PRE-HEATING THE GRILL

One of the most common mistakes guys make is not pre-heating the grill long enough. This is really important and makes a huge difference. Pre-heating will take about 15 minutes. You want to get the internal temperature up nice and high, about 500 degrees. Don't skimp and rush this process. Keep and eye on your thermometer and give it time. If you want the seared crust and grilled flavor, you have to cook over a high heat.

Once you get up to temperature it's easy to adjust the heat levels lower or turn one or two burners off for indirect grilling.

For indirect grilling, if you have a three-zone grill, set the left and right burners to medium leaving the centre burner off. For a two-zone grill, reduce the heat on one side to medium-high or medium, and turn the other side off. In both cases, adjust the temperature to be about 350 degrees inside. Place the food on the "off" zone.

For longer cooking times, or for "barbecuing", adjust the interior temperature a little lower, around 275 to 300 degrees.

Back to main Tips page