#6. Don't Crowd the Grill
One of the most prevalent mistakes home cooks make when grilling is adding too many items to the grill and expecting good results. Tip #3 talks about creating grill zones for direct and indirect cooking, but there's no room for two zones if you overcrowd the grill from the start.
If you add too much to the grill and have a flare-up, there's no place to move the food. And let's face it; if you cook foods that start dripping fatty juices, you will have flare-ups.
No way around this, so you want to make sure you have a cooler part of the grill to move these foods over to.
Another reason to not overcrowd the grill is similar to not overcrowding a frying pan when cooking inside. The more you add to the grill, the more heat you remove from the grates. If you remove too much heat, the meats will steam instead of developing the desired grill marks, and the end results will be terrible.
If you don't have a big enough grill for a large group, cook in stages or borrow a neighbor's grill but be prepared to stay very busy at the grill.
Chris
You left out probably the most important thing in grilling like a pro tips. Since nearly everything is done to a stage or (doneness), a thermometer for internal temp is required to ensure tremendous success. With a thermometer a novice can actually cook a 2 lb rib eye to perfection better than a restaurant. I'm finding out at my over middle age that nearly all people that grill get lucky if they happen to cook with success and do not use such a simple tool.
LNWeaver
That's a good point that a gas grill will only get as hot as it's rated in btu's. Charcoal lets you control the heat more directly. You can also take charcoal wherever you go.
G. Stephen Jones
Good points Larry. Thanks for sharing.
Todd
Some great points - especially "don't play with your food". That was one of the things I had hard time with when I started grilling. I would get worried it was burning so I kept moving it around, flipping, etc. Just leave it be! 🙂
Lisa Thompson
Great points!
If you haven't ever tried Porter & York Brand Meats, you might want to give it a try. They ship their meat out in special packaging designed to keep the fresh, never frozen, beef that has been raised naturally (grass fed, grain finished). I was able to cut one of their filet mignon's with a fork. Delicious.
Ashley Turns
I'm planning on getting my husband a new grill pro for his birthday. So thanks for the suggestion that he should use some oil or something else to grease up the grill unless what you're cooking has already been using oil for something. I'll be sure that the hamburgers and hot dogs we make on his birthday with his new pro tool are cooked on an oiled up grates.
Deb Pearl
I am getting my husband a grill for his birthday and I wanted to include some tips with it so he can learn how to grill like a pro. These are all wonderful tips! I didn't know about grill zones before! That's cool that you can get direct heat and indirect heat to help cook the food. Thanks for the tips! I'm sure these will help my husband cook like a pro!
G. Stephen Jones
You are welcome. I'm sure he will be thrilled with his new grill.
Hilmy M.
Wonderful points especially on grilling techniques. Surely using charcoal is more convenient in managing the heat transfer, but both have advantages and disadvantages. thanks for sharing.
G. Stephen Jones
You are welcome Hilmy.
william
One reason to not use olive oil is that it smokes/burns at a lower temperature than Canola or Safflower.
Adam Golightly
Thanks for your tips about how grease in the middle of the trap can make it a lot harder and making sure that the grill is clean can be really useful in making sure that there is better heat. I have been trying to cook more for my kids and I really want to make a great BBQ and learn how to do it with ribs so that we can have a great dinner. Getting some better equipment from a professional could be really useful and help me understand how to do some better cooking.
Zoe Campos
Thanks for letting me know that it is easier to cook barbecue on a gas grill. I've been serving vegetable meals to my kids for the past few weeks and they requested for spicy barbecue for next week. Aside from practicing my grilling skills, it would be a good idea to look for a condiments store that sells good hot sauces that they would love.