4 Common Grilling Problems and Their Simple Solutions



Posted: Tuesday, September 04, 2007

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Grilling is just about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on.  Okay, there is watching football and drinking beer, but grilling is definately up there.  However it's never much fun to encounter problems.  Luckily several of the most common grilling problems are amazingly easy to fix.  Below are four common problems along with their solutions from the backyard masters at Weekend Grillers. 

PROBLEM: Foods cooked on the grill become too dry.

SOLUTION: The smoke from a charcoal fire adds great flavor to grilled food, but it also tends to dry it out.
The easiest solution for this is to grill thicker cuts.  Typically, thicker foods are easier to grill than thinner ones and hold their juices inside better.  Look for moderately thick steaks, fish fillets or chops.  It can also be helpful (and tasty!) to marinate foods prior to grilling them over charcoal.

PROBLEM: Burgers and fish stick to the grate and come apart.

SOLUTION: Always keep your grill clean.  The best way is to heat the grates then clean them with a scraper before cooking anything. Grilling on a dirty grate coated with burnt, stuck-on food is like frying in a dirty pan.
Next before you put the food on the grill, oil the grate.  There are two very easy and effective means of doing this.  If you are having steaks or chops, cut off a small piece of fat and, using a grill fork, run it up and down the preheated grates.  If are fixing anything else or do not want to cut off the tastiest part of the steak, grab a wad of paper towels with your tongs, soak them in cooking oil and rub the oil over the hot grate.  Be sure to wait until the flames have died down if using charcoal or turn the flames down if using gas before doing either method.  Never, NEVER use non-stick cooking spray.
 

PROBLEM: The food burns on the outside before it finishes on the inside.

SOLUTION: Build a two-zone fire.  Pile the majority of your charcoal brickets to one end of the grill or turn one end of your gas grill to hot and the other to low.  You can sear your food over the hot zone (and help lock in the juices), then move it to the warm zone to finish cooking it through without scorching.
Also at the first sign of a flame-up, quickly move the food that is directly above the flame to the cooler zone and wait for the fire to burn out.  Use a mister if you must, but it will only get ash on your food.  Better to let the fire die down naturally.
Lastly, never apply barbecue,barbeque sauce or any other sauce that contains sugar or honey until the very end of cooking and do it in the warm zone.  If you apply it too early, the sugar will burn giving the food a nasty, burnt taste.  Better yet, put several sauces on the table and let you guests choose their favorites.

PROBLEM: It's difficult to moniter the temperature when roasting or barbequing|barbequing or roasting.

SOLUTION: Insert a grill thermometer into the lid vent of your grill. Turn the lid to check the different heat zones.  Do not let the stem touch the food.

 

Mark Hester wrote this article from the Tips and Advice of Derby City Sauce's, Jamie Clark. Visit Jamie and Mark at The Weekend Grillers for many more Grilling and BBQ Tips and Tricks. While you're there check out the Delicious Recipes and Sign-up for the Free Newsletter from The Weekend Grillers
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