4 Tips and Tricks That Will Change Your Grilling Game for Summer 2019

If you’re in eastern US like all of us here at Dutch Meadows, you may be thinking it’s too humid to fire up the grill right now. We’re farmers and we’re used to it. Beats crazy snow storms burying the pastures at least, right? Anyway, if you’re planning to brave the humidity and get in front of the grill, take a few of these tips and secret tricks into consideration this year. After all, you’re never too old to learn new tricks. Just remember, the best “trick” of all, and certainly the most important tip we can offer, is to begin with high quality, naturally raised and cared for ingredients, that are organic and free from soy, GMO, artificial hormones, and antibiotics. Once you’ve mastered that step, take a stab at some of these, too:

Patience is a Virtue (and so, so worth it)

Rest before AND after. Prior to cooking, you’ll want your meat (primarily red meat) to sit at room temperature for about 20-30 minutes. Once you’re done, cooking the steak, you’ll want to let it rest, covered, for about 5-10. The first “rest” is to help support the quick and high heat cooking of a delicious steak. If the steak is not cold when it hits the grill, you won’t have to leave it on as long and will avoid overcooking. The second “rest” promotes a juicier finished product. If you cut into meat at its peak temperature, the juices will be most liquified and come running right out.

Wait, Wait, I’m Not Done Yet

Account for continued cooking, especially if you follow rule #1 and let the meat rest for 5-10 minutes after pulling it from the grill. Depending where you rest it, we often recommend having it covered as well. Either way, covered or uncovered, as those juices settle, the temperature is also settling but there’s still plenty of heat there in those few post-grill minutes that will cause the meat to continue cooking. Take this into consideration, especially with dark meat, depending on how you like your final meal to look and taste.

Not All Marinates Are Created Equally

Many people think the longer you marinate, the better. But that’s not always true. Darker meats, like pork and beef, have a thicker skin and should marinate longer than chicken, which has a thinner skin. However, no matter how long you let them sit, they’ll never soak deep past that first layer and, since many marinates are acidic, it’s essentially slightly cooking the exterior, which creates an opportunity for the inside to overcook quicker and dry out more. Moral of the story? Marinate in moderation!

Onions Aren’t Just for Eating Anymore

You’ve probably found and heard many suggestions for cleaning your grill but have you ever considered how those methods rate on a chemical or eco-friendly scale? Many are not so great, which means you don’t want them near food that you’re about to put in your body. And good luck finding a “less harmful” product that actually gets the job done. Next time, reach for your produce drawer, get the grill hot, cut a large onion in half and then scrub hard with the cut side down. Handy, natural, infuses a little flavor for future grilling. Drizzle olive oil on the onion before your final pass ...perfection! PS - you can do this with a large potato too.

Happy summer! Happy grilling!