Grilling in the Spring

Now that the warm weather is here, many people are pulling out their grills and getting ready for spring and summer barbeques. If you’re one of them, you’ll want to make sure that you’re prepared for the task. Grilling meat and vegetables imparts a unique flavor to them and allows you to cook your food outside with good company, rather than being cooped up in the kitchen on a hot day.

FMI Equipment in Spokane Valley is your Washington grill dealer. Here are our top tips for grilling food safely and deliciously this spring.

Prepare Your Grill

Never cook food on a dirty grill. You might think you can burn off char, but you probably can’t. Charring on your grates will dirty up your meat and not allow it to cook as well. Make sure that your grill is nice and clean with a sponge and soapy water, and spray water through your burner tubes to ensure that nothing lingers within them, like pests. You’ll also want to check your grease pan to prevent fires from accumulated fats.

Keep plenty of charcoal or propane handy, but keep it further from your grill. You’ll want to make sure all of your grilling tools are clean and ready to go; you might set up a small folding table with a metal baking sheet to place your tongs and other tools on while you’re cooking.

Make Vegetable Kebabs

Grilled vegetables are their own delicacy, and by grilling vegetables, you won’t have to go to the kitchen to steam or roast them. You can skewer veggies on kebab sticks: cut your mushrooms, tomatoes, bell peppers and onions into chunks and slide them on the sticks. Other vegetables to grill include eggplants, asparagus and squashes. Don’t forget to brush your vegetables with olive oil and sprinkle herbs over them, or use a tasty marinade to impart a specific flavor.

Buy Good Meat

Low-quality meat won’t taste as good as fresh, high-quality meat. It’s as simple as that. Marbling in steak will offer more flavor, while bone-in chicken is juicier. Kosher beef hot dogs are higher in quality and more delicious than their lesser counterparts. Make sure you go to a butcher counter and get good meat for your cookout; don’t skimp or try to use bargain-bin ground beef!

Spiral-Cut Hot Dogs

A hot dog that has been spiral-sliced will evenly char and caramelize for the best flavor. Spiraled hot dogs also hold condiments better than whole hot dogs, so they’re less messy to eat. Don’t skip this step when cooking your hot dogs and sausages!

Use Tongs, Not Forks

A grilling fork pierces your meat and allows its juices to flow out, which isn’t what you want. Spring-loaded, long-handled tongs are best, since these can grab chicken breasts, thick steaks, sausages and burgers easily to turn or remove them from the grill. Don’t permit cross-contamination to occur: have a set of tongs for turning cooked foods and a set of tongs for grasping raw foods.

Get Out Your Meat Thermometer

To ensure food safety, a meat thermometer is mandatory. Meat thermometers can also tell you when your meat is cooked precisely to your liking, which is important when you’ve got someone who wants pink in the middle and someone else who wants the whole piece of meat well-done. It’s not always possible to tell by sight alone whether your meat is thoroughly cooked, since brown meat might still not be completely cooked through. You also won’t have to slice up your chicken breasts or burgers to tell when they’re done if you just jab them with a meat thermometer.

To use your thermometer, insert the point into the thickest part of your meat until you reach the lowest temperature within it, then compare that to safe temperature guidelines, which may be on the thermometer itself. Remember that different meats (pork, beef, chicken) have different “done” temperatures and that just because one type of meat is cooked doesn’t mean the rest is safe to remove from the grill yet.

Have Plenty of Condiments

No grilled meal is complete without condiments! Everyone has their own favorite toppings for hot dogs and hamburgers, so make sure you’ve got everything on hand. Some recommendations include brown and yellow mustards, barbecue sauces, ketchup, sriracha or another hot sauce, ranch dressing, sweet and dill relish, mayonnaise and horseradish. Use separate spoons for each condiment if they aren’t in squeeze bottles.

You’ll also need to have a selection of fresh, raw vegetables to put on burgers and dogs, so make sure to wash some lettuce and dice up tomatoes, bell peppers and onions to keep handy in separate dishes with spoons or tongs.

We hope these grilling guides help you to have the best barbecues possible this summer! Visit our website or contact us about our vast selection of grills for sale at our Spokane Valley, WA, dealership location. FMI Equipment proudly serves Spokane, WA, and Coeur d’Alene, ID.