Charcoal grills are perfect for getting the authentic smokiness that many people love, but very few grills are as easy to learn and use as gas grills. They’re far more convenient and can even use many of the same techniques that charcoal grills do. But regardless of how much experience you have using a grill, there are several mistakes that everyone makes.
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Mistake 1: Leaving the grates dirty when starting
When it comes to grilling as a beginner, you might think that leaving the burnt-on food from previous cooking sessions will add flavour to your food. On top of that, any bacteria that might be on your grate will die when you start your grill. Heat has always been said to kill bacteria, so you don’t have to clean it off, right?
While the heat and fire from your gas grill will kill off any bacteria that are on your food and grill grates, those charred bits of food are far too bitter. And on top of being burnt on, you’re more than likely not going to cook the same dish over and over again. What was yesterday’s chicken dinner will instead stick to today’s pork chops and add flavours no one wants.
What’s even worse is that without proper cleaning, your food will end up sticking to the grate and tearing instead. The longer you leave your grill’s grates dirty, the more food will stick.
You don’t need much to clean your grill grates. Though it is highly recommended that you clean them off before or after each grilling session, all you really need is a grill brush and a bit of scrubbing. All those bitter and burnt bits of food will come off easily and you won’t have to risk your food sticking to the grates. At the least, do your best to clean them off every other session.
Mistake 2: Not preheating your grill first
The most common mistake that even more experienced barbecuers make is putting their meat on the grill before it’s properly preheated. Even though gas grills are faster to heat up and use, quite a lot of the grilling process is done through the heat inside the grill itself. The flames do produce radiant heat that you can feel, but the grate itself and the rest of the grill is still too cold to properly sear and cook the meat. Your meat will instead stick to the grate and tear when you go to flip it.
To prevent this, simply start your grill and close the lid for five to ten minutes. This lets the fire increase the internal temperature and transfers the needed amount of heat to the grate. Once the grill’s preheated, your food will be far less likely to stick while cooking thoroughly.
Mistake 3: Frequently lifting the lid while grilling
Another thing that many people new to barbecuing do is lift the grill lid to check on the food. This is mostly because many get an urge to keep checking on their grilling food, whether it’s pure anticipation or just making sure it isn’t burning. It’s incredibly important that you resist that urge, though!
Every time you lift the grill’s lid, the heat that’s built up inside it escapes and your grill cools a little. In turn, the food you put onto it will cook and sear far slower. Checking your food frequently actually does the opposite of what you want, leading to you having to wait much longer than you had to.
Being patient is incredibly important when it comes to barbecuing. Barbeque experts often suggest to only flip your burgers or steak once to get the bottom seared properly. If you feel the urge to check your meat, chat with your friends and family or even just listen to some music to distract yourself. Just remember to get a general idea of how long to cook each side and set a timer for yourself!
Mistake 4: Using too much heat
Heat is highly important when you barbecue. It is what thoroughly cooks the food we put on the grate after all. However, turning your gas grill’s burners up too high when barbecuing is the exact opposite of what you want to do.
While it will lead to your food cooking faster, that only applies to the outside of it. The high heat will get you a nicely charred outside but the inside will more than likely still be far too raw for many people’s tastes. Most of the time, your steak’s outside layers will become charred black leather before you even reach a proper medium rare!
Much like avoiding the urge to frequently check on your food, keeping a recipe on hand or a general idea of which meat cooks best at which temperatures are important. Many barbecue recipes specify what temperature to cook the meat at, so noting down a range of these temperatures is a great help in controlling your grill’s internal temperature. Just keep an infrared thermometer in hand or get one that you can put through your grill’s lid.
Takeaway
Many of these mistakes are ones that even experts can make. Once you get a handle on what should and shouldn’t be done, you’ll naturally start avoiding these mistakes. Just remember to keep an idea of what temperatures your grill needs to heat up to, what internal temps your meat cooks to internally and how long you should wait before flipping. Many accessories are more than useful when it comes to the high-heat cooking environment you deal with when barbecuing, so get a few good quality accessories. Before you know it, you’ll be grilling like the pros!
