Cooking Tips for the Grill

Despite the fact that most people believe grilling is easy and that anyone can be successful on the barbeque grill, grilling is actually one of the most challenging of cooking methods. Now more than ever, savvy home cooks are looking for the best cooking tips for gas grills. As the weather starts to get nicer and the great outdoors beckons, attention starts to turn to outdoor cooking - and gas barbeque grills can't be beat for simplicity and convenience. But grilling only becomes EASY when you know the basic procedure for grilling and the important cooking tips for gas grills that ensure better results every time. The greatest challenge presented by grilling is that it is the most intense form of direct heat cooking there is. If cooking is like driving a car, grilling is like being strapped to a rocket ship! The good news is that grilling, like any basic cooking method, can be mastered. And these cooking tips for gas grills will get you started on the road to awesome grilling all year round.

Preparing Recipes for the Grill

When preparing recipes for the grill, the most important thing to consider is how the grilling method of cooking acts differently on different types of foods. Careful product selection is extremely important. You must start with a tender product if you want to end with a tender product. Marinating meats when making recipes for the grill is the best way to apply some tenderizing properties before cooking because the grill will not tenderize meats. You want to also make sure the product you choose will be able to withstand direct high-heat cooking. Different products will handle this differently and some are just not the best choice for grilling. A very delicate fish, such as tilapia, will not perform very well on the grill because the high heat may burn the outside of the fish before the inside cooks at all. Vegetables all cook at different rates, too, depending on their texture and fimness. When cooking different combinations of vegetables together (as in skewering), you will achieve far better results by par-cooking the "harder" items prior to skewering so that all vegetables are the correct done-ness at the same time. These are just a few examples of the types of things you want to consider in cooking recipes for the grill.

A Gas Grill Cooking Twist

Although GRILLING is always done with the lid cover open, gas grill cooking can incorporate additional cooking methods that make it preferable to cook with the grill cover closed. With the grill lid closed, the grill changes from a CONDUCTIVE cooking vehicle to a CONVECTIVE cooking one - more like your oven. Of course you could just use your oven for using these cooking methods, but outdoor cooking does have some advantages over indoor cooking - particularly in warmer weather. So how do you turn your dry heat, direct source cooking vehicle (the grill) into one that can utilize a moist convective cooking process? It's actually a pretty cool technique for gas grill cooking. This is a trick I use most often with delicate fish, such as tilapia. First, I turn the heat OFF on the side of the grill that my tilapia will cook. Then, I add a pan of water to the bottom of the other side of the grill - right on top of the heat elements. Keep in mind that this "water" can be any kind of liquid you like. I use shrimp stock sometimes with fish, but you can season it with chicken broth, wine - anything that is liquid and imparts nice, complimentary flavors to the product you are cooking. Then, the fish is placed either directly on the grill (if you have a flat grate option) or you can put it in a cast iron pan and put it on the grill grates. The rest of the procedure for this type of gas grill cooking follows the normal grilling process - cook with your eyes and observations, flip after 75% done, use a thermometer to determine final temperature and remove a bit "early" to allow for the carry-over cooking that occurs. And that's it, now you can consider gas grill COOKING in addition to standard GRILLING for great outdoor cooking results.

Gas Barbeque Grills vs Charcoal Grills

You will hear from many self-proclaimed GRILLMASTERS that the traditional charcoal grill is far superior to the gas barbeque grill, but the gas grill has many advantages that make it a great choice for any outdoor cooking situation. I will admit that the charcoal grill provides opportunity for a deep, smoky flavor that is not fully achievable with the gas barbeque grill, but after that all of the "pros" go into the gas grill's column. For starters, the gas grill is much easier and safer to start because it uses propane as fuel and starts at the press of a button. Charcoal grills can be easily started with lighter fluid, but this can be dangerous, and can impart an undesirable taste into the food. Plus, the gas grill turns OFF as easily as it turned on! No waiting for coals to cool so that you can empty and clean the grill and no messy coals to dispose of. The other nice thing about gas barbeque grills is that they allow for consistent heat throughout the cooking process. With the charcoal variety, the cook has to really control the heat by actually moving products closer and further and this takes some practice and experience.

So the cooking tips for gas grills are pretty simple and easy to master, after all! Like all of cooking, it is just a matter of starting with the end in mind and understanding some basics about heat, food and cooking methods. What will you make on the barbeque tonight?

About The Author:

Chef Todd Mohr is a classically trained chef, entrepreneur and educator. Since 2007, he has been the creator and host of the “Cooking Coarse” video series, which is known for its straight-forward and entertaining approach to cooking instruction. Chef Todd's simple philosophy - burn your recipes and learn how to really cook - has helped many home cooks and professionals alike finally achieve success in the kitchen.Chef Todd Mohr is a classically trained chef, entrepreneur, cooking educator and founder of Web Cooking Classes. Learn his #1 Chef Secret now for FREE in this video that will show you how you can cook better everyday at home. The secret is simple, but it will change the way you think about cooking forever.

Grill Tips

Tips:   Never use more charcoal then you need to, start off with a small amount and add as you need. Use approximately 20 to 25 briquettes for every kilogram of meat you cooking.

Make sure there is enough ventilation when lighting the charcoal.

The closer the food rack is to the charcoal the faster the food will cook and if the heat is too intense you may burn the food.

When the charcoal turns 50% gray you can start cooking.

Keep your charcoal dry, always store in a place where it can't get wet, damp charcoal causes a lot of smoke.

Never leave grill unattended, flare ups and food burning can happen really quickly.

In cooler weather you might find you need more briquettes to get to ideal cooking temperature.

Wind can make the fire hotter. On humid days coal tends to burn slower.

Oil dripping from your meat onto charcoal can cause flare-ups.

Never use gasoline to light your charcoal. Never use lighter fluid on already lit charcoal.

These charcoal grill tips should give you peace of mind and confidence when you are grilling. Not all these charcoal grilling tips are suitable for gas grills.

Barbecue Tips - BBQ Grilling Tips

Trim meat of excess fat for healthier meals.

When cooking chicken or turkey do not use utensils that can pierce the skin as you will loose flavour.

Your grill should be clear of anything that can catch a light and cause a fire.

Always try marinate your meat before grilling, some recipes will require you to marinate the meat while you grill.

Do not put cooked food back onto the same plate as the raw food was to prevent food poisoning.

Try to grill with oven gloves to prevent burns.

Use wire hinges for cooking vegetables & fish.

Use grill brushes to brush away any left over food and oil on the grid.

Turn meat over readily to prevent burning.

Use direct heat cooking when making hot dogs or burgers.

Use in-direct heat when making whole chickens and large steaks.

On a hot day do not let food stand outside for longer then an hour especially if food is in direct sunlight.

Wash all utensils and containers before using them.

Some dishes will require you to precook the meat to ensure it gets cooked properly.

Grilling Safety Tips - Tips On Grilling

Food illnesses are caused by bacteria or viruses in the food you eat. Please follow these simple steps of precaution to ensure your families health.

Bacteria thrive in warm temperatures keeping food at temperatures between 40°F and 140°F is dangerous as bacteria multiply rapidly in warm temperatures. This is not just for charcoal grill tips, but also in your everyday lives.

Always try keeping your food in the fridge,leaving it at room temperature for longer then two hours becomes unsafe. Make sure your refrigerator is set below 40°F. Make sure your food is properly cooked, food needs to be cooked at a hot enough temperature and for a sustained period

of time. Your temperature needs to be at least 145°F or higher. Always wash your hands thoroughly before preparing food, make sure all your utensils are not only clean but clean from bacteria. Use a cleaning liquid that will destroy bacteria and make all your utensils safe to use.

To prevent cross-contamination, bacteria can travel from one food product to the other. As we have said before never place cooked food in the same dish as you placed raw food.

Clean your utensils after every use, do not cut chicken with a knife then use it on steak without cleaning it.

Do not defrost your meat by leaving it on the counter rather use warm running water or the microwave.

Maintain cooked food above 145°F.

Keep your hot foods hot and your cold foods cold.

Put left over food in the fridge or freezer straight after you have eaten.

Do not leave food to marinate at room temperature always place it in the fridge.

Keep left over food in small containers and ensure there is space between them so it cools quickly.

Use low fat marinates.

Use alternatives to oils as much as you can like spray and cook for example.

Your first priority should always be health and safety for your family.

About The Author:

http://www.bonfeu-bbq.com/charcoal-grill-tips.html

Your First Charcoal Grill

Perhaps you have just moved into your first place, or you decided that you wanted to broaden your horizons and try new things. Maybe you went to a Fourth of July barbeque party and tasted the beautiful smoked flavor, and decided you wanted to try to replicate it. After doing your research, you decided that a charcoal grill is right for you. Now what?

Now that you have decided you want a charcoal grill, you have to decide what type of charcoal grill will suit your needs. Are you planning on traveling and using your charcoal grill? If so, you will need a charcoal grill that is small enough to travel with you. Smaller charcoal grills are ideal for cookouts, camping, and tail gate parties, but would not be useful if you were cooking for a larger amount of people. If you plan on feeding a larger amount of people, a larger charcoal grill will better suit your needs. If you are having issues deciding on which type you should get, you may consider getting both. Smaller charcoals grills can cost as little as $10 to $15 dollars, and will give you the ability to travel.

Charcoal grills contain hot embers and fire when it is in use. Safety should also be a major concern when you are picking out your first Charcoal grill. Look for a charcoal grill with a sturdy structure and sturdy legs. If you grill does now have sturdy legs, it’s chances of falling over is much greater. When a charcoal grill falls over, it will send the hot coals flying. Many charcoal grills also have built in safety features such as a water reservoir and smothering valves. Undoubtedly, when you are cooking with fire, accidents can happen. In the case that your grill gets out of control or become to hot, these safety features will prevent potentially dangerous fires. The fire department has much better things to do then help you cook.

One of the most noticeable features when using charcoal is the flavor of the food you cook. To cook with a charcoal grill, you must buy charcoal briquettes and lighter fluid. Charcoal is a one use item, and will need to be discarded after each use. Charcoal can be picked up at your local superstore, gas station, or grocery store, and is typically pretty inexpensive. Charcoal must be light and allowed to burn until the charcoal is no longer on fire, but is red embers. The best way to get the pile to burn is by stacking it in a pyramid.

While no one likes to clean their grill, it is necessary to maintain your grill if you want it to last it’s intended lifetime. One problem you will face is the fact that Charcoal grills stay hot for a long period of time. You can remedy this situation 2 ways. First you can leave your grill open, allowing it to burn out. This method typically burns a lot of the grease off, but can potentially cause problems if you are not near your barbeque grill. You do not want to start a fire. Another way is to completely close off your grill and deny the fire oxygen. As soon as the grill is cold, or cold enough not to burn you, you will want to clean the grill. Leaving the grill dirty for any amount of time will cause the buildup to become hard, and may make it harder to remove. Use a wire brush to clean off the surface areas of your grill, and then spray cooking oil on the surface. Take the racks off and clean them with dishwashing soap. Dawn or other brands that have degreasers work best. Rinse the racks off, and replace them in the grill.

Grilling Gift Basket

The perfect gift for anyone who loves to cook on the grill, "The Flame Enthusiast"™ is made with award-winning BBQ sauces and marinades that turn ordinary meals into gourmet grill affairs! A part of our best-selling BBQ gift baskets collection, this grilling gift basket will have people lining up to taste the goodness that comes from this collection of sauces that covers everything from smoky and spicy, to sweet and savory. For anyone who loves to cook, this is the perfect grilling gift!  Visit http://www.GiftGivingExpress
for this grilling gift basket and more. Just type in "grilling" under search.

Tips for First Time Grill Owners

Grilling, or Barbequing is a true American tradition. Many Americans are finding themselves with a grill for the first time. Good experiences with your grill will surely lead to using your grill more and more.

Planning Ahead

Barbequing has been around since early cavemen figured out that food tasted great after being cooked on an open fire. Perhaps one of the main memories attached to a family barbeque is what was on the menu that day. Barbequing opens a whole array of types of foods available. The type of foods you serve should largely depend on your crowd and the event in which you are celebrating. With the wide range of possibilities, you are sure to find at least a few items that will please your crowd.

Another potential issue when barbequing is the weather. While you will not be able to guarantee that the weather stays nice your barbeque event, a certain amount of planning will help you avoid the days in which barbequing is just simply out of the picture. Watch the weather channel or check online for your weekly forecast. If rain or cold weather is likely on the day you were thinking about having your barbeque, it may be a good idea to wait for a better forecast.

Make sure that you prepare ahead for your barbeque. 12 to 24 hours before you plan on beginning the party, make sure to thaw, prepare, and marinate the meat you will be cooking. Once you have the meat stored away, soaking up the marinate, then you must start thinking about what types of side dishes you will be having. If you want a completely tradition barbeque, you may want to stick with traditional sizes. Traditional barbeque sides include potatoes, potato salad, baked beans, and coleslaw.

Maintenance

You will need some common household items on hand when it comes
time to clean your barbeque grill.

Brass wire grill brush

Steel wool pads, preferably that contains soap already.

Mild dish soap

Sponge or dishcloth

Spray cooking oil

Dry baking soda

Aluminum foil

The first thing that should always be done to your grill is a routine brushing. Using your brass wire grill brush (or other brush suitable to your type of grill) you should brush off all the surfaces. By routinely brushing your barbeque grill, you will prevent any type of buildup. If buildup from food is left to long, it can become increasingly difficult to remove. Once you have cleaned the surfaces of your grill, then you must focus on its racks. The racks in your grill are especially important as this is where the food touches when it is cooking. You will have to use the wire brush to remove as much buildup as possible. Once you remove as much as possible, start washing the racks with dish soap. If the racks are really dirty, you may also want to use the steel wool pads. Be sure to completely rinse off all soap and residue before cooking on these racks again.

This process should be completed each and every time you cook on your barbeque grill. If these steps are not taken, you may find it increasingly difficult to clean your grill, and may find that damage will occur.

The majority of problems that arise from barbeque grills comes from lack of cleaning and maintenance. That means if you notice something does not seem quite right with your barbeque grill, chances are it can be fixed with just a simple cleaning. Even if you clean it, and still find that it is having problems, at least you saved yourself the potential embarrassment of taking it to a professional only to find out all it needed was to be cleaned.

Finally, one method of preventing problems with your barbeque grill is protecting it from the outdoors. Covers are available for grills in all shapes and sizes, so chances are, you will find one that fits your grill. If you have a cover for your barbeque grill, then all you will ever need to do is do the regular maintenance listed above.

Wading Through Various Grill Features

When looking into different grills features, you may be faced with what seems like a foreign language. How are you suppose to pick the grill that is best for you if you do not understand what you are reading? While the language used when describing grills will not get any easier to read, understanding what the majority if what it means will help you make an informed decision.

Perhaps one of the most important things you should consider is the fuel type. Charcoal grills are one of the most used types of grills. Charcoal grills utilize charcoal and lighter fluid to heat up and cook your food. Charcoal grills come in all shapes and sizes, and vary in cost. Charcoal requires you to buy charcoal and lighter fluid each time you cook with it. It must also be cleaned out each time. Charcoal grills come in small sizes, which are ideal for apartment dwellers or people with small homes. Once you have used your charcoal grill, you can clean it, and store it away. Propane grills are also useful for someone in small areas, since they can come in smaller sizes. Propane grills use propane gas to cook your food. If you want to quickly cook foods while still maintaining a grilled flavor, you may want to consider Propane grills. Natural gas grills are a little more complicated then smaller grills, so they require more room. Natural gas grills are meant to hook up directly to your home’s natural gas line, and can cook meat in record time. Smoker Grills are used when flavor is the number one priority. Smoker grills use wood to slow cook your meat. Flavor can be controlled by using different types of woods.

BTU is the measure of the amount of cooking power the barbeque grill as. Simple math will be needed in determining the amount of heat that your grill produces. Take the amount of space available for cooking (typically measured by square inch) and divide it by the total amount of BTU’s. Ideally you will want at least 95 to 100 BTU’s per square inch of cooking space. So for example, if you have a grill with 50,000 BTU’s and 450 square inches of cooking space, then you will be receiving about 111 BTU’s of cooking power per square inch. Anything less, and you may want to consider a different grill.

The next thing you will want to consider is the cooking surfaces. How much space does it have? Will you be able to cook for just yourself, or you entire family? Depending on your situation, you may want to consider a larger or smaller grill.

What about cleaning? Does your grill have anything type of features that allow you to clean it easier? Some grills offer such things as a cleaning door, which allows you to easier remove the used fuels. This is handy if you decide on a charcoal and smoker grill. Some grills have a none stick surface, which allows you to cook without food sticking, and allows for very easy cleanup.

Another feature some grills offer the ability to control different areas of your grill with different temperatures. This is typically controlled by knobs on the front, similar to an oven. This allows you to cook different types of foods at the same time. If you want to cook a whole meal on the grill, this can be possible.

Starting your grill changed drastically with each type of grill. Smokers and Charcoal burners require you to light the media, the wait for it to burn out and turn to embers before cooking. This can take anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes. Natural gas and propane gar grills can be started instantly, wither by lighting the burners with a lighter, or by a knob on the front, which is attached to a small hammer that slams into a crystal, causing enough spark to ignite the fuel.

BBQ Beef Short Ribs

Ingredients

• 10 pounds short ribs of beef, 2 inches thick
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon garlic
• 1 teaspoon thyme leaves
• 1 tablespoon ancho powder ( pablano pepper/chili powder)

Directions

Mix all seasoning in a large bowl. Add short ribs and coat evenly. Allow to sit for two hours before smoking. Build a hickory fire in grill on one side only. Place the beef ribs on the grill on the opposite side of the fire and close off the air so the fire goes down. Maintain a temperature of 275 degrees for 3 hours, basting with mop every 15 minutes for the last 45 minutes.

Short Rib Mop:

• 3 tablespoons  mustard
• 3 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 cup apple cider

Mix all ingredients together.