10 Backyard Grilling Habits You Need to Unlearn Immediately
Stop smashing burgers, stop applying sweet barbecue sauce early, and master two-zone fire management for juicy cookouts.
Stop pressing burger patties with your spatula.
Squeezing patties on the grill forces flavorful rendered beef juices directly into the flames, drying out the meat and causing bitter flare-ups.
Stop cooking chicken over roaring direct flames.
Chicken fat drips into embers and ignites soot that coats meat in acrid, bitter creosote. Establish a 2-zone setup (hot side for searing, cool side for cooking).
Stop applying sweet BBQ sauce at the beginning.
Sugars in barbecue sauce burn and blacken at 265°F. Brush glaze onto meats exclusively during the final 3 to 5 minutes of grilling.
Stop testing doneness by poking meat with your finger.
Meat density varies dramatically by cut, thickness, and fat content. Use a $20 digital probe thermometer for infallible accuracy.
Stop putting wet meat onto the grill grates.
Surface water creates an insulating steam barrier that delays crust formation. Blot steaks and chops dry with paper towels before grilling.
Stop lifting the grill lid every 45 seconds.
Opening the dome releases radiant convection heat and drops chamber temps by 100°F. Keep the lid down to roast meat evenly.
Stop using wire bristle grill brushes.
Loose wire bristles detach from old brushes, stick to grill grates, and lodge into food, causing severe medical emergencies. Use wood scrapers or foil balls.
Stop dousing charcoal in petroleum lighter fluid.
Lighter fluid vapor leaves chemical odors on delicate meats. Light your coals cleanly with a $15 chimney starter and scrap paper.
Stop stabbing steaks with a large carving fork.
Puncturing the seared meat surface creates puncture channels that leak internal moisture. Always flip meat with locking stainless steel tongs.
Stop carving grilled meat the second it leaves the grates.
Allow whole steaks, chicken breasts, and roasts to rest 5 to 10 minutes on a warm cutting board so muscle fibers relax and reabsorb juices.
Put This Rule Into Practice
Use our zero-fluff interactive calculation engine to calculate exact weights, temperatures, or timelines.
Thick, juicy 80/20 ground chuck burger patties with deep char marks, melted cheddar, and zero flare-up scorch in 9 minutes.
Juicy, caramelized barbecue chicken breasts using the 2-zone indirect heat method so sauce glazes without scorching.