Meat Recipes for the Grill

Hot tips for getting the best results from your grill.

Grilling with Direct Vs. Indirect Heat

The difference between direct and indirect heat comes down to temperature and time. Each method produces very different results.

With direct heat grilling, food is placed directly over a source of high heat and the grill lid is usually left off. Since food cooks in mere minutes, thin cuts of meat, fillets, kabobs, and vegetables are your best choices.

Indirect heat is used for larger pieces of meat: roasts, very thick steaks, and whole fish. In this method, the food is cooked just off the heat at about 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). The lid is closed, and the cooking times are somewhat longer. On a gas grill this generally means firing up the two outside burners, and cooking the meat over the middle, unlit burner. When using charcoals, the coals are pushed to the sides of the grill, leaving a place in the middle to cook. Traditional barbeque is a form of indirect heat using very low temperatures over long periods of time.

What about gas grilling versus charcoal grilling? It’s the great debate in grilling. Here’s where we look at the issues inflaming the debate.

Preheating the Grill

A thermometer will tell you exactly what heat you are working with. That said, the gold standard is still the caveman method: Hold your hand approximately 6 inches above the heat source, about where the food will be cooking, and count how many seconds you can keep your hand there.”One-barbeque, two-barbeque…”

High Heat: 3 seconds or 500 F (260 C)

Medium High Heat: 5 seconds or 400 F (205 C)

Medium Heat: 7 seconds or 350 F (175 C)

Medium Low Heat: 10 seconds or 325 F (165 C)

Low Heat: 12 seconds or 300 F (150 C)

Timing Is Everything

There might be only a minute or two between a moist and tender chop and dry, tough shoe leather. Timing is everything. So, check for doneness at the approximate time given in the recipe. And be aware that two seemingly identical cuts of meat will often cook at different times — depending on exact thickness, texture, age, and temperature of the raw meat.

An instant read thermometer is a good tool. Insert it into the thickest part of the meat, away from the bone, to measure the internal temperature. To test doneness, you can revert, again, to the caveman method. Slice the meat, and observe the color of the juices. If the juices are red, the meat is rare. Pink indicates medium rare, and clear means well done.