Think you know all the tips and tricks for grilling up the best meals on the BBQ? Check out Rose’s tips on how to be the ulitmate grillmaster, from the healthiest cuts of meats to how to properly marinade!
Best practices for grilling include:
-Heating the grill to high, then reducing temperature
-Ensuring the food is dry, then brushing the food with oil, not the rack
-Use oil with high smoking point such as canola, peanut, grapeseed oil. Skip on the olive oil or aerosol cans – they can create flames.
-Don’t grill over flames the food will scorch, but the insides may not be cooked.
-Trim the fat to avoid flare ups causing carcinogens
-Avoid turning/ cutting/flattening or touching meat too often – it gets dry and over-cooked as the juices run out. Let meat rest for 5 – 10 minutes to retain juices.
-Use an electronic meat thermometer – remove a few degrees before done.
- Chicken – 165 F / pork – 145 F / fish 130 F / ground beef – 160 F / steak 130F
- Temperatures – probe – don’t touch bone / fat / filling
Choose These Cuts of Meat:
-Filet
-Top sirloin
-New York strip
-Flank
-Pork tenderloin
-Lean ground beef/ ground chicken
-Chicken breast / thigh
Lose These Cuts of Meat:
-Rib eye – has twice calories and 3 times fat of tenderloin
-Regular ground beef
-Pork ribs
-Sausages
-Hot dogs
-Sausages
Meat
-Keeping the skin on adds double the fat and adds 30% more calories. Dark meat also adds 30% more calories.
-Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before and season 30 minutes before.
-Grill thin cuts directly over high heat.
-Squeeze orange or lemon juice to prevent flare ups
Chicken & Turkey Burgers
-lean meat when cooked to a safe temperature often dries out – add 2 tbsp olive oil to mixture
Burgers
– don’t overmix makes tough and dry– make a dent in the middle to help keep shape since burgers swell in the middle
Marinades
-A marinade acts like a barrier between your meat and carcinogens.
-Score meat so marinade penetrates – slice across the grain for flank steak
-Marinades must have acidic ingredient – citrus, vinegar, wine / oil / herbs – oil seals surface of meat
-Don’t add salt here / just to meat after out of marinade
-Don’t marinate in metal – reacts and changes flavour. Use a glass container.
-Meats – small and medium cuts, marinate 30 minutes. Only larger cuts marinate overnight.
-Reuse marinade if boiled for 5 minutes.
Basting
-Basting sauce – if sugar-based, use during last 5 minutes of cooking time or there will be flare ups and the meat will burn.
Tips for Cooking Fish:
-Skip delicate fish like sole or tilapia. Pick firm fish like salmon / shrimp / cod /tilapia
-Never marinate fish more than 15 minutes or you will cook fish
-Using a cedar plank will infuses flavour and won’t stick
Vegetables
-Sear on high heat then move to lower temperature – spray oil
-Use skewers for veggies that would fall through the grill either metal or Wooden skewers. Wooden need to be soaked in water for 30 minutes to prevent burning (freeze them in advance to have supply).
-Potatoes – boil first
-Skewer asparagus – top grill
-Cherry tomatoes – skewer
-Onions – large slices / wedges not cut through
-Corn – leave in husk
-Tofu – extra firm
-Grilled fruit – slightly under ripe – direct heat
