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Summer – the best time for barbequing. Temperature is perfect for outdoor activities, children are out of school, and families have time together on their summer holidays.

Today, lots of families in America attend a barbeque at least once a year. No matter if it is just another day in the summer or some big event like the 4th of July or Memorial Day. Chances are someone in your area is grilling.

Barbequing has become a standard American tradition for families. It’s basically unheard for a family to go a full summer without attending or having a barbeque party.

Barbequing in the summertime is popular because:

• Barbequing gives you a reason to hold a celebration or party, and a basis for families to gather together.
• You can create a meal unmatched by any other type of cookery. The grilled taste and smell will brighten up even the pickiest meat eater.
• It is popular because it is an excellent hobby as well.

Just remember a few things to ensure that your barbequing goes flawlessly.

Barbequing Do’s and Don’ts

1. Grill maintenance

Clean the grill carefully. Maybe you cooked tasty fish last time, but unless you want a hint of fish with your next slices of beef, you need to wipe your grill before cooking.

It’s best to clean your grill right after you used it:

• wait until it cools down
• wash the surfaces with baking soda
• use grease-fighting dish soap and water for the racks

2. How to prevent stickiness

Before you cook, spray your grilling area with a nonstick cooking spray. That will stop your meat from sticking when you are moving it.

You will lose juice from the meat if it sticks and tears, and your meat may dry out.

3. Check the temperature

Don’t place food on the grill until the heat is correct. The inconstancy in temperatures may cause your meat to burn or dry out.

When using a charcoal grill, wait that the coals are gray before placing the food on the roast. That will allow most of the lighter fluid to burn off, and the temperatures to level out.

4. How do you grill chicken, so it doesn’t dry?

Did you know that most barbeque sauces contain high amounts of fat and sugar, which burns easily? So marinating before you cook will add flavor, BUT covering your meat in barbeque sauces before cooking may cause it to burn, and dry out.

If you want to use barbeque sauce, only add it in the last moments before taking your meat off the grill.

Alternatively, lightly seasoning your meat will probably work better, and will not have any unfavorable outcomes.

Just note that meat has a natural taste that you are trying to get out by barbequing. So don’t ruin that.

5. Searing and the heat

Searing your meat (you cook the surface at a high temperature until a browned crust forms) will seal in the juices and savor, or lock in the moisture.

But don’t cook your beef at that temperature for the whole grilling time!

Once you seared both sides, set the heat to medium. That will ensure that your steak is full of flavor and tender.

6. Handle with care

Never put the cooked food back on the same plate where it was before cooking. That could cause the spread of many sicknesses.

Be careful with the utensils and don’t touch cooked meat with the same equipment that you used when it was raw.

7. Never poke the meat

Don’t poke your steak with a fork to see whether it’s done while you are still cooking.

Poking holes in meat will cause all the flavor and juices and all the blood in the steak to leach out. And they will leach out into the bottom of the grill.

That defeats the purpose of searing the outside and locking in all the juices in. And poking will make your food dry and unappealing.

On top of that, poking is not best for your grill. It will cause unwanted grease and juices to run on your grill, which will make your cleanup job harder.

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Grilling Facts

7 out of 10 U.S. adults own a grill or smoker.

Grill types:

• Gas 64%
• Charcoal 44%
• Electric 9%

The most popular days to grill:

• July 4 (73%)
• Memorial Day (60%)
• Labor Day (58%)
• Father’s Day (45%)

Other popular dates around the year:

• Super Bowl (23%)
• Thanksgiving (14%)
• Christmas or Chanukah (10%)
• New Year’s Eve/Day (9%)

Popular occasions for grilling:

• Birthday parties (49%)
• Camping trip (24%)
• Vacation home party (21%)
• Tailgating activities for sporting events (11%)

Grilling is becoming a year-round lifestyle choice.

Source: Consumer survey commissioned by the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association (HPBA)

Barbequing is typically a summer event, but fans of barbeque will not think twice about grilling right in the middle of winter. Same rules apply a year-round.

Planning for a summer barbeque session soon? Summertime would not be perfect without at least one outdoor barbeque.

Have you been looking for an outdoor grill for your family? Wondering which is the best grill?

The most comfortable grill to use is by far the gas grill. If you’ve been looking for a gas grill, you’ve come across brands such as Coleman, Weber, Broil King and more.

But, which of these brands is the best of them all?

Consumer Reports surveyed the reliability of the gas grill brands. None of the brands stood out as the most or least reliable, but they found some differences.

You can find out more about the most reliable gas grill brands from the consumerreports.org.

How to make a great gas grill purchasing decision

Your first decision, or thought, is how you like to cook?

• Do you like to place your meat on the grill, and just wait that it’s done?
• Or do you like preparing your food hot and fast?
• Do you grill directly over the flame, or indirectly?

Once you have concluded out what you want out of a grill, you’re ready to go comparing the models and buying.

Do you have a certain fixed price point in your mind? Well, leave some margin on your budget, as you may not have any idea what grills cost this year.

Second, you get what you pay for. Quality usually goes hand in hand with the price. So you need to make a more educated judgment in buying the gas grill.

Typical grill purchase takes place in a mass merchant store. Typically people look first at those biggest grills with big warming racks and high BTU’s, and a huge list of many other features. People get too impressed about those things and forget to check the basics.

The basics to look for:

1. Are there really any decent heat control? Gas grills should have proper burner controls which allows you to produce different temperatures for the various cooking areas on your grill.
2. Do you need to replace parts because they only last for a summer or two (the average mass merchant grill needs new parts in less than 2 years)? With the cost of replacement parts you could have invested for a better grill in the first place.

Avoid mistakes and look for the following:

• Consumer Reports. Buy a gas grill that will last for many years, check the Consumer Reports guides.
• Make sure the brand has a good warranty. That way you don’t need to buy spare parts that shouldn’t have broken in the first place.
• Make sure that the size of the burner is sensible to the size of the grill. If the heater is small, but the casting of the grill is large, there are old spots.
• Temperature. The grill needs to reach around 600 degrees to grill the steaks properly. You need to get that steak out of the burn as soon as possible so it does not dry out.
• Meat grids. Stainless, porcelain coated, and cast iron, all work if you clean them thoroughly. Most cheap mass merchant gas grills come with porcelain coated meat grids. They usually instruct to brush the porcelain grids off when hot. But brushing it hot might cause it to chip, and then they will rust quickly. And most cheaper grills only have one year warranty.
• Check out the flame taming designs and make sure they cover the whole burner. The grease from the food you burn causes most of the harm to the grill. If the heater is exposed out, it burns out fast. Flame tamer should be directly over the burner.
• Most grill housings and frames are pretty solid. Weather plays a big part in how well the grill will last. If you live on the coast, or other high humidity areas, then stainless or a thick aluminum usually will last longer. And if they rust, then the excellent warranty comes in.

Check out the durability of the materials as they go under extreme heat conditions. Most gas grills are made of durable materials (cast iron, stainless steel, metal sheets, or cast aluminum).

Types of Gas Grills

Gas grill usually uses natural gas or propane as it’s fuel source. It applies direct heat under the food to cook it.

You can choose the size of the grill depending on your family size and needs.

There are different designs: cart, flat top, and infrared-radiant.

1. Traditional BBQ gas grill design is the cart design. It offers convenience and manageability. It usually has a wheeled-frame that carries the gas tank. It comes with a small side table where you can lay grilling tools or serving plates.
2. Flat top design has a griddle-like flat surface where food is cooked without open-fire exposure. This is a trend for smokeless outdoor grilling.
3. The newest gas grill design has an infrared radiant burner at the back of the grills enclosure. It offers more cooking options. You can, for example, roast a whole chicken with a horizontal rotisserie. Smaller cuts of meat can be cooked in the metal basket underneath.

Other factors you need to think about

• What features do you want?
• What is the price?
• Which brands do you like?
• How good is the warranty?
• What is the general feedback on Consumer Reports?
• How much is the heat amount?

Popular Gas Grill Brands

The leading brands include names like Coleman, Broil King, Weber, Kenmore, Char-Griller, and so on…. and the well known is Weber. Weber has a wide range of grill models, like gas, charcoal, and electric grills. Weber grills come with a 10-year warranty.

Conclusion

Identify your needs first. Try to have a budget in mind, but be flexible, and find out to the type of gas grills that interests you.

Nonetheless, whichever type of gas grills you are looking for, you can be sure to find the tips and pointers here to be practical and helpful. To sum up, you’ll get to know where to find the best deals, how to take care of your BBQ gas grills, and not to forget, get to learn some awesome gas grills recipes as well!

When we talk about barbequing, there are two principal methods you can use, or should we say two schools of thoughts.

The first of these two – and the favorite for those who grill in their backyards – is that you cook directly over the heat source.

You just put your food directly over the charcoals, the wood, or the gas burners. Food cooks this way rapidly.

You rarely close the lid of the grill in this method, and you see when the food gets ready.

Any foods that you put on your grill, like tender cuts, hamburgers, steaks, kabobs, chicken, and vegetables are quickly browned and cooked to perfection using this method.

If you like to use sauces, you can add them beforehand, or during the grilling, or when the food gets to table. You can try which way gets best flavors for your tastes and which suits best for your grilling habits.

The second method uses indirect heat.

This method is suited for massive cuts of meat, such as large steaks, roasts, a pork shoulder, or a full hog.

When you’re cooking using this method, the food is not in direct contact with the heat source.

Cooking times are longer this way. It usually requires a water pan of some kind to sustain right moisture content of the food.

The temperatures sit in around 250º F.

During this cooking method, the lid of the barbeque remains closed most of the time, and as mentioned, the cooking time is much longer than in the direct heat method.

Indirect barbeque cooker usually has an additional firebox that allows you to combine wooden logs and charcoal for burning.

This allows the smoke and the heat to rise through the cooking chamber so that it is heated supremely.

The rule of thumb of this method is to use a low temperature for a long time.

No matter which method you use, don’t heat your meat too pronto!

The key is: not charred on the outside but cooked on the inside.

If the inside temp of your meat rises too quickly, the water and the fat within it will be dismissed before the main structural protein can melt.

This means that your cut will be dry and tough.

There is a fine line for grilling your food correctly, and it is essential to find that line and hold to it.

If you’re dealing with tough meat, like a brisket or a pork roast, consider cooking slowly as the protein adds taste to it.

With a more expensive cut, you can cook for a shorter period with higher temperature.

Ribs and steaks with high-quality take such a short time to cook, while pork shoulders or beef brisket can take up to 20 hours.

As a final note, it’s important to experiment new and interesting things while you barbeque!