Category: Barbecue

1) Never place food on the grill until the temperature is correct. The fluctuation in temperatures will cause your food to dry out or burn. If you are using a charcoal grill, make sure that the coals are completely gray before putting the meat on the grill. This will allow the temperatures to level out, and the majority of the lighter fluid to burn off. In addition, putting your meat on a grid not properly heated will cause it to stick.

2) Cooking with charcoal lighter fluid can be good or bad. The lighter fluid will cause the food you are cooking to taste different then with other types of grills. In addition, attempting to not use lighter fluid may cause a lot of frustration due to the fact that charcoal can be difficult, if not impossible to light without lighter fluid.

3) You must properly prepare the meat you are cooking, before cooking it. You should never attempt to cook meat on a grill when it is still frozen, or even partially frozen. Thaw your meat by sitting it out about 12 to 24 hours before you plan on cooking it, or by thawing it in a microwave. If you meat is thawed, but in the refrigerator, set it out long enough for the meat to get to room temperature.

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Some purists will walk away from you if you talk about this.

I like to precook my ribs in a slow cooker for a couple hours and basically put them on the grill to crust the outside and get that smoke or fire flavoring. It saves a lot of time and gas and just makes sense to me. Once in awhile I will take the time to slowly barbecue them from start to finish and they might be a little juicier but — I have gotten rave reviews at our barbecues doing the ribs in the crock pot first as the meat falls off the bones.

The same thing for chicken wings however, most of the time I take them from the slow cooker to the table. These are always a hit.

Some people will put chicken in the microwave for a short time to get the inside cooking. I think they tend to become pretty dry that way but it doesn’t hurt to experiment sometime and see what you think. I would not put it in for very long though if you do this. If you are curious, I do not do this. Chicken does not take that long. (Wings I do as above because when they are falling off the bone they are delicious.)

Beef? No! Never precook beef of any kind before putting on the grill. The juices are absolutely necessary to give you the taste you want.

Pork. I don’t know. Has anyone tried to precook it?

Remember, when you try it for the first time do so when you don’t have visitors. That’s the time to put the experimenting into high gear.

Another question I get often has to deal with using barbecue sauce when grilling.

Question: “When I grill with barbecue sauce, my meats always burn!”

This grilling technique is probably one of the most abused. Many barbecuers start putting the barbecue sauce on the meat the moment it hits the grill, figuring it will help the meats absorb the flavor.

Don’t do this! Add barbecue sauce in the final stages of grilling, when the meat is just about done. I turn the flames down and apply the sauce in the last 5 minutes.

Barbecue sauce contains sugars and such and will burn while you are grilling. You need to get that meat cooked until it is nice and juicy, then begin to apply the sauce. If you are looking for flavors to be infused in the meat, marinade is the route to go.

When adding the barbecue sauce, I apply it liberally on one side, grill it some, turn it and apply it on the other side and do the same and, usually I repeat this step. All this is done within the last 5 minutes and this is really the only time I’m standing there constantly watching the meat and turning it a few times. I leave the lid up during this time as I am babysitting the meat.

The 4th of July weekend is coming up and the barbecue parties will be plentiful. I thought this week I would answer some questions I have received in the past to help your barbecue go smoothly.

One question I get asked a lot is “Why does my chicken stick to the grill when I try to turn it?” Chicken seems to be the biggest culprit but other meats can cause the same problem - for the same reason.

I’ve written about this grilling technique in the past but it bears repeating. There are probably 2 reasons.

1) Your grill is not hot enough. Whether you are going to grill over indirect heat or direct heat, you need to start with a hot grill. The grid needs to be hot before any meat or anything you are cooking on the grill is placed on it.

2) You are turning your chicken or meat too quickly. Barbecuers seem to want to constantly turn their meats and that’s not necessary. The first time you go to turn it, use your spatula or tongs and try to turn it without force. If the meat does not release from the grid, it is not ready to turn.

3) Yep - I said 2. A 3rd reason is your grid could be old and deteriorated. If so, you need to replace it.

Try making these baked beans on your grill. Nice in the summer so you don’t heat up the kitchen.

2 can pork & beans (16 oz cans)
1/3 cup bottled bar-b-que sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup golden raisons
1/3 cup tart (granny smith) apples (optional)
1/2 cup onion, chopped
8 each bacon strips

Drain pork and beans and place into an oven-proof bowl. I like to use the aluminum throw away pansfor obvious reasons (I’m lazy)
Chop onion and apples and add to beans. Also add bbq sauce, brown sugar and raisons. Mix together and place the bacon strips on top.
Place in covered grill and grill at 350 degrees for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. If you don’t have a temperature guage, that’s medium heat.

OK - I haven’t tried Bush’s Grilled Beans yet. If they are as good as his other beans, I may be switching and simply heating them up on the side burner.

You know. Everything is not a recipe. Sometimes when you are grilling, you just need to turn loose the creative juices.

My buddy Sean told me he was grilling hot dogs and did not have buns. So he put them in a tortilla. Added cheese to the dogs while they were on the grill, them put them in the wrap.
Now you can do what you want as far as seasoning, but I think some chili on them would be terrific! Taco sauce would make a different combination.

He grilled the tortillas for a minute on each side. That adds a nice grill flavoring. The thing is, with this you can put some good fixings on it and not sog up the bun and watch it fall in pieces.

Thanks Sean! Just in time for Cinco de Mayo.