Grill Cooking Instructions
- 1). Light your grill. Use the automatic start if your grill is equipped with it. If not, light it with a barbecue lighter but be sure to follow the lighting instructions that came with your particular grill, as recommendations and safety procedures vary between models. Turn the heat on high and let it run for five minutes.
- 2). Use a grill brush to clean the grill thoroughly before you place any food on the grill. Residue and char from previous grilling can contaminate the food and make it taste poor.
- 3). Allow the grill to warm completely before you begin cooking on it; 15 to 20 minutes is about right. Warm the grill to maximum or near maximum heat for most meats. You may want to use lower heat if primarily grilling vegetables or fish.
- 4). Determine an approximate cooking time per side for your dish. This is only meant to give you a guideline for when to turn it. For beef approximately 2 inches thick, six minutes per side should be plenty. Of course, add or subtract time based on how rare you like your meat. Thick chicken breasts will take longer to cook; delicate fish might take less.
- 5). Place your meat on the grill. You will know the grill was hot enough if you hear that satisfying searing noise when you place the meat on the grill.
- 6). After a few minutes, use a barbecue tool to carefully lift the meat and turn it a quarter turn. This is how you get perfect criss-cross hatch marks on your burgers or steak every time.
- 7). Flip your meat near the approximate halfway point.
- 8). Check the internal temperature of your meat with a meat thermometer to see if it is cooked. With vegetables, you can just judge by smell, appearance and feel, but you want to make sure meat is cooked. A rare steak should be between 140 and 150 degrees F. By the time you hit 155 degrees, the steak is medium. Chicken needs to be between 175 and 180 degrees before it is ready to eat.
