Popular Mechanics - USA (2019-09)

Turn up the heat on a gas grill to burn

off as much grease and food particles

as possible before cooking; otherwise

you’ll get a rancid f lavor from the burn-

ing grease. Clean the underside of your

grill grates, too, where greasy crud

tends to hide. The best grill scraper is

also cheap and safe—a wadded up piece

of aluminum foil. It won’t leave the dan-

gerous wayward metal bristles from

grill brushes that can stick to food.

To p r e v e n t c o n t a m i n a t -

ing your cooked meat

with raw germy juices,

designate one tool for

raw meat, the other for

cooked.

It’s the most critical rule for

cooking outdoors. And the only

way to nail it is with a meat

thermometer. “A grill is really

an outdoor oven with a lousy

thermometer,” says Meathead

Goldw yn of AmazingRibs.com.

“Get some duct tape and cover

that built-in thermometer.”

Then buy a digital thermome-

ter (see our recommendations

on the opposite page). It’s the

most accurate way to control

temperature. “You can’t tell if

meat is cooked by cutting into

it or touching it,” says Meat-

head. “That’s a good way to

send Grandma to the hospital.”

Ever cut into a grilled

chicken breast only

to find the center

uncooked even though

the edges are nicely

grilled or even charred?

That’s because their

teardrop shape makes

them difficult to cook

evenly on a grill. Here’s

the solution: Pound

the breast flat with

the bottom of a cast-

iron skillet (cover the

meat with plastic wrap

before pounding to pre-

vent raw juices from

splattering on kitchen

To cook a burger to per- surfaces).

fect doneness, dimple it.

Form the ¾-inch-thick

burger and make a deep

depression in the center

with your thumb, rec-

ommends celebrity chef

Bobby Flay, owner of Bob-

by’s Burger Palace. Burg-

ers tend to puff up under

heat, which can cause

uneven cooking, leav-

ing the center raw. The

dimple prevents that.

“Dr y food surfaces

brown better,” says

Meathead. “That’s

why I’m not a big fan

of marinating; mois-

ture on the surface of

meat creates steam

and prevents brown-

ing.” If you aren’t mar-

inating, he suggests

patting the food dry

before placing it on

the grill. Then apply a

fine coat of oil to pro-

mote browning.

“Meat absorbs aromas,

but it takes a lot of time,

hours, for smoke to pen-

etrate meat well,” says

food scientist Jonathan

Deutsch. Best wood chips

to smoke: apple, cherry,

hickory and walnut, and

mesquite, which imparts

a distinct flavor.

“You’ll get a serious

crust on a big steak,”

says barbecue expert

Jess Pr yles. Slow cook

the meat until it reaches

an internal temperature

of 125 0 F. Meanwhile,

fill a chimney starter

halfway with charcoal,

and light. Wait for the

coals to ash over. Place

a grill grate over top.

Using tongs, place your

steak on the grates, and

cook a minute per side.

Take a pitcher of hot water and pour it slowly over

the top of your propane tank. The water will warm

the metal where the tank is empty while the metal

next to the liquid propane will stay cold. Now, slide

your hand down the side of the tank: The spot where

hot meets cold tells you the liquid propane level. (It

helps to keep a backup tank, too. You don’t want to

run out of propane in the middle of cooking.)

CONTROL YOUR

TEMPERATURE

Burger-meisters like

Bobby Flay and George

Motz cook on a f lat-top

grill because the direct

conduction of heat cre-

ates an excellent brown

color and caramelization

on the patty, and the fat

helps cook the burger

and keep it moist. You

can mimic a f lat-top on

your grill by using a cast-

iron skillet coated with a

little cooking oil.

1

2

3

6

7

8

9

10

10

HACKS

EVERY

GRILL-

MEISTER

SHOULD

MASTER

NEVER

RUN OUT

OF GAS

CLEAN

YOUR

GRILL

GRATES

DOUBLE UP

ON TOOLS

GRILL

PERFECT

CHICKEN

BREASTS

PAT MEAT

WITH

A PAPER

TOWEL

TAKE YOUR

TIME TO

FLAVOR

MEAT WITH

SMOKE

REVERSE

SEAR ON A

CHARCOAL

CHIMNEY

STARTER

DIMPLE

YOUR

5 BURGERS

4

“GRILL”

BURGERS IN

A CAST-IRON

SKILLET