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Get Fired Up for Grill Season

By Will McCahill,  Newser Staff

Posted May 24, 2009 4:40 AM CDT

(Newser) – With the outdoor cooking season kicking off this week, barbecue guru Steven Raichlen offers some grill tips in Esquire you shouldn’t have gone so long without:

  • Get the grill screaming hot: Put your hand 3 inches off the grate, and if “ouch” comes in 2-3 seconds, you’re good.
  • Keep it clean: Scrub the grate down before and after cooking, ideally with a stiff wire brush.

  • Keep it lubricated: Before the food hits, rub the grate with vegetable oil, bacon fat, or an oil-dipped onion.
  • Use edible skewers: Fresh rosemary, cinnamon sticks, or lemongrass stalks impart great flavor.
  • Baste with beer: Cover a long-neck with your thumb, shake it, and spray the meat.
  • Be indirect: Use the indirect method of heat to cook large or tough cuts, or fattier ones that flare up under direct heat. The meat roasts on a grate over a drip pan surrounded by coals.
For more tips, including how to use your hand to gauge when meat is done, click the link below.

Better clean the grill after this feast.
Better clean the grill after this feast.   (Flickr)
Chicken, a grilling staple.
Chicken, a grilling staple.   (Flickr)
Hot enough?
Hot enough?   (Flickr)
Mmm. Grilled foods.
Mmm. Grilled foods.   (Flickr)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 3 comments
riffran
May 26, 2009 1:34 AM CDT
that stuff is grilling for amateurs 101......The further south you get the culture (gastronomicly speaking) changes radicaly, and the methodology gets a "bit" more eloborate, it can be a awsome site to see.....some of these guys turn a whole tractor trailer rig into a wood fired monster that can do anything from a cake to a whole buffalo
Jes
May 25, 2009 3:34 AM CDT
If you've had dinner at someone's house who isn't the type to read a cook book or ask for tips but think they should be the one's grilling just because they're the guy, then you would know this is a good list. I've had too many hockey puck hamburgers and over cooked steaks in my short life.
Robert_Dada
May 25, 2009 1:10 AM CDT
You seem to be forgetting the conservative lunkheads on here. They need this kind of remedial education.

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