Grilling Tips

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1 Preparing the grill
2 Tips for grilling steaks
3 Check List
4 Sources/Reference
5 Authors

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Preparing the grill

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For gas grills

Old grills are remarkably resilient, and with a little tender, loving care, most can be cleaned up for the new season. Before you invite the neighberhood over for a barbecue blowout, take this simple steps to get ready.

Make sure you have no new winter tenants — mice, hornets, etc. — living in your grill.
Check the burners (where the flames come out) to ensure there is no blockage. If some of the little holes are blocked, simply unclog them with a pin.
Make sure the on/off valves turn freely.
Replace the drip pan underneath the firebox.

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For charcoal grills

Clean out any remaining ashes.

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To clean the grate

Before cooking, preheat a propane grill for 15 minutes, then scrub the grate with a wire grill brush.
If you're using charcoal, lay your hot coals in the grill and immediately put the grate on.
Heat for about 10 minutes, then scrub with the grill brush. The heat will loosen burnt-on food and sterilize the grate.
After cooking, leave the propane on for another 15 minutes, then scrape with the wire brush.
If using charcoal, throw a few more coals on, if necessary, to keep an additional 15 minutes of heat, then brush again.

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Tips for grilling steaks

Buy quality meat from your local store or butcher. It may be more expensive, but good organic feed beef tastes better and is probably better for you.
For a good balance of price and flavor, a good rib-eye or New York steak can't be beat. The extra fat on these cuts of meat provide a lot of flavor that leaner cuts just don't have.
Try to get steaks that are about 3/4 inch to an inch thick. Indirect grilling is the best technique to avoid charring and ensuring the meat gets cooked all the way through.
Take steaks out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before grilling them, ideally letting them reach room temperature.
Season well with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper on both sides. Proper seasoning is one of the most important steps to a great tasting steak.
Just before putting the meat on the grill, wipe a little olive oil on the grill grates.
Just pour a little olive oil onto a crumpled up paper towel and wipe it quickly on to the grill. This will help preven the meat from sticking to the grill, and adds a touch of flavor.
If you want to get nice cross-hatch marks, place the steaks on so that they are at a bit of an angle. For a rectangular sized steak, position it so the long ends point to 2 o'clock and 8 o-clock.
Close the lid and let them start cooking. After 2 minutes, rotate the steaks, so the long ends now point to 4 o'clock and 10 o'clock. Close the lid again and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Flip the steaks, again positioning them at an angle to achieve the cross-hatch marks if you like. After 2 minutes rotate them and cook for another few minutes.
Once the steaks have been flipped, keep your eye on them to make sure you don't overcook them. The best way to check doneness is by feel.
Press on the steaks a little bit to check softness, then press on the top part of your hand between the thumb and index finger. That feeling is rare to medium-rare.
Make a soft fist with your hand then press again - that feeling is about medium. Tighten your fist a little bit and press again - that feeling is well done.
Most will tell you that a medium-rare steak tastes the best. Strive for pink throughout with a slight bit more red towards the center.
Remember - after you take any meat off of the grill, it will continue to cook inside for another few minutes, so err on the side of taking the meat off too soon rather than too late.
You can always put it back on the grill if its slighly undercooked to your liking, but once you've overcooked something, there's no turning back and you're stuck serving shoe leather to your guests.
Once the steaks are cooked, remove them and place them on a dish, then loosely cover the plate with aluminum foil for a few minutes before serving.
This allows the meat to complete its cooking but not get cold. Regardless of what type of meat you are cooking, it is important to not cut into the meat right away to allow this final settling of the juices to occur and avoid the meat quickly drying out.
Serve the steaks and suggest to your guests that they lightly drizzle the steak with a bit of extra virgin olive oil to give it that final, flavorful punch.