Grilling Tips and Recipes

[HLxDrummer]

We just got a grill as a gift and I am anxious to find some new/good foods to make. I am mildly proficient at heating hot dogs and I am working on hamburgers and steaks.

Anyone have any general tips or recipes they would like to share?

I've tried this one and it was pretty good:
Copycat Outback Steakhouse Steak Recipe - Food.com

[futurevr4man]

If you ask me, steak is all about the quality of meat, very little about the seasoning. You can get a real good cut (dry aged fillet for instance!) and just throw a little salt and pepper on it... best steak ever.

I recommend kosher salt instead of sea salt for steaks... not such an aggressive taste.

Burgers, I like some chili seasoning in mine, but I also enjoy if the beef is marinated in some worstershire (sp?) sauce

[sergechronos]

Quality of the meat is definitely the most important factor. For burgers there is a lot you can do, two of my favorites are cheddar ranch burgers or steak style burgers (burgers seasoned and marinated like steaks would be.) Adding stuff to flavor the burgers can be tricky though as if you start getting too much stuff in there, it makes the burgers fall apart. Then you end up using eggs and bread crumbs to try to hold it together.

The cheddar ranch burgers are easily made, look in the salad dressing aisle of your local grocery store and you'll find dry packets of the seasoning used to make your own dressing at home..Use a packet of seasoning with about a pound of burger and mix in a cup of shredded cheddar cheese (I prefer the extra sharp) and then cook. I prefer it when I don't have access to a charcoal grill (like now while i'm at school and just have a Foreman) or if I'm using lower quality meat (as it will cover up the taste of inferior meat.)

Steak burgers I couldn't possibly give you the recipe to because I just kind of eyeball it at this point. Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, A1 steak sauce and bread crumbs (if you put too much A1 and they can't hold together.) Another good one if you're using poor quality meat as it will cover up the taste of the meat with the A1 and Worcestershire.


85/15 Ground Round is an excellent meat for burgers, or 80/20 ground chuck. 73/27 is too fatty and causes a lot of flare ups, and 93/7 is too lean and will be dry and taste less.

Before messing with recipes or flavorings for burgers, I think it's important that you make just plain burgers and get familiar with how they should cook and taste with good meat, kosher salt and pepper (I agree with Nathan that sea salt is rather aggressive for my tastes.)
In general, you cook for about 3-5 minutes per side, but you want to look for the browning to start coming up the sides of the burger before you flip it.
Another thing you could look for is the blood and juices coming out of whatever side is on top.
Once that starts happening, you want to flip (or remove if you've already flipped once.) This will make for about a medium-medium rare burger (I personally prefer the medium rare.) Remember it's better to undercook than over cook. You can always use a thermometer to check internal temperature (this applies to both burgers and steaks) and if someone prefers there's more well done, you can always put them back on the grill. You can't uncook it if you go too far.

For anything you cook on the grill, when you take it off you want to let it sit for a few minutes to recover and for the moisture and juices to redistribute through out.

[HLxDrummer]

Thanks for the info, guys.

I agree, I need to get the basics down first. How do you guys determine the quality of meat? Just trial and error from different places?

I tried making hamburgers from scratch once and they weren't very good. Kept falling apart, kind of dry, no flavor. I then bought the pre formed patties and while they stayed together easily, they didn't taste very good. I usually get lean beef, but I'll remember to get something a little more fatty next time.

When I made steaks I got sirloin from the store and they were pretty good.

How do you guys go about heat settings? I'm guessing you crank it up for steaks, medium heat for burgers, and low-medium for chicken?

Also, for things like steak burgers, you mix all the ingredients in with the meat then form them into patties, correct?

[Turbo Beast]

Cook steaks slow, get you some rib eyes.

If you can hold your hand over the fire for three seconds its about perfect. Ill cook mine to medium rare in about 12min. Don't cut them on the grill, but push on them with your finger to see how done they are?

Do you hunt?

[mb3000]

Pick the proper cuts of meat for the outcome you're trying to achieve. Don't press/squish the meat, and try to achieve the same cook time on both sides of the cut.

[sergechronos]

Trial and error is pretty much it. An actual butcher shop usually has better quality meat in my experience, and you can get them to fresh grind the meat for making burgers (which makes a big difference IMO.)

Not all grocery stores or butcher shops are equal for sure though, I've found if I want good quality chicken for instance, I can't go to my local Kroger for that. But I am lucky to have a few very nice upscale places nearby when I can afford it that carry grass fed beef and such (which has a huge impact on the taste.) I think starting off with a fattier meat for the burgers (like the 80/20) will help quite a bit.

I don't generally use any high heat settings for anything (I cook on a charcoal grill when I grill, so likely my counter top Foreman is probably a good comparison for heat) but use about medium to medium high for burgers, and medium-medium low for chicken with a medium low for steak. Very high heat makes for tough meat. I personally don't listen to the people who say anything about "searing" meat on both sides before cooking, high heat forces out moisture so you end up with a tougher less juicy piece of meat at the end. Chicken is much more difficult to cook on grills properly without drying it out or undercooking it. Personally, I don't salt chicken before I cook it on the grill as it always seems to dry out the chicken and make it pretty tough. You can always add salt later. Others may have their own opinions on it. Hopefully Greenlantern will chime in here, he makes some delicious grilled chicken.

For steak burgers yes, mix the stuff in with the meat, then ball them up and pound them into patties. Try not to over work the meat. You don't want it to be super smooth and indistinguishable, you want texture. I try to work the meat as little as possible to get a good distribution through out. You CAN wait until the end to do the pepper, and basically put pepper on a plate and press each side of the patty into it so it gets a good layer of it on there. Then when you grill it it will make a crispy crust which contrasts nicely with the juiciness of a proper burger. Top it with bleu cheese for the extra authentic steakhouse type of serving (you can also use ground sirloin as your meat for this, it works very well for it but it is expensive.)

[Turbo Beast]

And lots of butter!

[sergechronos]

That's personal preference. I prefer to butter and toast the buns

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[HLxDrummer]

Great tips!

I never really understood the high heat vs. low heat for steaks. Some people say "sear" it. Other people say use a low temp. Low temperature makes more sense to me because everything you slow cook is juicy and tender (pulled pork, chicken, etc). I guess I'll try both and see what I think.

I actually just made some chicken for lunch and it came out ok. I marinaded it with some italian dressing (got that from my future father in law) and grilled it for about 12 minutes at 350*-400*F. Slightly dry but I don't yet have a thermometer and wanted to make sure it was cooked through.