Most barbecue problems are not about talent. They are the same handful of small mistakes, repeated every weekend. Here are the thirteen we see most often, and the fix for each.
1. Lighting the grill when the guests arrive
A charcoal grill needs about thirty minutes to reach cooking temperature; gas needs ten to fifteen. Light it before people show up, so you are cooking, not waiting.
2. Cooking on a cold grate
Food put on a grate that is not fully hot sticks and steams. Wait for the preheat, then clean the bars, then cook.
3. Cooking on a dirty grate
Old grease tastes bitter and causes flare-ups. Brush the grate hot, every time.
4. Cleaning with a wire-bristle brush
Wire bristles break off, stick to the grate, and end up in food, and a loose bristle is almost impossible to see on a grate. There is no safe replacement schedule for a wire brush; our recommendation is a brush that has no wire bristles to lose.
5. Everything over the flames
Set up a hot side and a cool side. Sear on the hot side, finish on the cool side. This one change fixes burnt-outside, raw-inside food.
6. Moving the food too much
Flip once. If it sticks, it is not ready.
7. Pressing the burgers
You are squeezing out the juice. Dimple the raw patty with your thumb instead so it stays flat.
8. Sauce too early
Sugary sauces burn in minutes. Brush them on at the end.
9. Guessing doneness
An instant-read thermometer is the cheapest upgrade in outdoor cooking. Chicken to 74°C (165°F); pull beef and pork a few degrees early and let them rest.
10. Crowding the grate
Packed food steams instead of searing and blocks the heat zones. Leave space, cook in batches, keep the first batch warm in a low oven.
11. One plate for raw and cooked
Use a clean plate and clean tongs for cooked food. Simple, and skipped at most backyard parties.
12. Cutting into the meat right away
Rest steaks and chops for five minutes, roasts for ten. The juice stays where it belongs.
13. Leaving the cleanup for tomorrow
Two minutes while the grill is still hot: turn it up to its highest setting (about 500 °F / 260 °C), brush, lid down. Scraping cold, burnt-on food the next morning is the job nobody wants, which is how grills end up dirty all summer.