Cooking Experts give their Top Tips for Grilling!
We’ve all been there. You’ve been looking forward to a lovely meal all day, everything is going well until you go to cook on the grill…what should you do? We thought we would ask some experts for their tips on how to approach cooking on a grill.
We found 12 experts from around the world and asked what their best advice would be on all things grilling!
Warren Geraghty
Galvin Pub Company
Warren is the executive chef for Galvin restaurants and director of the Galvin pub company.
@wazza5
“A nice hot clean grill. If grilling white meat, brine in a 6% salt and water solution first. For red meats, get a good caramelisation and use the top shelf on the Synergy grill to finish cooking and resting.”
Dan Austin
Lake District Farmers
Dan is the Managing Director of Lake District Farmers, the leading meat supplier to London restaurants.
@LakeDistrictFar
“Render some well-aged beef fat down with some herbs and spices, then brush the steak with the beef fat as your grilling it. The aged beef fat will add beautiful flavour to the beef and caramelise really well on the grill”.
Tom Aikens
Tom's Kitchen
Tom’s Kitchen is a unique collection of restaurants, delis and bars, founded by award-winning chef Tom Aikens.
@TomsKitchens
“At Toms Kitchen we find to brine or meat and fish really does help when cooking on our Synergy grill. Flavour and tenderness is vastly increased not to mention speed.
We use decarbonisers every day for cleaning our grills as they help for speed and perfectly clean bars for cooking on”.
Dez Turland
Saunton Sands Hotel
Dez has been working in kitchens for many years which has taught him to appreciate hard work and awesome equipment.
@babyfacedez
“Knowledge/Confidence/Enjoyment
A basic KNOWLEDGE of your equipment & ingredients is essential in helping you get the most from your Synergy Grill.
CONFIDENCE much as above is having confidence in the ability of your Synergy Grill to perform to the highest standards, but also the confidence to try something a little different and unusual. Experiment with flavours, techniques, textures & cooking times you'll be surprised with the results.
ENJOYMENT one of the most important things in cookery is to always embrace and love your time on the grill never let it become a chore & you'll be blown away and relish the final result a winner every time”.Dez Turland
Bill West
Barbecue Tricks
Bill West is the owner and operator of the popular blog barbecue tricks.com and author of the new book barbecue blueprint available on Amazon.
@barbecuetricks
“Before every use, I always start the cook process by firing up the grill as hot as it can possibly go. Once any possible residue is incinerated - I then give a careful but thorough brushing. Including under the lid. Finally, I do the same at the end of the Grill process before shutting down for the night”.
Didier Quemener
Chef Q Paris
Didier discovered his love of cooking as a 7-year-old growing up in the French countryside with his grandmother. He learned how to choose juicy tomatoes, flavourful green beans and delicate herbs from her garden to prepare traditional, seasonal French dishes. Where Summer meant ratatouille and raspberry jam, while winter was all about beef burgundy and hearty soups...This love of fresh, seasonal products remains at the heart of Didier’s cooking today.
@ChefQParis
“Turn it up!
Preheat your grill at least 20 minutes before you start cooking as it ought to reach the right temperature, which is typically:
210-250 Celsius for high
175-200 Celsius for medium-high
150-200 Celsius for medium
100-140 Celsius for low heat.
Depending on what to cook, a properly heated grill will instantly sear your produces on contact, keep the moisture inside, and will prevent from sticking. Contrary to popular belief, searing does not “seal in” the juices so to speak, but it enhances flavours through caramelization.
Marinate your meat and give it a rest once cooked!
Marinating will make your proteins happy! It does more than simply infusing your food with flavours, it also prevents the formation of potentially carcinogenic HCAs (heterocyclic amines), which develop when grilling proteins like poultry, red meat and fish.
Finally, after being grilled, set your fish and meat on a clean plate, covered with foil for about 10 minutes before carving so that all juices can redistribute evenly”.
Dustin Sanders
Smoke House Rats
Dustin is a multi-award winning steak champion; which includes a US Champion title and World Food Championships Top 10 Finalist.
@smokehouserats
“Start your propane fire 15 minutes before grilling to ensure an even heated surface (charcoal fire 45 minutes before grilling). If you are cooking a steak (our specialty) set out and season meat 45 minutes prior to grilling so the meat can drawl in your seasoning. We advise against grilling a cold steak”.
Cyndi Allison
Cyndi Allison has been grilling for forty years and loves to write about her outdoor cooking adventures.
@cyndiallison
www.barbequemaster.blogspot.com
“The first tip I'd give is to never give up. I've seen someone grill half thawed burgers which fell apart on the grill and ribs that were grilled on high for twenty minutes (rubbery and half raw). Not good! Unfortunately, both grillers gave up when just a few tweaks would have made a huge difference.
If you are just starting out, it helps to watch someone else grill (including the prep work if possible). Books and web spaces also help. I know I have a "never fail" post for boneless pork chops. I still get emails saying that readers always had dry chops before checking out Barbecue Master and the pork chop recipe.
Once you get basics down, be creative. You may find that seasonings in your cabinet or sauces in your refrigerator work great on the grill even if not designed specifically for fire roasted foods. I pour spicy Italian dressing (oily type) on hamburgers for twenty minutes before grilling, and the flavour pop is great. I've mixed feta cheese in with ground beef for an unusual Greek burger which was one of my all-time favourites.
Grilling really is about having fun. If you aren't having fun, then you need to rethink your game. Even if you go with hot dogs which are almost impossible to mess up, you get a feel for the grill and some experience under your outdoor apron”.
Kevin Sandridge
BBQ Beat
Kevin Sandridge is a BBQ and Grilling blogger and Certified Master BBQ Judge. He operates a BBQ and Grilling blog/podcast at bbqbeat.com.
@bbqbeat
“It's important to understand the difference between direct and indirect heat when grilling. This is especially true if you are using a rub or sauce with a high sugar content, as sugar tends to burn quickly when direct heat is applied. Consider cooking thicker cuts of meat with indirect heat and finishing them off (searing) them on direct heat. A 2 inch steak is best cooked this way on the grill. This is known as the "reverse sear" process - whereby you bring the steak up to temp (say, 135 F) and then sear it off on each side for a perfect 145 F. For reference purposes, the direct/indirect heat process is also known as "Two Zone" cooking”.
Aaron Ralston
The Smoker King
I started grilling and cooking outdoors during my college years and I enjoy providing BBQ recipes and techniques through my website.
“My best advice for using a grill is to build your fire to one side of the pit. When you need to cook hot you can cook over the fire, and if you need to cook slower you can cook indirectly away from the fire. You will always maintain control over your pit and the food you are cooking by using this method. My best advice for grilling food is to keep the seasonings simple. Salt, pepper, and garlic powder are three seasonings I use that most people recognise and like. Over seasoning food can take away from the natural, great flavours that grilling produces”.
Danny Coogle
Pit Bull’s Up In Smoke BBQ School
“I'm just a man” - Danny has a much-loved BBQ online school for Championship BBQ at PitbullsBBQschool.com. He stopped competing a couple years ago to teach and to become an ambassador to barbecue.
@BBQschooll
“1- always try to use lump charcoal or natural charcoal at all times. Brisket charcoal has binders in it that will rot your smoker out quickly.
2- practice cooking on indirect Heat Direct heat you will find that indirect Heat is better for low and slow and Direct works well for hot fast.
3- be careful with sugars in your rub they tend to burn quickly even while cooking low and slow.
4- always apply your Blaze or finishing with marinades at the very last minute to keep them from burning.
5- I recommend using thermometers especially digital thermometers to keep an eye on the internal temperature of your meet this way you don't have to keep lifting the lid.
6- you should try to keep your lid shut to maintain even heat throughout the cooking process”.
Susie Bulloch
Hey Grill, Hey
Susie is a Guinness World Record holding griller and the voice behind the BBQ blog heygrillhey.com.
@heygrill_hey
“Invest in a high quality, durable instant read thermometer. Knowing the internal temperature of your meat takes a lot of the guesswork out of grilling!”
If you would like any further information, please call 01480 811000 or email info@synergygrill.com.
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