Millions of Americans around the country will spend this Memorial Day with friends and family in their backyard with spring and summer barbecue recipes.
Grilling can seem like an insurmountable challenge for those with limited cooking experience or individuals who have never grilled before.
Yet with the right tools and help, it should be easy this Memorial Day.
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Read below to learn about the best tips for those grilling for the first time.
One of the most essential steps to follow when grilling for the first time is to ensure that your grill is hot before putting any sort of food on it to cook.
If the grill is not properly heated, it may create complications for the food during the cooking process, such as sticking to the grill, being undercooked or not killing enough bacteria when heated.
For those unsure of how long you should leave meat, chicken or seafood on the grill, consider having your grill at 300-350 degrees Fahrenheit for medium heat and 350–400 degrees for medium-high heat.
In most cases, setting your grill to the correct temperature should only take 10 to 15 minutes before you can begin the cooking process.
A common mistake individuals make during the grilling process is moving their food around either with their hands or tongs every couple of minutes because they think it will help speed up the cooking process.
Do not move your food around; instead, let it sit and cook for the desired 10–15 minutes and keep your grill lid shut.
Most food only needs to be flipped once or twice while cooking on a grill.
Keeping the lid shut will also ensure that your grill stays at the correct temperature to sear your food and keep it moist, so it does not dry out or overcook.
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Cooking your food is essential when operating a grill, especially for red meat. Using an instant thermometer will let you know when you need to take it off the grill or if it should cook for a few minutes longer to reach the safe temperature.
Depending on how you like your red meat cooked, rare beef should be removed at 125 degrees Fahrenheit while pork needs removal at 145 degrees.
Also, keep in mind that after you remove the food from the grill the cooking process does not end. Cooked foods will continue sizzling and will rise 5–10 degrees after being removed from the grill.
Therefore, you should try removing the food 5–10 degrees below the desired temperature to account for the carryover cooking.
The most basic but important first rule when you start grilling is to keep your food separated before and during the cooking process to avoid cross-contamination, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Make sure your seafood, chicken, and meat that you purchase from the grocery store are stored in separate bags and evenly spaced out when cooking on the grill.
In addition, avoid cross-contamination by throwing out sauces that touched raw meat juices to avoid germs being spread to foods that have already been cooked. You should also only use utensils that you have spotless before removing cooked food from the grill.
Do not place cooked meat on a plate where you seasoned or placed raw meat to avoid potential diseases.
The main difference between a gas grill and a charcoal grill is the time needed to cook food. Charcoal grills tend to cook food at a higher temperature because most of them can reach 700 degrees Fahrenheit, whereas gas grills usually tend to stick at 600 degrees.
Not only that, but charcoal grills tend to add a more smoky flavor and taste to the meat or food that you grill on it.
However, gas grills cook at a faster speed because the process of lighting the grill occurs instantly, but charcoal grills can take up to 5–10 minutes to light. Not only that, but reaching the desired cooking temperature can take you 15–20 minutes with a charcoal grill.
The process of cleaning the grill can be more burdensome and less convenient than your typical gas grill.
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It’s Memorial Day and while a beautifully cut, tender filet is perfect pretty much any day of the year, some heftier cuts of meat work well for this day.
Remove the meat from refrigeration and sit on the counter for 30 minutes to bring them to room temperature. Salt and pepper to taste. Yep, it’s that simple.
T-bone steaks combine the flavors of a filet mignon and strip steak, so there isn’t need for additional flavor pairings. Cracked pepper vs. ground black pepper will give the steaks more texture and heavier flavors.
Over high heat, add the T-bone steaks to the grill. Cover and let sit for 2–3 minutes. Flip and let sit for another 2–3 minutes covered. Then, do it all again and give the first side another 2–3 minutes covered.
Flip once more for another 2–3 minutes. Serve with garlic butter or nothing at all.
You will also need:
While shrimp comes from salt water and will retain moisture itself, you’ll want to brine the shrimp for three hours before barbecuing to keep as much moisture as possible. Include water, salt and sugar and let your shrimp sit in the fridge in its brine until you’re ready to grill.
Remove the shrimp and brine from the refrigerator and drain the mixture. Toss the shrimp in a bowl with lemon juice, olive oil, garlic powder, black pepper and red pepper flakes.
Make sure all the shrimp is coated with flavors.
Stick the shrimp onto a skewer one after the other and grill on one side without disruption for three minutes. Flip the shrimp for another three minutes on the other side.
Serve with a creamy dipping sauce or a spicy Cajun hot sauce.
Grilling will add a smoked flavor and crisp texture to your vegetables. Often, cooking vegetables on the stove or in the oven over butter or oil will make them soggy or too tender.
Use a grill to soften your veggies without adding moisture.
While you can place largely sliced vegetables straight on the grill, you can also cook them a number of other ways, including assorted on skewers, in a layer of tin foil, grill baskets, crates and more.
If you’re adding them straight to the grill for those delicious burn marks, start by slicing the vegetables. For the peppers, cut each pepper into four pieces. Essentially, you’ll spot the three to four sides of the pepper and slice around the stem.
Salt and pepper for taste and place the slices right onto the grill.
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For the onions, you’ll want to keep the slices whole and round. Avoid chopping unless you intend on using a crate, basket or foil. Salt and pepper to taste and add them straight to the grill.
Lastly, big-cap mushrooms are best for barbecuing. This includes Portobello and large shiitakes. Remove the caps from the mushrooms, salt and pepper to taste and place on the grill.
Grill everything over medium heat without disturbance for three to four minutes and then flip sides. You’ll find stunning grill marks when you turn them.
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Start by slicing the peaches in half and pitting them. Mix cinnamon and sugar together on a flat plate and set aside. Prepare your grill for medium heat.
Lightly coat the tops of the peaches in olive oil and dip them in the sugar, cinnamon mixture. Place onto the hot grill for five minutes without disruption. While they’re barbecuing, coat the other side of the peaches with olive oil. Flip and let them sit for another five minutes.
Remove the peaches from the grill and serve with generous scoops of vanilla bean ice cream.
