One of the great things, and something that many of us look forward to all winter, is some outdoor cooking in the spring. There is nothing quite like outdoor cooking, except maybe eating outside. It’s such a pleasure to smell the smell of food cooking outdoors.
Here are some great tips for you to follow that can make all your charcoal grilling more enjoyable and more flavorful:
1. First things first, make sure that your food is safe. Do not use the same plates, or utensils for raw meat and than for the cooked meat. Add the raw meat to the grill and then get a clean plate and clean fork or knife to cut the meat while on the grill. Also, make sure all your meat is kept at the proper temperature prior to cooking.
2. When cooking smaller items that may fall apart easily or can fall through the grate, make sure that you use a basket or a skewer. Just sliding a hot dog or shrimp onto the skewer is a simple but effective way to make sure your food stays on top of the grill instead of in the charcoal.
3. To keep cleanup simple and easy, tin foil works great. you can lay some over your grate or just under the charcoal. Either way it’s easy to fold it up and put it in the trash. Of course, if you put the charcoal on top of the tin foil make sure you allow it time to completely cool before you put it in the trash. If you put it in the trash too soon you may very well end up setting your trash can on fire. What a rotten way to end a perfectly good evening.
There are also some safety tips you need to keep in mind to make sure you don’t ruin your entertainment time:
1. Before you load up your grill and start grilling take a few minutes to look it over and make sure it is in good repair. If the grill is rusted out you should throw it away and buy a new one. You don’t want a bunch of burning hot coals falling out on to your deck or patio.
2. Keep your grill away from any overhangs. It’s very common to have flare ups when you grill so you don’t want to have an overhang that could potentially catch on fire when your flare ups occur. An overhang is just one thing to be careful of, also make sure that you don’t set your grill up under a tree or too close to bushes or shrubs.
3. Never use your grill inside (that includes a garage or carport too). Grilling can produce carbon monoxide and it can build up during grilling. You want to make sure your grill is outside in a well ventilated area so all fumes can dissipate safely.
4. It may sound kind of dumb but make sure you are careful about what you wear when you grill. Loose clothing can very easily catch fire as you stand over the grill. Long sleeves are not a great choice when grilling on a charcoal grill.
Outdoor cooking in the spring is a great way to entertain and enjoy the beautiful weather. Have fun.