5 Ways To Take Your Grilling To The Next Level This Summer

Who doesn’t love the delightful, mouthwatering taste of a freshly grilled burger? Grilling is the ultimate pursuit for anyone who loves to cook delicious food for their family or large groups. Enjoying some well-seasoned, evenly cooked steaks, burgers, veggies, or chicken is all part of what makes summertime so memorable and fun. The grill on which you cook these succulent steaks should be high-quality, well-seasoned, and ready to rock and roll any time you fire it up. So how do you take your grilling to the next level? In this article, we’ll show you how! Check it out below.

Look For A Large Cooking Surface

One of the many perks of having a large cooking surface on your grill is its practicality. The larger the cooking surface, the more food you can cook. A large grill surface should also allow for quick, easy food transfer and feature a non-stick surface. The last thing you want is your burger sticking on the grill burning across the bottom. That would not taste very good, not to mention the smoke and damage it might cause to the grill. Flat top grills are ideal for cooking larger amounts of food and using gas as a fuel source. If you’re planning to use a charcoal grill (or any grill that uses grates instead of a flat surface), be sure to choose something that can accommodate the amount of food you wish to cook and can be cleaned easily. Plus, if you get a large grill, it’s going to look cool on your backyard patio and add a little bit of personality to your home that you didn’t previously have. And at the end of the day, who wouldn’t want something like that?

When you have a large cooking surface, it’s easier to feed a crowd as you can grill more than one type of food at once. 

However, check the number of burners or zones in the grill. This will dictate how many different types of food you can cook at different temperatures.  

Check For High Durability

When it comes to buying large appliances like grills, the last thing you want is something brittle or poorly manufactured that might break after a few uses. Blackstone grills and accessories are a great option for a well-built, highly durable grill. These grills are designed to be used regularly, power deficiently, and stored with ease. That kind of quality is essential for helping your grill stand up to repeated use over long periods.

You will have several events in the summer that need an excellent grill. It’s best to buy commercial grade grills for your restaurants and your home so you know your investment can withstand regular use. 

When choosing this equipment, weigh your preferences and needs. Also, check if the material is corrosion-resistant. Many prefer stainless steel because of its durability and low-maintenance features. Others prefer cast iron despite its high price and high-maintenance requirements because of the quality of the grills they produce.

Understand Griddle Hot Spots

On most grill surfaces, there might be spots where the heat is higher than the rest of the surface. These are known as hotspots. Hot spots cause food to become undercooked and occasionally burn. So, not knowing about them is going to cause you some issues. When you’re looking into purchasing a grill, watch out for any potential hot spots. There are a few ways to avoid them, too. Moving your food around as it cooks can distribute heat better. It’s also a good idea to use pans or utensils to better distribute the heat. Playing around with cooking temperatures might also yield some positive results, so make sure you understand the nuances of your grill and plan your cooking times accordingly. If you want to try to find your grill’s hotspots, try grilling some bread to see which pieces cook faster than the others. That will give you excellent insight into where your hotspots are and how to manage your cooking effectively.

Keep Extra Fuel On Hand

If you’re running a gas, pellet, or charcoal grill, there’s always the possibility of running out of fuel. That’s why it’s prudent to keep some extra fuel on hand. An extra bag of charcoal biscuits or some pellets can be a godsend when you are in the middle of cooking and suddenly find yourself out of fuel. For propane-powered grills, having an extra tank nearby can help you extend your cooking time. Just remember to store your extra propane tanks and an outdoor area that is well ventilated to reduce the risk of danger or explosion from the gas.

It’s best to plan and make sound forecasts. Running out of fuel mid-grilling will not just ruin your mood but also the taste and quality of the food.

Season Your Grill

An integral but often overlooked aspect of cooking is seasoning your cooking instruments. Whether it’s a cast-iron pan or a fancy gas-powered grill, you need to season it before cooking. When a grill or other cooking implement comes straight from the factory, they’re usually still some remnants of manufacturing byproducts on the grill. That’s why it’s so important to season it ahead of cooking it for the first time. So how do you season a grill properly? It’s pretty simple. You just oil it up and heat it. Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that. As with any dishware—or anything from which you plan to eat food—a grill surface needs to be thoroughly washed with soap and water before its first use. After that, you can season it. Then it’s merely a matter of basting your grill surface with vegetable oil, turning up the heat, and letting it “cook” for half an hour or so. Afterward, you’ll have a wonderfully seasoned grill that will keep you cooking for a long time to come.

Takeaways

With these tips, you can take your grilling to the next level, not just this summer but for the entire year. You can elevate your grilling game and become a master of the grill in time for the next barbecue party.