July is National Grill Month! Its a great way to cook for quite a few reasons. Grilled food tastes great, grilling is an easy way to cook for a crowd, and many folks choose to cook outside to not overheat the house in summertime. Grilling uses direct heat to cook foods and requires a watchful eye to keep from burning. The direct heat sears the surface and caramelizes food to give a distinct flavor and texture. The food is crispy on the outside and moist and tender on the inside. Captain Create has a few tips and recipes to help you get the most out of yours, plus a bunch of tasty recipes you can try with your friends and family.
There are lots of different ways to grill food, lots of different types of grills, fuels, and cooking methods. Captain Create trusts you to read the manual to operate your type of grill correctly, and to use the right kind of fuel to create the heat your recipe needs. Even though there are many different grills out there, Captain Create has a few tips that can make your grilling month safe, healthy, and delicious. Read on to learn more!
- Clean Your Grates: Cooking on a clean grill makes everything easier! Grill grates need to be cleaned after you grill, when they are still hot to remove any left over bits of food, grease, or seasonings. Grates need to be cleaned again before you start because grills are outside, which means there is a chance dust and dirt have settled on the grates. Nobody wants to eat dirt!
- Preheat patiently: Follow the instructions to heat your grill, and WAIT for it to be properly heated. Putting cold food on a cold grill will lead to sticking, sad steaks, and saggy vegetables.
- Stay out of the Danger Zone: Keep your cold food cold (under 40 degrees), and keep your hot food hot (over 140 degrees) until you are ready to cook or eat it.
- Skip the Smash! Smashing your steaks, burgers, and veggies does give a satisfying sizzle, but it really just squeezes out all the juices to evaporate away, leaving your foods dry and chewy.
- Trust Your Thermometer! Yes, really. The best, and safest way to see if your foods are cooked to a safe temperature is to use your food thermometer.
- Flip Food Once, but Don’t Flip Your Lid: Grilling works best when foods have the chance to sear, which means they need time to get those good grill marks. Flipping the foods over and over does not allow for searing. The lid is on your grill to keep the heat in, so opening it over and over is going to let all the heat out, which means your food will take longer to cook!
- Let Meat Rest: After you have cooked your hamburger, chicken, or steaks cook, take them off and let them rest, covered, on a plate for a few minutes. This method allows the tasty juices to stay in the meat, and all the flavor too!
- Sauce at the End: Adding sauces too early can lead to burned, bitter sauce and to the foods sticking to the grill. That’s not the way Captain Create wants things to go at your grilled dinner!
Captain Create has quite a few friends that are great grillers, and the links to their recipes are below. Try them out and have a great grilling month!
Best Foods for 4th of July Grilling