MY Top 4 Grilling Tips & Tricks

Whether you are a grilling novice or grill-master, consider these 4 grilling tips & tricks before lighting the grill for your next meal! 

As promised in a previous post about grilling, the United We Steak campaign is full-swing, and that means I’ve been grilling more than slow cooking, oven-roasting, and skillet-whatever-ing these days. Some days grilling looks like marinating a flank steak for 6 hours, prepping a bunch of fresh sides, and ending with an ice cream sundae. Other days it looks like grilling hot dogs, serving with watermelon slices, a handful of chips, and ending with popsicles. BOTH are delicious!

In an effort to keep the momentum of grilling season and join others across the nation in this campaign, I pulled together some of my favorite full-proof grilling tips.

1. Consider your Cut:

1. • Beef contains essential nutrients like zinc, iron, and protein to power healthy, active lifestyles, and many cuts of beef are perfect for delicious and nutritious grilling. Some of the best steaks for grilling include Strip Top Loin Steak, Flank, and Ribeye.
2. Elevate the flavor:
   • While most cuts taste great with just salt and pepper, marinades work overtime by adding extra flavor and tenderness. Use these marinade and rub tips to take your meal to the next level. 
   • Tenderizing marinades include an acidic ingredient like lemon or lime juice, vinegar or wine or a natural tenderizing enzyme found in fresh ginger, pineapple, papaya, kiwi and figs.
   • Before grilling, remove meat from marinade and pat dry with a paper towel to promote even browning and prevent steaming.
3. Medium and steady wins the race:
   • When it comes to cooking beef, there is no need to rush the process by using any higher heat than medium. Medium heat prevents charring
   • Use a spatula to turn burgers and tongs to turn steaks and kabobs.
   • Do not press, flatten or pierce the meat—flavorful juices will be lost, which can also lead to fire flare-ups.
4. Check for doneness.
   • The most accurate way to determine doneness of steaks is with an instant-read thermometer, inserted through the thickest part of the steak.
   • Check these grilling guidelines for beef cut and total minutes grilling to help determine doneness and internal cooking temperature.

Feeling ready to take-on the grill? I promise it’s not as hard as it seems! To give you the extra boost of confidence you may need this grilling season, I’ve partnered with the Michigan Beef Industry Commission to share some of our favorite grilling swag in a simple, 2-step giveaway! Just head on over to my Instagram account to see how to enter! Hint: all you need to do is love, comment, tag, and voila! You’re in!

In the meantime, you can find more beef grilling inspiration and information can be found at United We Steak and BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com. If you’re lighting the grill this week like I plan on doing, be sure to tag @MomtoMomNutrition and @MiBeef on Instagram, and use the hashtags #UnitedWeSteak, #BeefFarmersandRanchers, or #BeefItsWhatsForDinner to be featured during this campaign!

Disclosure: I collaborated with the Michigan Beef Industry Commission [@MiBeef] on behalf of the Beef Checkoff [@BeefCheckoff] to introduce you to the “United We Steak” campaign and bring you this Instagram giveaway.