ten minutes, and let the steam do the trick. Here’s the full tutorial with video.
48) Use Squash Instead Of Hot Dogs For Vegetarians
For those that love to grill, vegetarians might seem like “no fun” but that’s simply not true! You just have to get creative! Blow your vegetarian guest’s mind by grilling up some squash for them to put on the bun. Squash is an unoffensive-tasting veggie that works great as a base for all the regular hot dog toppings.
49) No Tongs? Use Chopsticks!
We mentioned before that having the proper grilling tools can make barbecuing a whole lot easier – but if not? Improvise! If tongs aren’t in your kitchen arsenal, perhaps you have some chopsticks on hand from that takeout you ordered last week. They are great for flipping meat or veggies on the grill.
50) Prep Your Grill With Oil
No one likes cleaning a grill. Although we’ve given you some great hacks with the onion and tin foil, there’s a way you can help make it even easier – break out the oil. Soak a sturdy paper towel in some neutral-flavored cooking oil, pick it up with some tongs, and rub all over your grill prior to cooking. This way, any food that’s stuck on will wipe off easily.
51) Chopsticks Can Also Be Skewers
Another great thing that chopsticks can be used for in the ‘grilling world’ is as a substitute for skewers. So, as you’re building up your repertoire of grilling tools, don’t fret if you don’t have the proper skewers – chopsticks work just as well.
52) Or Skewer Meat With Rosemary
Rosemary doesn’t only smell amazing but it tastes delicious too. It’s also a ‘hearty’ herb that can work well as a skewer alternative while adding lots of herby flavor to your meat or fish. Plus, it limits the amount of seasoning you’ll need to do!
53) Upgrade Store-Bought BBQ Sauce
Making your own homemade BBQ sauce is the way to go if you want the most delicious flavor, but let’s get real – sometimes that just isn’t possible. Make store-bought sauce taste so much better by adding your own personal touch using things like apple cider vinegar, hot sauce, paprika, or anything else you might like!
54) Take Advantage Of Your Grill’s Leftover Heat
After grilling up hot dogs and burgers all afternoon, your grill is going to hold its heat for quite some time. Take advantage of that by having a dessert planned that can also be cooked on the grill. The banana s’mores we mentioned before are a great idea but you can also find lots of other grilled dessert ideas here.
55) No Grill? No Problem!
So, now that you’ve seen all these hacks, you’re inspired to get grilling, right? But what if you don’t have a grill? No worries, my friend! Just make your own! Use a fire pit and anything else that might have a makeshift “grill” and you’re all set! Watch this video tutorial to find out how to make one while camping.
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