Ways to Help You Grill the Best Meal
Always use separate utensils when preparing meat and other food items to be grilled. Knives, cutting boards, plates and bowls should always be washed in hot, soapy water as soon after using them as possible. This will help prevent cross contamination of the food and will also help in keeping the taste of your food at it’s best.
When marinating meat for grilling, always be sure to place the container with the marinade and meat in the refrigerator while it marinating. Turn the container a few times to ensure the meat is covered on all sides by the marinade. Once the meat is ready to grill, throw the marinade away and use fresh marinade to baste the meat during the grilling process.
Be sure to heat the grill at least 15 minutes before grilling. This will ensure the right grilling temperature and also rid the cooking surface of any bacteria that may be there. When preheating the grill, this will allow the meat to sear immediately after being placed on the grates which will help prevent sticking and will keep the meat moist during cooking time.
While grilling your meat remember to turn it only once. By turning it more often you take a chance of losing moisture causing the meat to become overdone. This can make the meat dry and tough before it has actually cooked through.
Use a meat thermometer to test the internal temperature of the meat. This is important to ensure the meat is cooked completely leaving no chance for food borne illnesses. Chicken should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees and bone-in pork chops about 3/4 inch thick and pork tenderloin should reach 145 degrees before serving. Steaks will vary in their temperature depending on how you liked them cook.
If you don’t have a meat thermometer you can always check the temperature by touch. By holding your left hand in different ways you can tell how a steak should feel at different levels of cooking. For instance, a well done steak will feel firm when touched, but a rare steak will feel similar to the way the skin between your thumb and index finger feels when hanging your hand loose. Spread your fingers apart and the same skin will have the same feel as a medium rare steak. A steak cooked medium will have the same feel as your left hand made into a fist and touched in the same area.
Grilling can be very simple with these tips. Try them the next time you grill and see how your meal turns out. Your grilling might just be the talk of the neighborhood and everyone will want to know your secrets.
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