Instructions: There is no magic or mystery involved with getting good, consistent results from the grill. The following tips can be applied to most any meat, fish, or vegetable grill outdoors.

Always preheat your grill. You should have a hot cooking surface for searing the food when it hits the fire. Before you add the food to the grill, scrub the cooking surface with a brass grill brush to remove any charred bits from your last cookout. For delicate foods such as fish, brush or wipe on a thin coat of olive oil to help protect the food from sticking.

Dont turn your food more than you have to. Typically I put the food on the grill and wont turn it until the first side is properly seared. The grill will "release" the food when its ready to be turned - if you try to turn before its time the food generally will stick to the grates. Sear the second side and when thats done, turn back to the first side, reduce the heat, and cook to your desired doneness.

Test for doneness. For most people this is the trickiest task. Many of you like to cut into meats to inspect the color of the juices. Dont do this. First, it dries the meat, and second, its not very accurate (marinades can mask the natural juice color). There are two methods one can use - touch and temperature. Obviously, temperature is the most accurate and healthy. Insert a quick read thermometer half way into the thickest part of the meat without touching a bone. Remove the meat from the grill 5-10 degrees below the desired doneness because it will continue to cook for the next few minutes. Below is a chart for proper internal temperatures of meats:

Pork: 160 degrees
Ground Beef: 160 degrees
Chicken and Turkey: 165 degrees
Beef, Lamb, Veal:
Rare - 140 degrees
Med. Rare - 145 degrees
Medium - 155 degrees
Med. Well - 160 degrees
Well - 165 degrees

For some reason, I dont do well with a thermometer (I usually end up overcooking my meat) so I tend to rely on the touch method, and when in doubt, use a thermometer to confirm the results. The touch method simply means you poke the meat with your finger and based on the texture you can judge its doneness. If it feels very tender and springy, its rare. If it offers resistance with a little spring, its medium. If its firm and dense feeling, its well done. If its hard, serve plenty of vegetables!

Rely on your instincts and your meat thermometer over a recipes cooking time. Ive found that most recipe times overcook meat. Also, keep in mind that cooking times may be reduced if you use an acidic marinade. Acids such as lemon and vinegar will begin to cook the meat before it hits the flame.

Let the meat rest before slicing. Resting the meat for five or ten minutes allows the juices to settle into the fibers of the meat creating a moist, tender, grilled food.

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