Grilling on the Barbeque is fun and an awesome way to connect with family and friends. These simple hacks will guarantee you the absolute best barbecues around. Feeling hungry? Don’t barbecue ever again without following these 40 simple hacks that will make grilling time tastier and easier.
1. Must Be Done Before You Slice
When working with meat are you craving the juiciest part possible? Then keep in mind that there is a special tip that will make sure it comes out really juicy.
It’s really important to let your meat sit for around ten minutes before cutting it. The juice actually gravitates towards the center of it and keeps it there till the time comes that you cut it.
2. Get Even Cooking With Briquettes
If you want nice and even cooking rather use briquettes in place of lump wood charcoal. This way it makes grilling so much easier for you.
The reason grilling ends up much easier is because they have additives that help them to burn evenly and consistently, which is exactly what you need when grilling.
Next: Changing colors
3. The Coal Needs To Go Grey
If you are going to have a barbeque make sure you have had some nibbles before because you are going to have to wait some time.
You have to wait for your coals to heat up. They need to turn grey and have a little fiery glow to them before you start grilling.
4. Own the Correct Tools
For correct grilling in the most perfect way, you really need the best tools possible. You need to start off with tongs.
You’ll need two tongs – one for the meat and one to move the coals around. You will also need two spatulas – one for cooked meat and one for raw meat.
Next: Pay attention to the rub
5. Apply Rub In Advance
In order to have the tastiest meat around, you need to apply your rub in advance. The rub should be put on your food around an hour before you’re ready to cook.
If you want just a simple rub, all the ingredients you need are equal parts salt, pepper, granulated garlic as well as grilled onion.
6. K-I-S-S
The following is the Keep-It-Simple-(Stupid) method. Don’t try and get too fancy with your beef patties. Don’t go over the top.
Don’t prepare your met like a meatloaf with onion and/or pepper chunks. Just make a nice piece of meat and season it if you must.
Next: Add wood chips
7. Wood Chips Should Be Added
Most people like barbecues because the meat tastes and smells nice and smoky. If this is your aim when grilling keep one important tip in mind.
Throw in a few small wood pieces in with your briquettes. Throw the wood in after the initial fire that you started starts to die down.
8. Keep Some Marinade Over
Most people follow recipe books or YouTube chefs and follow their advice marinating their meat at night or at least for a few hours.
The important thing to do here is save some of that delicious marinade. Then, you can glaze your meat while on the grill. Absolutely delicious!
Next: How to clean your grill
9. Best Grill Cleaner – Onion
It’s really not safe to use a wire brush to clean the grill as it can leave dangerous metal pieces in your meat. Instead use something much safer.
We are talking about an onion. Slice an onion in half and face it down on your grill. Stick a long fork into it or use prongs and scrub your grill with it in the safest way possible.
10. Lump wood Charcoal Should Be Used
When grilling, you want your food to cook more evenly and consistently and that’s why briquettes are used. The problem is they have additives and chemicals.
Choose to use lump wood charcoal as it is a much more natural alternative. It also adds a really authentic smoky barbecue flavor to your meat.
Next: Remove before it’s cooked
11. Remove It A Minute or Two Before
If you want your meat to cook to perfection here’s a great tip. You’ll want to take it off the grill for a minute or two before it is ready.
This way, the heat gets trapped deep inside the meat and the meat continues cooking after you take it off the grill. By doing this it won’t overcook.
12. Go Authentic as Possible With Charcoal
Even though using gas to barbecue is really convenient, we are sure you really want to go for as authentic as possible.
For complete authenticism of taste, you will want to go for a charcoal grill. By using charcoal, it will give your food a lovely, classic barbecue flavor.
Next: Don’t flip too many times
13. Stick to Flipping Once
You want your delicious piece of meat to keep all its natural juices in right? Therefore, make sure you only flip your meat once.
Actually, when you flip your piece of meat many times, your meat can lose its natural juices. What’s best to do is cook one side fully, then flip it over to the other side.
14. Use Beer When Marinating
This tip is a favorite amongst men. Use beer when marinating your meat. Doing this will only enhance the taste of your delicious piece of meat.
You can even add garlic to your beer marinate. Include olive oil, lemon juice, lemon basil, fresh oregano and thyme, salt and black pepper and the taste of your marinate will explode in your mouth.
Next: An icy hack
15. Place Ice Cubes On Your Meat
What you want to do is take beef broth and make ice cubes out of it. You will then want to place it on your meat when you grill.
By using this easy hack your meat will stay moist. You can also use plain ice cubes or butter. It is best to use butter that has hardened from the fridge.
16. Expert Grill Marks
Somehow, things taste better when they look better. The best-looking grilled meat is meat will grill marks of course!
Put your meat so it points to a 10 o’clock position for around two minutes. You then want to rotate the piece of meat so it points to 2 o’clock. Flip it and then repeat.
Next: When two is better than one
17. Use Two Skewers
Food on the skewer is delicious – in essence they are kebabs. The only problem is that food on kebabs tend to fall off and not always stay still.
The way to fix this is to place two skewers inside the piece of meat so that it can cook evenly. It’s best to use this method so that when the food is ready, it is also easy to eat off the skewer.
18. Place Condiments in a Small Muffin Tin
Things can get really messy at a barbecue with napkins lying all over the place, drinks and plates. Also, if you have twenty different sauces and condiments on the table it just looks a mess.
The best way to sort this out is to place each condiment into a muffin slot. This way, things are much more organized. Place a plastic spoon in all of them and people can just help themselves keeping things hygienic, clean and mess free.
Next: Perfect timing
19. When To Take Steaks Out
Do you want the absolute perfect steak that tastes the best? You will then want to take the steaks you want to cook out of the refrigerator around 20 minutes before grilling.
By grilling steaks that come at room temperature, steaks will cook more evenly and that’s exactly what you need for the best tasting steaks.
20. Fire Roast Your Vegetables
What’s barbecued meat without tasty barbecue vegetables? The best vegetables with your barbecue are often tomatoes and peppers – red, yellow and green, especially when used in kebabs.
All you need to do is throw them onto your hot wood or coals and just blacken the outside – the skin. By fire roasting your vegetables the true flavor of the vegetables will be enhanced.
Next: Check your propane
21. Check Your Propane Levels
You need to check your propane levels. You can do this by pouring a cup of boiling water on the side of the tank.
The top will then be hot and the bottom will be cool. You can figure out where the propane level is by seeing where the hot and cool spots meet up.
22. Put Mayonnaise In Your Meat
It’s always important when grilling to keep your meat moist. The best way to do this is mix a big tablespoon (depending on the size of your portion) of mayonnaise into your raw meat.
After the mayonnaise is mixed into the meat, you will then need to mold it into a patty. By doing so, the meat will stay moist.
Next: Be clever with condiments
23. Use Condiments To Keep Track
Everybody likes their meat cooked in different ways. Some like rare, some like medium rare, some love it well done. Keeping track of all of this can get really out of control.
An easy way to keep track of all these orders is to use condiments to keep track. All you need do is write rare, medium or well done with red ketchup or yellow mustard on the buns so you can be as organized as possible.
24. Keep Your Pork Moist
In order to keep your pork as moist as possible, you will want to fill a bottle with apple juice. You can then use it on your pork.
Simply spray this onto your pork or other meats and not only will the meat be moist, but it will also have a tinge of sweetness to it as well. Absolutely delicious!
Next: Best charcoal hack
25. Best Hack To Light Charcoal
You will need to forget using lighter fluid and put your coal inside an egg carton. You will then need set the egg carton on fire with a lighter.
Your egg carton, full of (generally) 12 spaces or more for coals will then light up as the carton burns. This will allow for perfect cooking.
26. Perfectly Intact Fish
Grilling is not just for meat, pork and chicken cuts alone, fish tastes great on the grill as well! All you need do is place lemons on the grill and place the fish on top.
A good hack is to also lay some more lemons alongside the fish. When you flip the fish, you will need to pick up the lemons and flip it onto the other set of lemons to prevent your filet from falling apart.
Next: Using chips
27. Use Chips To Light The Grill
Another great way to avoid using lighter fluid is actually by using your favorite chips. It can be any chips from plain salted to extra spicy – as long as its chips!
All you need do is light your chip with a lighter and then simply place them on your charcoal. Watch as your coals will light up eventually!
28. Keep It Warm
Why grill all that food only to let it go cold? Sometimes your friends arrive late or you are all waiting for the game to start and want to keep the food warm.
All you need do is place your food inside a (rectangular) aluminum tin and place another (rectangular) aluminum tin on top of it. The heat will stay in between the two tins and will keep your food warm.
Next: Spiral dogs are best
29. Cut Your Dogs in a Spiral Pattern
If you cut your sausages used for hot dogs into a spiral pattern, they cook better and are nice and juicy but keep crisp at the same time.
The grooves will also hold condiments better. You can create a spiral cut by skewering the sausage and running a knife down the sausage while spinning it to get a spiral cut.
30. Keep One Side of The Barbecue at a Lower Temperature
Divide your grill into two. Keep one side of your grill heated. An easy way to do that is place your coals on one side.
The great idea behind doing this method is that it makes grilling easier. Once you cook the meat you just place it on the cold side of the grill one to two minutes before it is completely cooking through so that it cooks in its own natural juices and doesn’t overcook.
Next: Smoky yellow lemons
31. Smoke Your Lemons
Lemons offer a very unique flavor. As part of the citrus family they are unique as they can be added to most savory meat, chicken, pork and fish and offer a beautiful flavor.
What you want to do is add a smoky flavor to your lemons. All you need do is place lemon halves on top of your grill for a few minutes. Then you can squeeze over your dish for a lovely lemony smoky flavor.
32. What To Do With An Electric Grill
You can really create a smoker effect with an electric grill. Of course, natural is better but if you use electric the following is what you will need to do for the tastiest grilled food.
Just make a smoking pouch by wrapping wood chips in an envelope made of foil. You then need to make little holes in it and throw it underneath the grate on top of the top burner. This will add smokiness to your meat.
Next: Grilling really quick
33. Barbecuing Quickly
If it is just you eating alone and you want that delicious taste of a grill there is a way to cook your meat really quickly.
You will want to cook most of your meat in the microwave, then all you need to do is finish it up on the grill. 1-2-3 ready!
34. Make a Tent of Foil for Your Food
What you want at the end of the day is meat that cooks well and in order for that to happen it needs to keep moist. A great way of doing this is to put it under a foil tent.
You just need to loosely put aluminum foil over your piece of meat for around 10 minutes. This will then allow it to soak up juices and stay warm and moist.
Next: Another great cleaning hack
35. Use Aluminum To Clean Your Grill
As stated before, you don’t want to clean your grill with a wire brush as pieces left behind can go into your meat.
Another good method of cleaning your grill is with aluminum foil. All you need to do is crumple up a ball of foil and then use it to scrape off what you need to from the grill. It’s best to do this as soon as possible in order to clean it most effectively.
36. Poach Sausages Before You Grill Them
Before placing sausages on the grill, you will want to poach them first. This will work best for the tastiest sausages possible.
In fact, by poaching them first, it will keep them nice and juicy. It will also get rid of unwanted fat and makes sure that they cook evenly.
Next: For a sweet tooth
37. Dessert On The Grill
Never mind only the taste of savory foods on the grill. You can also make really delicious desserts on the grill.
A favorite are boat s’mores which can be made inside a banana peel. Inside the banana you can add chocolate chips, miniature marshmallows as well as delicious chopped pecans.
38. Toast Your Buns and Never Burn Them
Perfect buns are warm and crispy and never black. You will want to keep them toasty by creating a warming rack.
All you need do is put a small rack on top of a few cans and then simply place your buns on the rack. Simple as that.
Next: Cutting grilling time down
39. Brine and Boil
Is it too hot and too much of an effort to stand over the grill? The easy thing to do is brine (salt dissolved in water) and boil your meats first.
All you need to do is do this first before you put them on the grill. This will cut down on barbecuing time massively.
40. Cheese on the Grill
This is a really fantastic hack you will definitely want to remember. Choose a great cheese, like brie, which had a rind on it and put it on the grill.
Once you take it off the grill and cut into it, the cheese will be lovely and gooey all inside which will be ready for all the bread and breadsticks you can dip into it.