Common Grilling Mistakes And How To Avoid Them

Summer is the perfect season for grilling. With popular holidays, warm weather, and long days, it’s the perfect time of year for barbecuing. You can use your grill to cook everything from fish fillets to fresh vegetables and juicy steaks. While cooking of a grill is relatively safe and easy, there are mistakes you should avoid to ensure you cook your food to perfection.

Neglecting to clean a grill, forgetting to pre-heat it, and running out of fuel are all common mistakes to avoid. To help ensure you always cook food perfectly, ensure it is properly thawed and seasoned, use accurate thermometers, and understand the hot and cool zones of a grill. Avoid food loss between the grates by placing items strategically and cutting food into large, thick slices.

Grilling outside should bring joy, not stress. While it's often easy, with less cleanup than cooking in the oven or on the stovetop, several mistakes can ruin a meal and lead to disappointment. To ensure your grilling experiences are a success this summer, read the following to learn how to avoid making mistakes.

13 Common Grilling Mistakes And How To Avoid Them

1. You Don't Pre-Heat

If you’re new to grilling, you might think the open flames are what heat and cook your food, but there's more to it than that. You should always allow a grill plenty of time to heat up to ensure food cooks quickly and evenly. If you don’t do thid, the food won’t sear the way you want it to. There also won’t be time to burn off old food, residue and bacteria that might be present on the grates. 

2. You Forget To Clean It Before And After

Another common mistake people make while using a grill in the summer months is not cleaning it before and after each use. Keep the grill on for several minutes after removing the food to allow leftover food particles to burn off. Use a grill brush and oil-soaked paper towels to clean and season the grill grates after each use, and before turning the grill on the next time. If you don't clean the grill, food is more likely to stick to the grates. It can also have an unpleasant burnt smell, as the dirty grates will smoke while you’re cooking.

3. You Run Out Of Fuel While Cooking

Running out of fuel while grilling can ruin a meal and you may have to finish cooking in the oven or on the stovetop, which will take extra time. To ensure you have plenty of fuel, check the tank before you start. If you grill often, it’s always a good idea to keep a backup tank on hand so you can switch if you run out of fuel.

4. You Use The Wrong Grilling Tools

Part of becoming a barbacue master is having the correct tools. Tongs and spatulas are essentials that most grills are not equipped with. While you might have a spatula and tongs in your kitchen, they probably aren’t designed for a barbecue. 

Grill tongs are larger and made of durable stainless steel. They won’t melt when exposed to extreme heat, and longer handles protect your hands and arms from burning. If you don’t have the right tongs or spatula, grilling food is a lot more complicated and even dangerous. 

5. You Overcook Food

Overcooked your food can ruin any dinner. It turns meat into tough hard-to-chew slabs, and burn vegetables that are completely inedible. While it’s possible to overcook food using a stovetop or oven, it’s particularly easy to overcook food on a grill. Direct contact with flames and high temperatures can cause food to cook quickly, even if you leave it on a few minutes too long. Keep a close eye on your food, and never walk away from the grill when there’s food on it.

6. You Lose Food Between The Grates

It's easy to lose food between the grill grates, which can be disappointing. If you use thin slices of meat or vegetables, or fragile filets of fish, some of those morsels will fall through the grates. To prevent this from happening, don't cut meat and vegetables into narrow strips. Use thick fillets, and burgers on the grill, since it's less likely to fall through the cracks.

7. You Neglect To Properly Thaw Meat

It’s never a good idea to put frozen meat directly on the grill. Even if you are in a rush, you should always properly thaw meat before placing it on a hot grill. If you grill frozen food, you are almost guaranteed to overcook the outside while the center remains raw. This will it cause uneven cooking, and can make many meats, including poultry and pork, unsafe to eat.

8. You Under-Season Or Over-Season Food

One of the biggest mistakes people make while grilling happens before food even goes on the barbecue. Remember to properly season food before coooking it. Adding spices and properly marinating meat and vegetables can make a huge difference in how it tastes. Avoid overseasoning, especially if you plan to add sauce and other flavors later.

9. You Use An Inaccurate Thermometer

Grilling is a science, and mastering it means cooking food at the perfect temperature. You’ll never cook food to perfection without an accurate thermometer. Some grills come with this tool, but it’s always smart to keep an extra one on hand. An accurate meat thermometer ensures the food you prepare is cooked to a safe internal temperature.

10. You Put Dripping-Wet Foods On Grill

Whether you are cooking wet meats or food that has marinated in liquid for hours, you should avoid items that are dripping wet. It can cause steam and smoke to rise, which can negatively affect how your food cooks and tastes. It will also cool down the grill that you just spent time pre-heating.

11. You Are Not Familiar With The Hot And Cold Zones Of The Grill

Just because your grill reads one temperature doesn’t mean it represents the entire grill. Most grills have hot and cool zones, and it's good to understand where the hottest and coolest sections are. Not knowing these different zones can result in uneven cooking and you can overcook certain foods while undercooking others.

12. Cross-Contamination Issues

When you’re handling meat and cooking various foods on a grill at the same time, cross-contamination is always a possibility. Raw meat juices can find their way onto vegetables, and you can transfer dangerous bacteria with your hands if you aren’t careful.

When grilling, wash your hands frequently, and immediately wash cutting boards and bowls that come into contact with raw meat. Use fresh, clean plates and bowls for cooked products, and clean tongs and spatula as you cook to avoid cross-contamination.

13. You Apply Sauces Too Early

If you’re making ribs or barbecue chicken, you may add a tasty sauce. One mistake to avoid when adding barbecue sauces and marinades is adding them too early. Most sauces have a high sugar content, and sugar burns very quickly. If you add barbecue sauce or marinades too early, you may end up with a burnt, crusty outer layer that won’t taste good.

Summing Up Common Grilling Mistakes To Avoid

Grilling your meals outdoors is a great way to use your outdoor spaces and helps keep your kitchen cool throughout the summer. While it’s relatively easy to use a grill, it is a bit more challenging to cook like a master. To ensure all your food is grilled to perfection, there are several mistakes to avoid, including neglecting to preheat the barbecue and forgetting to clean it. 

Avoid applying marinades too early, and never add food that's frozen or dripping wet to the grill. Ensure meat and vegetables are cut large enough so they don’t fall between the grates, and before turning on your grill, check to see you have enough fuel to cook your meal.

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