It’s Memorial Day weekend in the United States and most folks are gearing up to break out the grills for the first time this year and fire them up for a barbeque in the backyard with friends and family. I cleaned up the backyard tonight and pulled the dusty cover off of my huge gas grill in preparation for this weekend. Tomorrow, I’ll clean it up real good, use a grill cleaning brick (made from lava stone) and hook up the gas tank and test it for leaks (this is very important!). Once that’s done, it’s time to oil it down and give it a test run with some burgers and grilled corn. Here’s a picture of my grill, it’s a Charmglow that I bought last year and I am very happy with it:
My Charmglow Grill
It’s important to clean your grill before cooking. While some believe that keeping some of the burnt food on the grill irons adds flavor, it’s simply not true. That will cause more headaches instead as food sticks to the burnt leftovers and chars the outside of the food before the inside is cooked, which forces you to keep it on longer, burning the outside even more. Make sure to oil down your grill before cooking on it as well so that food doesn’t stick and always remember – SAFETY FIRST!
Check out some of these great grilling tips from my site: Grilling Tips from Professional Recipes
On the menu this weekend, I’ve got:
- London Broil with a smoky mesquite marinade
- Grilled Corn on the Cob
- BBQ Chicken marinated in my near-famous barbeque sauce (not giving out that recipe yet)
- Steak and Shrimp Kabobs
- I might do these again this year too: Grilled Chicken with Walnut Sauce
Are you looking to try something different this year, like a gourmet hamburger? I might give these a try, from 2 chef friends of mine:
I wrote some posts last season as well for Memorial Day and Tips for Grilling in general and keeping the grill clean, check them out if you get a chance:
Memorial Day Weekend, so What’s Cooking on the Grill?
Grilling Tips for the Backyard Gourmet
I found this article today about enjoying wine at the backyard BBQ, check it out:
Burgers and Beyond, Wine Comes to the Barbecue
