Speed Up Your Grilling - 5 Tips For A Faster Meal

Grilling can sometimes be a bit of a process. From marinating your food, to waiting for the grill to heat up, and standing there watching and turning, turning and watching, it can be sort of tedious.  But, only if you let it be. 

If there was a way to speed up the process, wouldn't you jump all over it like a sizzling steak? Sure you would. Well, here are five tips for quicker grill meals that will get you from start to finish faster, and with very tasty results.

Grilling chicken (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Plan Ahead Marinade

If you know you're going to marinate your food, prepare the marinade the day before, or even earlier.  Allowing the food to marinate while you are sleeping or at work is a nice time saver.  This long marinating time won't work for everything, but when you can do it, like for hearty foods like chicken, or for lighter marinades, go ahead and give it a try.  It's a great time saver.

Even if you don't want your food to actually sit in the marinade more than an hour or so, you can have a bowl prepared in the refrigerator so when the time comes, you pull it out, plop in the food, stir it up, and it's ready to do its magic.

The Right Temp is Room Temp

Pulling a piece of meat out of the refrigerator and slapping it down on a hot grill is just asking for problems. When a piece of meat is cold throughout, two things happen.  The meat will cook faster on the outside than on the inside, resulting in an over-charred piece of meat that surprises you with a terribly under-cooked inside. This also results in a tough chewy meat. The fibers of that ice cold meat actually seize up when confronted with the heat. You want your meat's fibers relaxed when they hit the flame, so they can ease into the idea of being turned into your dinner, happily turning juicy and tender for you.

Whatever you are grilling, whether it is beef, chicken, pork, seafood, or even vegetables and fruit, let them come to room temperature before you begin to grill. A quick tip here is to take it out of the fridge at least an hour or two before you plan to cook it, or just let it marinate on the counter at room temperature to begin with. It's really a misconception that food can't stand a little time out of the refrigerator before spoiling - especially if you're going to cook it on a nice hot grill.  Letting the food come to room temperature will help speed up the cooking time, keep your product evenly cooked, and ensure that you get the tender juicy results you want.

Pint Size Helpings

Chicken parts, meat parts, fish fillets, and more can usually stand a bit of portion reduction.  If you have an hour and a half, you can rotisserie cook a whole chicken.  But, you can throw on chicken cutlets and they'll be done in minutes.  If you're in a hurry, look at your ingredients and ask yourself if they can be cut in half, made thinner, or diced.

This is more than about just cutting a piece of meat in half, it's about getting crafty with your cooking.  One inch squares of pork on skewers will make a faster dinner than a pork roast.  Potato wedges cook faster than whole potatoes.  If you want your salmon to cook in ten minutes rather than 30 minutes, cut that whole fillet into four pieces.  Think tapas-size dishes on the grill for a shorter time from grill to table.

Flip Your Lid

There are very few meals that should be made on a grill with the lid off. When you have the grill uncovered, the outside air cools the food and actually slows down the cooking time. Yes, even on hot days. Because if you think about it, most of your grilling is done at roughly 300 to 400 degrees, so even a 90 degree day is a lot cooler than the food needs to cook.

By keeping your lid lowered, your grill acts more like an oven so that your food cooks thoroughly inside as well as getting that nice grilling on the outside. Read your owner's manual for your grill and you'll find instructions and recipes for grilling particular foods.  Follow these instructions, close the cover, and you'll find your meal is done perfectly every time, and on time, too!

Divide and Conquer

Charcoal Grill (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Your grill has sections that are hot, and sections that are not so hot.  It just makes sense when you are trying to gain a few minutes on the grill to use those different temperatures wisely. While gas grills heat in the same pattern, you still need to know what that pattern is. Charcoal grills are a different matter; you can create your own patterns of hotter and cooler areas by arranging the charcoal.

Either way, you have to think about how you are going to arrange your food. Thinking about cooking on the various heats to best suit your food can speed up your cooking time. For instance, placing the meat on the hot section first to get a good sear, then moving it to indirect heat, frees up your hot section for more searing, such as to give your foil packets of veggies a good start. Then move those off to a cooler area to continue 'roasting' and use the hot spot again to give those pineapple slices some nice grill marks.  As you move the food around, everything finishes cooking at the same time and as quickly as possible.  Utilize all the areas of your grill to maximize the efficiency rather than moving food on and off the grill, cooking one food at a time.

Learning these few little methods to speed up your cooking time will make grilling much more enjoyable.  If you think of the process as long, tedious, and tiresome, chances are you won't be lighting your grill any time soon.  Make friends with your grill again.  But do it fast - summer grilling season is in full swing!

Recipe: Mini Pot Roast Packets On The Grill

Enjoy the rich flavors of pot roast, without having to heat up the house cooking for hours. Try this tasty and simple recipe on the grill for a quick dinner that is sure to please everyone - especially the person who normally has to scrub out the pot roast pan! This grilled meal offers great taste and minimal work, plus easy cleanup - it's a winner all around!

Mini Pot Roast Packets On The Grill
(Serves 4.)

Ingredients:

1 lb. beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch pieces
4 green onions, chopped
2 Yukon gold potatoes, diced small
1 regular carrot, diced small
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp butter, melted
2 Tbsp water

Directions:

• Prepare the grill to medium-high heat.
• Tear off 4 large sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil.
• Divide the beef and all the vegetables evenly between the 4 sheets of foil; fold the sides up but leave unsealed for now.
• Whisk together the Worcestershire sauce, butter, and water, then pour carefully into the contents of the packets.  
• Fold up the sides and tightly seal into a packet, leaving a little air space at the top.
• Set on grill on indirect heat, close cover, and cook for 35 to 40 minutes, spinning packets around once or twice during the cooking time.
• Cook until meat and vegetables are tender and cooked to your liking.
• Remove and let rest for a few minutes then carefully open packets and serve.

Recipe: Grilled Chicken Fajita Dinner In A Pouch

This easy-peasy yummy dinner takes little prep time, so you can spend your time enjoying the great outdoors on a summer evening, instead of cooking away in the kitchen. Grilling food in foil packets makes it easy to cook a full meal at once, and clean up of course is a snap - you won't even get the grill dirty! Enjoy this tasty summer dinner for a picnic with friends, or just a lazy summer evening at home in the backyard.

Grilled Chicken Fajita Dinner In A Pouch
(Serves 4.)

Ingredients:

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

4 teaspoons Mexican seasoning powder or chili powder
4 tablespoons lime juice
1 1/2 lbs chicken, cubed into 1/2 inch pieces
2 bell peppers, diced small
2 onions, diced small
tortillas for serving (optional)

Directions:

• Mix Mexican seasoning and lime juice together in a bowl, then add the chicken and bell peppers, and cover with plastic wrap. Put in refrigerator for up to 2 hours.
• Make 4 pouches out of aluminum foil and spoon mixture (including the liquid) into the center of each pouch, dividing ingredients equally.
• Fold edges of pouches tightly and form envelopes, leaving a bit of room for hot air and expansion within the pouch.
• Put on grill set at medium-high and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, turning the pouches several times to cook evenly.
• Serve on tortillas with toppings such as sour cream or guacamole, if desired.  This meal may also be served over a salad.

Full Meal Deal – Make It All Right On Your Grill

Grilled meals are usually pieced together with only a portion of the meal made on the grill while the rest is cooked indoors and then served together. But who wants to be the one stuck in the kitchen while the fun is happening outside around the grill?

Today, we have so many gadgets and gizmos on our grills there is no reason we are not able to fix all of our meal on the grill itself. Let's take a look at four complete meals that are made on the grill in the same amount of time, or less, than you would make indoors.

Grilled Stir Fry

(Photo credit: batigolix)

Stir-fry is usually made in a wok or a deep pan on the stove. Been there, done that. You add a bunch of spices and liquids to season it up. Why not develop flavor while you are cooking the vegetables and meat instead of at the end?  By grilling the vegetables, you bring out the hidden sweetness trapped inside as the outside is caramelized over the fire. The meat also takes on the flavors of the grill, so when they are all combined, all you need to add is a little soy sauce at the most and dinner is ready to enjoy. Pick a protein and a few veggies or even fruit and give it a shot tonight.

Grilled Picnic

Picnics were made so you can enjoy the outdoors. Why coop yourself up in the house to cook for the great outdoors? Grilling is a perfect option for picnics. Think about grilled potato salad, or perhaps a hot grilled cabbage salad with spicy vinaigrette dressing. And grilled sandwiches are a no-brainer.  So, why not invite your grill to the picnic?

Grilled Pot Pie

One great benefit of the grill is that it has a cover. This cover can be lowered or raised to adjust the temperature. When the cover is closed, a grill acts a lot like an oven, which means that pot pies are fair game. A pot pie cooked on the grill not only has all the delicious ingredients that you are used to, but if you cook it on a charcoal grill with a little cherry or oak wood thrown in for kindling, you get a flavor you never would have expected. If you want to take pot pies to a new level, cook them on the grill.

Grill packet ready to cook.(Photo credit: sporkist)

Grilled Packets

One of the easiest ways to make a full meal on a grill is to enclose it in a foil packet. Just about anything goes with this kind of technique. The trick is to combine ingredients that taste good together as well as cooks at the same rate. Fish is an easy choice. Take a nice salmon fillet, put it over a bed of kale, top it with a big wedge of lemon and some sweet onion, and you have one amazing dinner. Cut up a sweet Italian sausage and combine with parboiled potato wedges and bell pepper strips.  Seal the packets well and you can even add a little butter or olive oil.  Be sure to cook with the cover closed and turn the packets around a few times during the cooking time.  This is the perfect way to make individual servings at the same time.  You can even customize each individual packet to suit your guests.

Your grill is a great place to create easy meals.  Don't limit your grilling experience to hamburgers and hotdogs, or even steak and chicken.  Imagine full meals coming off your grill so you can grill more frequently, preparing delicious treats for your family. Why not try something new tonight and take your whole meal outdoors!

Recipe: Grilled Chicken Salsa Verde Burritos

From Asian to Mexican, grilling can bring many exotic flavors right to your own backyard. Today's recipe features spicy salsa verde and creamy avocado for a tasty and easy meal great for a quick lunch or dinner in a shady spot on a hot summer day!

Grilled Chicken Salsa Verde Burritos (Serves 4.)

Flour Tex-Mex tortillas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts, skin and bones removed
olive oil for grilling
salt and pepper
1 cup salsa verde
8 small tortillas (corn or flour)
1 avocado, sliced thin
2 cups shredded Pepper Jack cheese

Directions:

• Set your grill up for medium-high heat.
• Rub the chicken with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place chicken on grill, close cover, and cook for 5 minutes, flip and cook for 5 more minutes.
• Remove from grill and let rest on a cutting board for 3 minutes; then slice chicken into thin strips and place in large bowl.
• Add salsa verde to bowl with chicken and stir gently to combine; set aside
• Place tortillas on the grill just until grill marks appear, flip and do the same to the other side. Remove to working surface.
• Lay out tortillas and divide the chicken slices, avocado, and cheese evenly between all the tortillas and roll up into a burrito.
• Makes 8 small burritos.

Recipe: Grilled Teriyaki Pork Tenders

Mmm-mmm-mmm!  Go Asian with your grilling this week with this tasty twist on Teriyaki. This simple and easy recipe uses the fresh summer flavors of green onions and bell peppers, combined with spicy ginger and Teriyaki sauce for a delicious main dish in minutes. Great for a quick summer weeknight meal.

Grilled Teriyaki Pork Tenders(Serves 4.)

Ingredients:

1 lb. pork tenderloin
1 red bell pepper
4 green onions
4 Tbsp Teriyaki sauce
1 tsp fresh grated ginger root
4 tsp olive oil

Directions:

• Set your grill to medium-high heat and preheat.
• Put tenderloin on grill, cover grill, and cook for 5 minutes, then turn over and cook for another 5 minutes.  Remove and let rest on cutting board while you prepare the other ingredients.
• Clean the red bell pepper and cut into thin strips.
• Wash and trim the onions and cut each lengthwise in half.
• In a bowl whisk together the Teriyaki, ginger root, and olive oil.
• Cut the tenderloin into 1/2 inch thick slices, and separate into 4 equal portions.
• Place four large aluminum foil squares on a work surface.
• Arrange 1/4 of the pork on each square, then cover with 1/4 of the red bell peppers and 1/4 of the onion.
• Carefully pour the Teriyaki mixture over the meat and veggies and fold and seal the aluminum foil tight.  Teriyaki is quite salty so you may not need to salt the mixture, but taste and decide.
• Place the 4 packets on the medium-high heat grill, cover and allow to cook for about 8 to 10 minutes or until hot and steaming. Spin around once during this cooking time.
• Remove and let rest for 3 minutes before opening.

5 Brand Name Grills – Compare Before You Shop

'Tis the season for great grilled meals!  This month we'll be exploring the fun and tasty world of grilling, and of course, you've got to start with a good grill! There are so many different types of grills out there that it can be overwhelming comparing one to another. If it's time to get your wish-list together for a new grill, you may want to know a little about what you'll be looking at before you head to the store. Here is a quick review of the top five competitors so you can start narrowing down your choices.

Char-Broil

Char-Broil grills have long been known as great performing grills with fantastic features including a warranty that covers the grill’s lifetime or 99 years, whichever comes first. They are made with excellent electric ignitions, porcelain cast iron burners, porcelain coated cooking grates, and a whole lot of accessories. These grills also come with durable stainless steel bodies so they don't rust easily. A great choice for the grilling maestro, or maestro wannabe.

Weber One-Touch Gold Grill (Photo credit: ckelly)

Weber


Perhaps the best known brand in the world of grilling, Weber grills have always been known for their great craftsmanship and superb products. Originally, Weber only made charcoal grills, but now they are a force to contend with in the gas grill arena. Weber has the know-how to make a wide variety of grills for just about any budget. The great thing about these grills is even the cheaper ones don't skimp on quality and can last you for many years. The less expensive models just have fewer special features, but keep the same high quality basic structure.

Uniflame

Uniflame grills are a hard bargain to contend with. They are often the lower priced grills in the store, but they are actually quite nicely made. The grills are loved for their ability to cook and heat evenly, which is not so easy to boast about. Some of the higher priced grills often have difficulties translating the same heat over the surface of the grill, but Uniflame does a great job of consistency.  With a Uniflame, you will not be getting a top of the line grill, but you will get one that works well enough to get the job done.

The Broil King Barbecue (Photo credit: Jordon)

Broil-King

When it comes to gas grills, Broil-King has definitely earned a great reputation. They have been around a long time, which gives them serious credibility. If you wanted a grill that feels solid in both construction and cooking, Broil-King is the grill for you. Grates made of high quality cast iron, double tube burners, linear control valves, and fantastic storage options, all give Broil-King the much deserved reputation of being a griller's grill. Broil-King grill parts are made to last and can be easily replaced if needed, which adds a whole new dimension to their performance.

Brinkmann

Brinkmann offers lower priced grills with tons of features, some models even have as many as five burners, and infrared capabilities! Though the construction is somewhat lacking in terms of weight and heft, if you are looking for a lot of features without a heavy price tag, Brinkmann grills are the way to go. These grills also have large cooking areas, side burners, porcelain coated cast iron cooking grates, rotisseries, and electric ignition. These are features you'll also find in the more expensive grills, but here you'll find them at a reduced price.

So now that you know a little about each of the top performers, you should be able to put together a proper wish list. Happy shopping, and be sure to check back later this week and in the weeks to come for some yummy grilling recipes to put your new grill to good use!  


Good Grills for Good Grillin':