Whether you’re a grilling novice or think you’ve mastered every cooking technique under the sun, there’s always room for improvement. Grilling is as much about experience as it is creativity. Blue Rhino is there for you every step of the way! Read on for 10 essential grilling tips and techniques to have the perfect cookout.
Cleaning Your Gas Grill
Cleaning your gas grill entails more than just burning off the bits of food left over from last weekend’s barbecue. Repeat after us. A clean grill is a happy grill. No one wants a burger served with a side of last week’s hot dogs.
It’s important to keep your grill clean for many reasons, especially food safety. Treat your grill like you would treat your kitchen. Keep it clean for the health and safety of everyone who’ll be eating the delicious food you’re cooking up.
Keeping your grill clean will also enhance the flavor of any dish you prepare. Did you know you can use an onion to season your grill grates once they’re clean? You’ll still get a smokey, charred flavor, but with a little extra pizzaz. It’s that little something that makes your guests say, “Hmmm. What IS that? It tastes so good.”
Want to know how to properly clean your grill? Click here for a step-by-step video guide.
Direct and Indirect Grilling Techniques
It’s no secret. Your grill gets hot! That’s just one of the ways it seals in flavors, sears your favorite meats, and adds those perfect grill marks to fresh, seasonal vegetables.
To create direct and indirect cooking zones, you can adjust the burners on your grill to different temperatures. How you use those zones is often a matter of personal preference, but there are a few situations where direct or indirect heat may serve you better.
For example, higher fat content foods, such as sausages, often cook better on indirect heat zones. Why? Higher temperatures may cause your sausages to burst and drip grease down onto the flames below, risking a flare up. You may want to consider cooking sausages on your grill’s top rack to keep them farther away from the flame.
Steaks, however, sear well on direct heat. You’ll get lovely grill marks by starting your steaks in a higher heat zone. Then, you can move them to an indirect heat zone to finish cooking to your preferred doneness.
Using the Side Burner
If you have a medium-to-large sized grill, it may come with a side burner. Most people ignore this important feature. But it can come in handy if you’re preparing a meal for a bunch of people.
Rather than simply grilling on your grill, the side burner turns your grill into a mini cooktop. You’ll be able to boil, sauté, or even fry main dishes or sides while using the grill at the same time. This versatile cooking space will allow you to do the majority of your cooking outside, keeping your kitchen clean and cool during the summer heat.
Looking for other ways to use your grill’s side burner? Click here.
Handling Food Properly
Let’s get back to safety. You should never put your hands or other body parts near a hot grill surface, even if it’s just to rescue one asparagus spear that’s in danger of falling through the grates. You could seriously injure yourself.
That’s why we have utensils! Long-handled tongs or spatulas not only make moving food on your grill easier, but they keep you safe, too. Using these tools will also help you avoid losing your food’s natural juices. You should aim to turn your food just once while cooking. The less you move your food around, the juicier and more flavorful your food will be.
Grilling Gloves
Speaking of safety and protecting your hands, let’s talk grilling gloves. Think of them as oven mitts for the outdoors. These heat resistant gloves offer an extra barrier between you and your piping hot grill. If you do need to quickly grab that rogue asparagus spear, you’ll be able to do so safely if you’re wearing grilling gloves that have the right amount of protection. You can also wear them to transfer food from the grill to a serving platter, or shred meat that has been grilling low and slow for hours.
There are many different types of grilling gloves, depending on your needs. Click here to learn how our partners at Operation BBQ Relief use gloves to help protect their hands on their deployments to national disaster zones around the country.
Smoker Box
In an ideal world, you’d have an elaborate outdoor kitchen with a custom propane grill, smoker, sink, storage, entertaining space, wine/beer fridge, and more. Realistically, that set-up isn’t possible for many people. That’s why it’s important to stretch the limits of the equipment you do have in your backyard.
Why not try a smoker box? This small metal device sits on your grill’s grates and adds incredible impact to your food. Simply soak a handful of wood chips in water, per the manufacturer’s instructions, then remove them from the water, place them in your smoker box, and put the box on the grill. As the chips heat up, they’ll start to smoke, just like they would in a traditional smoker. You’ll get that amazing smokey flavor without having to shell out hundreds of dollars for a smoker. Check out this video for a “how to” guide. Don't have a smoker box? You might consider making a smoker pouch.
Finishing with Spices
You know to add spices, salt, and pepper to your food before you cook it on the grill. But finishing your food with those same spices can really add a certain “wow” factor. It’ll enhance the flavor of your dishes and push it to the max. It’s often as easy as adding a little more of the spices you originally used to season your dish to the finished product. Want to learn more about finishing your dishes with spices? Click here.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with different spices and flavor combinations. Steak seasoning on shrimp? Sure! Pork rub on chicken? Absolutely! Korean BBQ spice mix on vegetables? You bet. And those are just pre-made spice mixes. You can also create your own! Chili powder, garlic powder, and brown sugar will make a sweet, yet savory rub for ribs, burgers, and more. Lemon zest, pepper, and onion powder will pack some extra punch for fish or chicken dishes. Do a few test runs and find the flavor combinations that work for you! Your guests will be wondering why your steak tastes so good.
Blue Rhino Home Delivery
Preparing for any gathering is a lot of work. You have to buy groceries and drinks, make sure there’s enough shade, put out extra trash cans, set the table, and more. Why not let Blue Rhino help you cross one thing off your “to do” list? We now offer home delivery service in select markets. Simply order online. We’ll drop off a fresh Blue Rhino at your home and take the empty one away. Click here to see if home delivery is offered in your area.
Follow Blue Rhino on Social Media
Do you follow Blue Rhino on our official social media channels? Now’s your chance! In addition to posting tips, contests, and polls, we also post mouth-watering recipes and items you can use for grilling inspiration. You may find your new favorite dish! You can find us on the following social channels:
So, give us a like or a follow! You may learn a grilling tip or two.
Check Out Our Grilling Tips and Techniques Guide
Blue Rhino is proud to fuel your backyard memories. That’s why we’ve put together a full section of our website dedicated to helping you level up your grilling game. It’s basically a cheat code, so be sure to check it out. Your family and friends will thank you. Trust us. Happy grilling!
Published: 2024.07.30