Top 10 Grilling Do’s and Don’ts

Everything you need to know to be successful at the grill.

1. Follow recipes carefully until you become more familiar with which method is best for that food type. Once you are comfortable preparing different cuts of meats and poultry, feel free to experiment with vegetables and fruits.
2. Use long-handled tools and long barbecue mitts to protect you from the heat. Use tongs or metal spatulas to turn foods; forks will pierce the food and you will lose precious juices.
3. Have two sets of utensils ready when you are cooking poultry and meats: one to handle raw food and one to handle cooked. Don't transfer cooked food to the same platter on which you brought the raw food to the grill unless you have lined the platter with waxed paper, foil, or plastic wrap to hold the raw food. Throw the liner away before you transfer cooked food to the platter.
4. Take the guesswork out of checking for doneness with a thermometer and a timer. If you cut into the meat or chicken to check for doneness, you will lose flavorful juices. Use an instant-read meat thermometer to check in a matter of seconds while the lid of the grill is briefly lifted.
5. Don't lift the lid unless you are checking for doneness or turning the food.
6. Prevent and extinguish flare-ups by putting the lid down. When you do that, the amount of oxygen which feeds the fire will be reduced.
7. Trim excess fat from meats to make cleanup easier and reduce the chance of flare-ups. You'll only need to leave about 1/4-inch of fat or less to flavor the meat. Remove as much fat from chicken pieces as possible, lifting the skin and cutting if off with scissors.
8. Allow more cooking time on cold or windy days, and less in extremely hot weather. Most recipes and cooking time charts have been approximated and based on spring and summer temperatures with little or no wind. Cooking times generally assume that foods are at refrigerator temperature.
9. Don't flatten burgers, steaks, and chops with the spatula; it will only press out flavorful juices and cause flare-ups. Flip the food only once if possible.
10. Coat the cooking grate with grilling spray before you place it over the heat. It is helpful to brush the food with olive or vegetable oil before grilling to prevent sticking. Foods that do not have a thin layer of fat, such as boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, should be placed on the grill, then loosened about a minute later by sliding a metal spatula underneath the chicken. Continue to cook on that side until you are ready to flip.