Outdoor grilling is a fun outdoor activity that many enjoy year after year. If you are just starting your journey into outdoor grilling you may have some questions about how to use your grill and about proper grilling techniques. Well you’ve come to the right place. Follow these few simple tips for outdoor grilling below and you can start enjoying your new grill today.
Prepare In Advance
Grilling outdoors has been around since early man figured out that food tasted better after being cooked over an open flame then raw. Outdoor grilling allows you to cook all sorts of different and tasty foods. What you serve should reflect the event that you are celebrating and the people that will be there. You are sure to find at least a few items that will please your crowd with the wide selection of food you have.
Always plan ahead of time when you are going to grill outdoors. A day or two is usually enough time to plan for the grilling get-together. Make sure you thaw, prepare, and marinate any meat you will be cooking. Once you have the meat prepared and soaking up the marinate, start thinking about what types of side dishes you want to serve. Traditionally, outdoor grilling get-togethers include mashed potatoes or potato salad, baked beans, chips, and coleslaw although you can use anything you want.
Another important aspect to planning an outdoor grilling get-together is the weather. While you can’t control the weather, planning ahead will help you avoid bad weather and extreme conditions. Check the weather forecast a few days before and you will have much better odds of having a nice time. There’s nothing worse than getting rained out after putting all the work into the food preparation and getting people together.
Outdoor Grill Maintenance
Cleaning your outdoor grill is quite easy. All it takes are some common items you probably have laying around your house all ready. If not they are in most department and grill stores.
You will need the following:
1 brass wire grill brush
1-2 steel wool pads, preferably that contains soap already.
1 bottle of dish soap
1 sponge or cloth
1 Can of spray cooking oil
1 box of dry baking soda
Some aluminum foil
If you want to practice good outdoor grill maintenance, always give your outdoor grill a good brush down after use. You don’t want old crusty food on the grill the next time you go to use it. Also the longer you wait to clean if off the harder it becomes. You should use a wire grill brush to brush off all the surfaces. If you clean routinely, you will prevent any type of buildup. After cleaning all the surfaces of your grill, focus on the racks. This is where the food will touch when it is cooking so it’s very important to clean it regularly. Start washing the racks with soap after you finish the brushing. If the racks are really dirty, you will also want to use some steel wool bristle pads. Rinse off all soap before you use the outdoor grill again. Do this every time you grill outdoors or you may damage your out grill.
Most issues arise from lack of cleaning and maintenance. So if your outdoor grill isn’t working correctly then chances are it can be fixed with just a simple cleaning. Even if you clean it, and still find that it is having problems, at least you saved yourself the potential embarrassment of taking it to a professional only to find out all it needed was to be cleaned.
Use Your Grill Cover
Outdoor grill covers are made for almost every grill available for sale. So when choosing an outdoor grill make sure that there is a cover available. If yours didn’t come with one go buy one! I can’t stress that enough. Many newbie grill owners make the common mistake of leaving your grill uncovered. That is just asking for weather damage and possibly buildup inside of your grill.
If you cover up your outdoor grill and follow these simple outdoor grilling tips, then all you will ever need to do is do the regular maintenance listed above to keep it in working order.
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