Nothing says summer like friends and family gathering around the grill for a barbecued feast. And while there are myriad foods that can be grilled to perfection, there are just as many ways to screw it all up. If you’re not careful, those gourmet burgers can quickly turn into hockey pucks, that double-cut Iberico pork chop might retain all the tenderness of shoe leather or worse yet–you might set off a five-alarm fire by accident.
But don't take my word for it. Here's what Charles Dabbs, a multi-award-winning BBQ and steak pitmaster, has to say:
"Grilling isn't about luck," says Dabbs. "It's about managing heat, understanding your grill, and being patient. Avoiding a few common pitfalls can make all the difference and take your food from average to amazing."
Here are eight common pitfalls according to Dabbs, and how you can avoid them.
1. Patience when preheating
After lighting your grill, give it a good 15 minutes to heat up. If you immediately throw food on cold grates, you're setting yourself up for disaster. Cold grates cause food to stick and make it much harder to achieve a flavorful sear that creates those killer grill marks.
"A properly preheated grill gives you a clean sear and helps food release naturally from the grates," says Dabbs. "It's one of the simplest ways to improve your results."
2. Keep it clean
If you’re like most grillers, you often leave the charred bits and BBQ sauce to be burned off the next time you fire up your grill. According to Dabbs, this is a big no-no. In fact, cleaning your grill shouldn't begin before your next cook, it should happen after your current one.
It’s important to leave the grill running for a few minutes after removing your food to burn off leftover grease and food particles. Then scrape the grates clean and apply a light coating of oil to help season them and extend their lifespan.
"Taking a few extra minutes after each cook makes the next one much easier," Dabbs says. "Clean, seasoned grates help prevent sticking and keep your grill performing its best."
3. Turn down the heat
In a perfect world, we’d be able to blast the grill burners on high and never touch the controls again. Too many backyard grillers do this, according to Dabbs, but unfortunately, it often leads to food that's charred on the outside and raw in the center.
To mitigate this problem, create a two-zone cooking setup instead by keeping one side of the grill on high heat and the other on medium or low. “This gives you a cooler ‘safe zone’ to move food if flare-ups occur and creates the ideal setup for techniques like reverse searing steaks,” says Dabbs. "Your grill doesn't need to be one temperature everywhere."
4. Indirect is the right direction
Many gas grill owners overlook one of their grill's most useful features: indirect heat.
The next time you want to nail a perfect medium rare on that Wagyu tomahawk ribeye, heat one side of the grill while leaving the opposite side off. This creates a gentler cooking environment for thicker cuts to come up to temp slowly on the cool side before searing off on the hot side (hence, reverse sear).
Don't overlook the upper warming rack, either. Sure, it’s great for warming buns or keeping cooked food warm, but it can double as the ideal space for indirect cooking by keeping food away from intense, direct heat.
"Not everything needs to go directly over the flame," Dabbs says. "Using indirect heat gives you more flexibility and helps prevent overcooking."
5. Keep a lid on it
When you hear that sizzle and smell that smoke, it's hard not to crack open that grill lid every minute or two to check on the food. But constantly lifting the lid does more harm than good, as all of the ambient heat that was created dissipates and causes an uneven cooking experience.
Or, as one of Dabbs' barbecue mentors always liked to say, "If you're lookin', you ain't cookin'." With Monument Grills, you can look and cook at the same time thanks to a Clearview window, available on most of its models.
Every time the lid opens, heat escapes and the cooking temperature fluctuates, making it harder for food to cook evenly.
"Trust the process," Dabbs says. "Every time you open the lid, you're resetting the cooking environment."
6. The right tool for the right temperature
If you’re tired of relying on guesswork when determining whether the food is done, you’re not alone. To avoid making another round of burnt burgers or raw chicken legs, invest in a quality digital instant-read thermometer. It takes the uncertainty out of grilling by providing fast, accurate internal temperature readings, according to Dabbs.
"The thermometer tells you what's happening inside the meat," says Dabbs. "It's one of the best investments any griller can make."
7. Give it a rest
After choosing, preparing and cooking your feast to perfection, resist the urge to cut into those proteins right away. Allowing meat to rest, lightly covered in foil, for 10 to 15 minutes gives those delicious juices time to redistribute instead of spilling onto the cutting board.
"If you cut too soon, those flavorful juices end up on the plate instead of in every bite," Dabbs says. "Remember, we’re trying to be kings and queens of the cul-de-sac. No one is a fan of dry burgers, chicken or steak.”
8. Going after grease
Grease buildup inside your grill is a disaster waiting to happen. Why? Layers of grease buildup and cooking remnants in the drip tray or inside the grill can eventually ignite, creating dangerous flare-ups and even full-blown grease fires.
Even experienced grillers like Dabbs admit this one can be easy to neglect, as he’s not ashamed to admit he’s set off a grill fire or two in his day.
“I’m guilty as charged,” jokes Dabbs. “That’s why you can’t let all of those black bits and grease build up. Empty the drip tray before or after every cook, and also scrape away greasy build-up inside the grill so you don’t create a five-alarm fire.”
By paying attention to these fundamental techniques, you'll not only avoid disaster, you’ll eventually become the grill master of your neighborhood.
Partagez vos réflexions