Gas Grilling Tips

Many people believe that the quality of the grill is the only factor that affects the taste of the food that is grilled, but this is far from the truth. While grill quality is important, the skills of the griller should not be neglected either.

You need to know the ins and outs of grilling to be able to grill food that is healthy and delicious. It is not really as easy as it sounds, which is why not everyone is able to grill quality food.

To help you improve your skills and become a grill master, given below are some tips:

1. Safety First

Grilling sure is fun, but you cannot afford to neglect safety. It is important to grill in a safe environment and with proper care.

You need to make sure to wear the right attire as some clothes can make it risky to grill in. Other than this, switch plates at the right time and be careful when serving food. The grill and food may be too hot, so make sure to wear gloves and not touch the grill as it may cause injuries.

Other than this, keep the grill at a safe temperature, especially when grilling beef. Last but not the least, grilling equipment and area should be properly sanitized before use.

2. Keep an Eye on the Grill When Food is Being Cooked

It is quite common for people to keep food for grilling and wander around or get busy doing some other chore. This can be a very big mistake.

You need to keep an eye on the food as it might get burnt. This will not only destroy the taste but can also cause wastage. Moreover, this may result in smoke that is bad for the health.

This is more important when you grill foods that cook fast such as steaks, burgers. A good solution to this problem is to get automatic grills. They work on a timer and prevent burns.

3. A Dirty Grill Can Ruin the Taste

A lot of people neglect the importance of keeping their grills clean. This not only affects the environment by generating heaps of smoke but also contaminates the food and even destroys the taste.

Grills have to be cleaned properly, before and after grilling. However, make sure to be careful as the grill might be hot after a grilling session.

Most grills come with tips on how to clean them, but in general you need to get rid of the leftover and clean all the corners properly. Other than this, the grates and burners need to be pulled out and cleaned separately.

4. Is Your Food Blackening? Sugar May Be the Reason

If the grill is blackening the food then it might be due to wrong temperature being set. However, that’s not all. Sometimes, when foods contains sugar, it may turn the food black if not grilled below 265 F (130 C) degrees.

This is because sugar starts to burn when it reaches 265 degrees Fahrenheit. Hence, make sure to keep the temperature below that when grilling or cooking foods that contain sugar.

5. Have Extra Gas By Your Side

Unexpected guests can knock on the door anytime and having a grill can save the day. However, things may go wrong if you’re out of gas.

While you have the option to go out and fetch gas, it can be a pain at times to do so. This is why you should keep extra gas by your side. Just make sure to keep it safe and use it when needed. It can also come in handy if you suddenly decide to extend your party.

6. Know the Right Temperature

Grills these days can operate at very high temperatures. But, it may not always be a good idea to grill or cook foods at high temperature.

Contrary to the popular belief, high temperature does not always mean quickly grilled food. While some foods such as thin slices of pork, beef or lamb do need high temperature, many foods, such as veggies, chicken and fish can burn if the heat is extremely high.

Last but not least, thick and large foods like whole-chickens need to be grilled at low temperature because they take a bit of time to cook properly.

The real secret is to know the right temperature for a specific dish. Follow the recipe to the T and do not customize unless you are sure of the outcome. Lastly, remember the duration.

If something is to be cooked for 30 minutes, cook it for 30 minutes and not more or less, but make sure to check it regularly just in case it gets ready before the specified duration and vice versa.

Different people like different tastes, especially in case of steaks and other such foods. You need to keep this in mind when grilling to be able to make food that everyone enjoys.

7. Controlling the Fire

Like all fires, when a grill produces flare-ups, they need to be controlled. Many people panic when they see small flare-ups in the grills and put it out immediately by spraying on them.

This does not only cause wastage of food but may also damage the grill. It is important to control flare ups in the right way, which is by not fighting it.

At first, corner your food to an empty area on the grill so that it’s away from the flare up. The trick is to let the fire burn the grease off and go out on its own.

However, in case it’s spreading then shut off the burners and everything. Mostly, flare ups occur when the temperature is too high and there’s grease on the grills that catches fire.

8. Implement Indirect Grilling

A grill master is one who use the grill with versatility. This includes implementing indirect grilling on sensitive foods or when you want to warm the food.

The trick is to heat the burners first at a suitable temperature and then quickly placing the burners underneath the container that holds your food.

The heat will be enough to warm up the food. It can also be used to bake or roast certain items. This way of cooking is the secret to cook tender foods that often get burnt on the outside due to direct heat.

9. The Art of Searing Meat

Searing is a good way to enhance the taste of certain foods, especially meats. It gives the food a crisp and delicious taste by carelazing the outer skin of the meat.

This is achieved by warming the grill at full temperature without the meat on it. Once it gets hot enough, place the meat on the grill for 60 seconds. Now flip it on the side and turn down the temperature until the meat is cooked.

10. Keep the Grill Well-Maintained

For a grill to continue grilling tasty food, it needs to be kept well maintained. Check on all the internal parts from time to time and make sure all parts are working properly.

Special attention should be paid to the burner holes as some holes may not product proper fire, which may cause the food to get spoiled. Clean all the grates and burners after a few months, and change the grill once it expires.