With the grill uncovered, the fire has ample access to its favorite food—oxygen.The flames will burn hotter. An uncovered grill (hot fire) is perfect for cooking thin cuts of meat, like boneless chicken breasts, kabobs and thin steaks, for toasting bread and cooking vegetables. These foods cook quickly and thoroughly in the high heat. Cover the grill to turn it into an outside oven or BBQ pit. The lower resulting temperatures work well in roasting whole birds, roasts, unshelled shellfish, and lamb with the bone.

For thicker steaks or meats, sear with the lid off and then cover the grill to finish the cooking process.

To make professional cross-hatch marks, preheat the clean and oiled grill for 10-15 minutes on high. Then line the steaks or chops onto the grate in the same direction. Cook for approximately 2 minutes depending on type, size of meat, and desired doneness. Using tongs, rotate each piece 45-degrees for diagonal marks or 90-degrees for square marks. Cook for about 2 more minutes. Flip the meat over and repeat on the other side.

The best time to clean the grate is immediately after use, while the grill is still hot. That way, food and oil will scrape off and disintegrate into the heat before congealing, leaving a mess worthy of oven cleaner. A clean grate will make your food taste better too . . . unless you enjoy tasting last week’s dinner in this week’s lunch!

With a wire brush, scrape food residue into the embers or heat source. When you’re ready to grill again, scrape the grate one more time with the wire brush after preheating the grill. Then oil the grate with an oiled paper towel and tongs, non-stick cooking spray (remove grate . . . don’t spray into heat), or with meat fat.

Once at my in-laws, I watched in horror as my father-in-law grilled a London Broil to perfection only to place it back onto the bloody foam tray on which he’d carried it to the grill. Yes, it was that same foam tray the uncooked meat had “lived” on since the butcher put it there in the meat department.

If you’ve enjoyed a night of food poisoning (24-hour flu), it’s easy to see why food safety is preached so much. ‘Better safe than sorry’ certainly applies when it comes to avoiding cramping illness (and the possibility of death in children or the elderly). So please do the few minor steps it takes to get a clean plate from your cupboard, to wash the tongs and your hands as needed, to check the meat for doneness with a thermometer or other reliable method, and to use caution with marinades and basting sauces.

A quick 3 minute rule-of-thumb for leftover marinades and sauces that have contacted raw meat or seafood? Don’t apply marinade during the final 3 minutes of grilling meat. And, if you wish to use the marinade as a table sauce, boil it for 3 minutes before applying to meat or food.

Because sugar blackens easily, applying sugar-based sauces during the final minutes of grilling will ensure your meat is appetizing and not overly charred. Citrus-based, oil-and-vinegar, or yogurt based sauces can be applied throughout the grilling process.

If you run out of coals or fuel in the middle of grilling, you’re probably going to have to face a few hungry and frustrated folks. Prevent confrontation by heating plenty of charcoal or ensuring your propane level is adequate.

Here’s an easy trick for gauging the propane level in your tank (if you don’t have a gauge, that is): pour 1cup boiling water over the slightly tilted tank. Feel the tank with your hand to find where the warm metal meets the cool metal. There is propane in the area that remains cool, but the tank is empty where the metal feels warm.

For tastier food, let the meat, poultry, vegetables and so forth rest for a few minutes (off the grill) before serving. The searing heat of the grill drives juices into the center of the food. Once the heat is removed, the juices creep back to the surface and lend moisture and flavor to the food.

Additionally, meat continues to cook once removed from the grill. You’ll want to remove it from the heat prior to reaching your desired state of doneness, and then let it sit for a few minutes to get to your edible point!

Grilling brings out unique flavors in many foods and is a delicious way to cook not only meat, but also bread, veggies, fruit, cheese and desserts. Pre-cooking vegetables in the microwave before placing them on the grill is an easy way to get that roasted veggie flavor without the wait.

Additionally, marinades aren’t only for meat. Try marinating veggies in your favorite herbed oil, vinegar, or salad dressing. Thirty minutes at room temperature or one hour in the refrigerator is long enough to season the vegetables without making them mushy.

That explains why my kabobs are often a combination of slightly undercooked meat and peppers but overly blackened mushrooms and tomatoes. Different cooking times! Use the following broad guide to pair veggies with similar cooking needs and to turn out appetizing kabob combos.

Unless you’ve grilled thousands of times, it may be hard to tell when meat is really done with a touch of the finger as the pros do. An instant-read thermometer takes out the guesswork of lack of experience and ensures safely cooked meat. Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the meat, without touching heat conducting bones. Make sure your thermometer is calibrated correctly and use the following guideline from Cook’n & Grillin’ (or Steve Raichlen’s The Barbecue Bible) to achieve the desired doneness: