Top 10 Things to Avoid While Grilling

Spring has almost sprung and soon everyone, not just the hard core will be firing up their grills and smokers for the season.  Here are the Fat Boy top 10 things to avoid while grilling:

1. Not pre-heating your rig. Get that bad boy going early. Pre-heat at least 15 minutes before slapping it down. It doesn’t just sound cool, it helps to sear the outside of the meat and keep it juicy.
2. Cooking too hot.  Yes we want to eat, and we want to eat now, but cooking too hot can dry out your meat unless you are just searing for a minute or two on each side.
3. Not controlling your fire. Set up direct and indirect heat zones to move stuff around and keep it out of the flare ups.
4. Not using the lid.  Keep that thing closed. It seals in heat, smoke and flavor. As the old saying goes, if you are lookin’ you ain’t cookin’.
5. Saucing too soon. If you grill ribs, please do it over charcoal only. If you do them on a gas grill an angel will lose it’s wings. While smoking them, put the sauce on about 15-20 minutes before the end of the cook. The meat won’t absorb a thick sauce.  It’s meant to top it off.
6. Not using a thermometer. It’s not about time, it’s about temperature. Even the seasoned pros on the BBQ circuit use them. Your cook is done when the internal temperature is right, not when your watch says so.
7. Not being patient. You can cook low and slow or you can cook hot and fast, but it all takes some time to do right. Your time can also be affected by such things as wind, outside temperature and what type of fuel you are using.
8. Using low quality meat. Yes we get it. Sometimes that steak, brisket or rack of ribs is almost as expensive as your first apartment. The rule of thumb is that the better quality meat you have, the better it will taste. Choose the best cut that you can afford, but hey if you can’t afford the prime brisket, cook it the best that you can. That is what BBQ is all about.
9. Not cleaning your grill. No matter if it’s cleaning out the grease trap on your pellet grill or scraping the crust off of the grates on your trusty kettle you need to keep them clean. It also helps reduce fires and flare-ups, and helps you from accidentally cooking that ribeye to well done when you were shooting for medium rare.
10. Over seasoning. While we sell some of the most awesome tasting rubs around, even we know that you need to be careful how much you put on. Seasonings are supposed to enhance the flavor not overpower it. We always say lightly coat the meat surface. This means cover it, but don’t use it like gravy on a biscuit.

Following these simple steps will help you to be the king of the grill or master of the pit this spring so dig in, do your thing and let the smoke roll.