Common Grilling Mistakes

There are many common grilling mistakes made on both gas and charcoal grills. Here are the top mistakes and some tips on how to avoid them.

  1. Don’t grill indoors. Many people seem to do this and don’t realize the carbon monoxide that builds up due to lack of fresh oxygen can kill you.
  2. Don’t use charcoal lighter fluid to start the fire. If you don’t burn it all off, it will make your food smell bad. If you do let it all burn off, you will have wasted most of your charcoal.
  3. Don’t overcook the food. Remember to check on your food. Try not to get distracted by whatever guests or other goings-on are around you.
  4. Prevent Flare-ups. Don’t overcrowd the grates by keeping the area 40 percent empty.
  5. Control temperature zones. It's best if you create a pile of coals on one area of your grill for high temperature grilling, a smaller layer of coals for lower temperature cooking, and an area with no coals whatsoever for indirect grilling or to let the food rest as it finishes cooking. Different types of meat and styles of cooking require different levels of heat.
  6. Flipping the meat too often. You shouldn’t need to flip the meat more than twice while it’s cooking. If you do so, it might not be ready to come off the grate and will stick to it.
  7. Puncturing the meat while it cooks. If you poke holes in the meat while it is cooking, the juices will run out. Refrain from using an instant read thermometer until you are sure the meat is nearly done.
  8. Putting BBQ sauce on too early. Most BBQ sauces have a high concentration of sugar. Putting the sauce on too early causes it to burn and char instead of giving it a nice flavorful coating.
  9. When grilling with the lid closed, leave it closed. If you allow the lid to keep opening, the heat cannot circulate properly. Any smoke meant for smoking the meat will also escape.
  10. Let the meat rest before slicing. By allowing the meat to sit for 5 to 10 minutes, you allow the juices to circulate throughout the meat. If you cut it too soon, the juices will just run out instead of spreading the flavor.

Grilling is a lot of fun and like anything else, takes time to learn. Remember to keep these things in mind and you will be on your way to great tasting food!



Written for PetesOutdoorGrills.com by Elizabeth Livingston

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Common Grilling Mistakes