Easy Grilling Recipes—and Summer Grilling Advice

It’s time to fire up that grill! Everything seems to taste better when grilled over an open flame … let’s refresh our memories with some grilling advice for the summer. Learn some BBQ cooking tips and tricks for grilling chicken, beef, vegetables, seafood, and burgers perfectly, plus recipes for the grill!

Top 10 Tips for Cooking on the Grill

1. Start with a clean grill. (See tip #10.) Before you turn the grill on, lightly baste your grill grates with cooking oil or spray to keep food from sticking. Be sure to let the grates come up to temperature before you begin cooking.
2. Don’t put cold meat right on the grill. Bring ingredients to room temperature before you cook; they will then cook more evenly and quickly. If you need to, plan your meals so you leave 30 minutes for meat to sit on the counter. 
3. Remember the 4-by-4 rule to determine how hot your grill is: If you can keep your palm 4 inches over the coals for 4 seconds, it’s at medium heat.
4. Pat the food surface with a paper towel to remove moisture before grilling to ensure even browning of meat and poultry.
5. To prevent your steaks from curling on the grill, score the outer layer of fat at 1-inch intervals. Do the same to skin-on fish fillets, scoring the skin side.
6. Refrain from pressing hamburger patties on the grill with a spatula or piercing meat with a fork; you’ll lose the juices. Use a spatula or tongs. Also, don’t move the food around. It’s best to flip the meat once. The fewer times you flip food, the better. If the meat is stuck to the grill, let it cook more until it naturally loosens its grip and is ready for flipping.
7. If you prefer skinless chicken, be sure to marinate the meat first; then baste frequently with leftover marinade during grilling.
8. Use fresh lemon juice in your marinades. It tenderizes meat, blends well with many flavors (from soy sauce and ginger to BBQ sauce), and accents other tastes.
9. Let meats rest! Let the meat rest once off the grill for at least 5 (if not 10) minutes before slicing. The meat will reabsorb the juices it lost from cooking.
10. The best time to clean your grill is when the grates are still warm. With the back of a spatula, scrape anything on the grates into the fire, then use a wire brush to scrub the grates clean. 

Bonus: Buy a meat thermometer. It’s really worthwhile to spend $10 and buy an instant-read thermometer, which makes grilling easier and safer. You will insert this thermometer into the center of the steak to see if it’s done to your liking. For example, medium for steak is around 145°F. Well-done is around 160°F. See recommended minimum temperatures for cooking meat. 

Great Recipes for the Grill

Now that you’re a grilling expert, try these easy and delicious recipes. We’ve rounded up a selection of main dishes, sides, and desserts that all can be cooked on the grill. 

 1. Basic Burgers

Nothing beats an old-fashioned hamburger, and the best burgers are really quite basic.  

2. Grilled Salmon Kabobs

Not only are these salmon kabobs healthy and easy, but they are also full of flavor from the simple marinade.

3. Beef Kabobs

This is one of our favorite steak recipes! These beef kabobs soak in an easy, homemade marinade that adds flavor and zest. 

4. Baby Back Ribs With Coffee Spice Rub 

These ribs are made with a unique coffee rub mixture that features a hint of cocoa. While cooking the ribs on the grill, brush the sauce onto the ribs every 30 minutes and right before you take them off the grill. Mmmm!
This recipe is adapted from Steven Raichlen’s The Barbecue Bible.​

5. Grilled Eggplant Halves With Herbs

When you score the surface in a crisscross pattern, the inside gets succulent and soft, but where the scores meet, the eggplant is nice and crisp. Mmmm!

6. Grilled Pork Kabobs

Fire up the barbecue for grilled pork kabobs—a welcome change from the ubiquitous burgers and hot dogs. Prepare in an herbal marinade in advance for juicy, tender, flavorful skewers.

7. Chicken Satay

Skewered chicken flavored with peanuts and spices, this chicken satay is exotic enough to thrill the grownups, but mild enough for kids. 

8. Grilled Corn With Chili-Lime Butter

Our chili-lime grilled corn is always a huge success. The creamy chili-lime butter brings out the crunchy, grilled flavor.

9. Grilled Chicken With Fresh Herbs

This is the perfect summer recipe that provides an opportunity to use garden herbs for extra-fresh taste!

More Recipes for the Grill

Still hungry? Here are some more options to try:

• Grilled Vegetables With Garlic-Saffron Butter
• Grilled Angel Food Cake With Berry-Wine Sauce
• Grilled Tuna and Tomato Pizza With White Beans and Fennel
• Summer Sliders
• Grilled Swordfish Kabobs
• Grilled Peach Glazed Chicken
• Campfire Fish
• Potato Foil Packs 
• Farmers’ Market Grilled Vegetable Platter

When you grill vegetables, cooking times depend on the shape and size of the vegetable. See our Guide to Grilling Vegetables.

What is your favorite food to cook on the grill? Do you have any grilling tips?