Outdoor Entertaining: Grilling

by Sherry Holetzky | More from this Blogger

26 May 2006 06:41 AM

Do you enjoy cooking out? Many people do and hosting a barbeque or a picnic is a great way to enjoy time with family and friends. Grilled food is often a favorite at such gatherings, and you too can become a grilling expert.

Start with the placement of the grill. It should be close enough to the seating area that you can still visit with your guests, but it should be far enough away and upwind, so that the smoke does not bother your guests.

Also, adjust recipes for the grill. The grill, even a gas grill with a temperature control, often cooks food faster than it would cook on the stove. Be sure to watch meat carefully and check it often. You want the meat to be cooked enough to be healthy, but you don't want it to be overdone. There is nothing worse than turning a great steak into something that resembles shoe leather.

Another tip is to use tongs or a spatula instead of a long tined cooking fork. Puncturing the meat allows juices to escape and will lead to dryness and toughness. Turn the meat gently, using your other utensils instead. Don't try to turn meat too soon either. It will stick to the grill and may fall apart.

Speaking of things that might stick to the grill, you can cover the grate with heavy duty aluminum foil before cooking anything that you feel will stick. This also works great for fish, which can fall through the grate as it gets close to being done and becomes tender and flakey. Another great way to keep food from sticking, as well as to make clean up easier, is to use new Pam Cooking Spray for the grill. It is specially formulated for high cooking temperatures.

If you think you have what it takes, you might even want to enter the Pam-azing grilling competition, with a grand prize of $10,000.00. Click here for Contest Rules and terms.

Learn more about Sherry Holetzky

Sherry Holetzky is a work at home mom and freelance writer. Married to her best friend, Sherry and her husband are raising their family in a quiet rural setting in the beautiful Ozark Mountains.

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