It's the first weekend of June, perfect time for grilling. Here are some tips that will make your grilling easy and your food extra tasty!

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Helpful Summer Grilling Tips

Summer is just around the corner it is time to get ready for that summer grilling season. Many of us love this time year for the vacations, family gatherings and the barbecue! Of course we all want to be able to enjoy the grilling season but we often get food that looks and tastes less than appetizing. So grab your lean piece of meat, vegetables, and other fixings for a great grilling season. If you use these Helpful Summer Grilling Tips you will improve your skills whether you’re new to grilling or you’re a pro.

Helpful Summer Grilling Tips

1. A clean grill makes cooking easier. Clean your grill thoroughly before and after each use with a sturdy wire brush. Plus, it will keep your food tasting better.

2. Spray or brush the grill with cooking oil to keep food from sticking. Only do this on a cold grill so you don’t cause a flare up and get burned and injured. Once the oil is applied use caution when you lighting the grill.

3. Preheat your grill for 30 minutes with the lid closed. This allows it to reach prime cooking temperature, and prevents flare-ups from any residual residue from the previous cooking.

4. When using charcoal, you can create direct and indirect heat by arranging all the coals on one side of the barbecue which creates direct heat (cooking over the coals), and the side without the coals is the indirect heat (cooking away from the coals). This way you can move food to different temperature zones as needed. If you use a gas grill, you can do the same thing by keeping flames higher on one side.

5. Don’t crowd the grill with food. Consider cooking times and temperatures for each item and put food on the grill accordingly. Overcrowding creates inconsistency in cooking. Leaving space between foods prevents steaming, helps items to cook evenly, and is crucial to achieving the mark of a pro, and a delicious caramelized surface.

6. Keep 30% of the grill’s surface area unoccupied. This gives you an area to transfer foods if they start cooking too fast or burning.

7. Don’t keep opening the lid. Lifting the lid releases the heat and the smoke that gives food its barbecue flavor. Cook, don’t look.

8. Use extra-long tongs. Never use a fork when moving meats. Piercing the meat causes the precious juices to escape, drying out your food and it loses all that flavor that comes from the juices.

9. Use a Thermometer. Never cut into the meat to check if it is done, or again you are drying it out and losing flavor! Get it right every time and use a thermometer and your meat will be cook perfectly every time.

10. Use a slotted grill pan or grill basket for cooking vegetables and delicate seafood. This keeps them from sticking to the grate or slipping through the holes.

11. If you want a little extra smokiness for your grilled foods you can add wood chips. For charcoal grills be sure to soak your wood chips in water or apple juice (if you want a sweeter flavor) for 30 minutes beforehand and lay them on the outer edge of the coals. This way they smoke without igniting. For gas grills be sure to wrap the soaked wood chips in an aluminum foil packet, and poke it with holes. Lay the packet directly above the gas flame before adding food to the grill.

12. Keep a water handy while grilling in case you need to quickly douse flames if your food catches fire.