Mistakes That Can Ruin Your July 4th Barbecue -- and How to Avoid Them

You should always clean your grill thoroughly before using it — preferably as soon as it’s cooled down from the previous use. Leftover bits of charred food will affect the flavor of your food and can leave it caked with unattractive residue — and all that blackened gunk is very unhealthy. There are numerous grill-cleaning implements and systems available, or you can simply scrape large pieces of food off with a spatula or knife, then clean the grill with a kitchen scrub pad. Alternately, wad aluminum foil into a rough ball and use that to scrub.

Steaks and other firm protein usually won’t be a problem with an unoiled grill, but if you’re cooking fish, vegetables, or fruit, rub a light coating of vegetable oil over the unlit grill with paper towels to help prevent the food from sticking.

This obviously applies only to gas grills, but if that’s what you’re using, make sure you have a good supply of fuel before you start to cook. Nothing’s more annoying (or embarrassing) than having to bring those burgers or chicken breasts into the kitchen to finish on the stove when everyone has been anticipating that outdoorsy taste. Some propane tanks have meters; others sit on a sliding device that moves as the tank gets lighter. If you have a handy scale, you can also detach the tank and weigh it. A full standard-size home-barbecue tank weighs between 25 and 30 pounds, an empty one about 18. And it’s always a good idea to keep a backup tank on hand, just in case.

This obviously doesn’t apply to gas grills. The standard brands of charcoal lighting fluid all claim to burn off cleanly as soon as they flare out. Maybe they do, but why take a chance of lending your food a chemical flavor? The most efficient way to light coals or hardwood charcoal is in a charcoal chimney. Fill the top with coals or wood, stuff crumpled newspaper in the bottom, and light the newspaper; the flames will rise up into the briquettes or wood and ignite them. When everything has started to glow, the fuel is ready to be used.

Also applicable only to charcoal or wood fires: Once the coals are lit, they should remain heaped in the bed of the barbecue until all are coated in gray ash — a sign that they’re smoldering all the way through.

No matter what kind of grill you’re using, you need to preheat it, getting it up to the hottest temperature possible before throwing on the food. If the heat seems too intense for what you’re cooking, see the next step.

There should be at least two levels of heat coming from your grill, whether gas or otherwise — the very hot portion for searing meats and other hardy foods and a slightly cooler part for fish and vegetables and as an escape space for food that’s flaring and burning over high heat. With a gas grill, assuming that you have at least two burners, simply turn one to medium or low. With hardwood or coals, bank the coals from one side to the other or back to front so the heat is less intense on one side. Depending on what you’re cooking, you might even want to keep one section of the grill unlit entirely for things you’d want to cook over indirect heat.

It’s possible to grill an astonishing number of foods, even things you’d never think of (Brussels sprouts, potatoes, peaches, pizza) — but not everything works well with this method of cooking. Avoid flaky fish, tough meat cuts like short ribs or veal shanks (they’re better in a stew pot or slow-cooker), watery or leafy vegetables (cucumber, spinach), and fibrous vegetables (okra, celery). And if you’ve splurged on well-marbled wagyu steaks, don’t grill those either. They have a very high fat content, and the fat will leak out, catch on fire, and incinerate the meat. Another reason to cook wagyu in a pan: That fat is worth saving, as it’s great for sautéing potatoes and other vegetables.

There’s no need to buy a lot of special fancy barbecue tools, but a long-handled spatula and a pair of long-handled tongs are essential. If you use short-handled versions, you’ll end up slathering on the burn ointment. A fork (also long-handled) might be useful for some vegetables, but don’t stab your meat with it, as you’ll lose some precious juices.

Put more salt and pepper than you think you’ll need on foods you’re grilling. Some of it will burn off and some of it will fall off. A good layering of salt, preferably coarse, will also help form a delicious crust on your meats.

If you slather sauce — especially a sweet one, like most barbecue sauces — onto foods before grilling them, they will quickly burn, becoming sticky and unpleasant-tasting. Brush a light layer of sauce on things near the end of the cooking process, while they’re on the cooler side of the grill. Or just apply it after they’re done.

Maybe we’ve seen too many images of short-order cooks smashing burgers down on the griddle (there’s even a chain called Smashburger), and maybe the practice isn’t quite so bad if the juices linger around the meat as they do when you cook indoors. Smashing a burger on the grill, though, just means that you’re consigning a lot of the precious juices to the flames, and are apt to end up with a hockey puck instead of a luscious patty of ground meat.

It’s natural to get distracted when you’re cooking outdoors. Greet arriving friends as they come through the backyard gate, watch the kids doing cannonballs into the pool, take a break to get another beer —  all perfectly fine — except when you’ve got something on the grill. A few seconds away can too easily turn into a few minutes, and the next thing you know your coals have died out or your salmon has turned to charcoal or the labradoodle has run off with the wieners.

No matter how you cook meat — on the grill, on the stovetop, in the oven — you should never cut into it or serve it the minute it’s done. Let it rest — three to five minutes for steak or lamb chops, 10 minutes or so for larger pieces of meat like pork loin or leg of lamb. Heat pushes the meat’s juices toward the center, and letting it rest briefly allows them to be reabsorbed and distributed more evenly. That way, the meat is moister and more tender, and will lose less juice when cut into.

If you’re an experienced griller, you’ll likely be able to tell when that steak has hit a perfect medium-rare or those shrimp are still this side of rubber, but for most summertime grillers, getting things cooked just right is a matter of guesswork. It doesn’t have to be. Look up the ideal internal temperature for whatever protein you’re cooking, then use a meat thermometer to tell you when you’ve gone just far enough.