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How to Grill: The Complete Illustrated Book of Barbecue Techniques

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Barbecue! Bible Sauces, Rubs, and Marinades, Bastes, Butters, and Glazes

The Barbecue! Bible

Smoke and Spice: Cooking with Smoke, the Real Way to Barbecue, Revised

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How to Marinate Food for Grilling

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How to Cook on a Grill

Before You Start to Grill

Before you begin grilling, take a few preparatory steps to make sure the grilling goes smoothly. Some steps are the same for gas and charcoal grills, while others are important only for charcoal grills.

Gather Your Tools and Ingredients

Grills cook food relatively quickly. If you return to the kitchen repeatedly to retrieve items or ingredients you need, you run the risk of overcooking or burning your food. Before getting started, gather your tools, ingredients, and clean containers for holding the cooked food on a table next to your grill. Remember never to put cooked food in the same containers or plates that held raw meats and fish.

Prepare Your Grill

Clean and oil the grill grate on gas and charcoal grills before you start cooking. Using unclean or unoiled grill grates will keep them from heating properly and will also cause your food to stick.

Clean the grill: Inspect the grill grate for charred residue from earlier use. Use a wire brush to remove any residue you find.
Oil the grill: Using a paper towel, rub vegetable or canola oil into the grate. The grate should be coated but not dripping.

Choose Your Fuel (for Charcoal Grills Only)

If you have a charcoal grill, you have the option of using different fuels to make your fire.

Charcoal briquettes: Made from coal, wood remnants, and other fillers such as nitrates, charcoal briquettes are the cheapest and most readily available form of charcoal. You can get charcoal briquettes at supermarkets or home supply stores.
Natural lumpwood charcoal: A cleaner- and hotter- burning form of charcoal than briquettes, natural lumpwood charcoal has increased dramatically in popularity and is now widely available wherever briquettes are sold. Lumpwood is usually a bit more expensive than charcoal briquettes.
Wood chips: Wood chips are a supplementary fuel. Too small to generate enough heat to cook foods themselves, they’re often placed on top of coals to generate smoke and flavorful aromas (for more on aromas produced by different types of wood, see How to Choose Barbecue Wood). Soak wood chips in water for at least 20 minutes before putting them on the fire.