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First and foremost, think safety first. Successful grilling comes
from care and planning, not seeing how high you can make the flames
go!
Lighting The Fire
Be sure you have adequate ventilation wherever you are grilling to
remove deadly carbon monoxide that is formed by the fire. never grill
close to the house, a camper, under a patio or other structure. Place
the grill away from dry or dead grass, bushes and the house.
If you line your grill with heavy duty, foil it will reflect the
heat, thus speeding up cooking time and makes clean up easy. If the
bottom of the grill has vents, be sure to puncture the foil so air
can move through.
Form briquettes into a pyramid. Use ONLY charcoal lighter fluid to
start the fire, NEVER, NEVER use gasoline, alcohol or other highly
volatile fluids. Allow the briquettes to burn until they are covered
with a layer of gray ash in daylight or are glowing red at night.
This takes approximately 20 to 40 minutes.
If you are cooking fatty meats such as hamburger, user fewer coals to
keep the fire cool and reduce flare ups. use more briquettes when
grilling leaner cuts of meat.
Barbecuing Tips
Before putting food on the racks, spread the coals into a single
layer.
To test the temperature of the coals, hold your hand, palm down, at
cooking height. if you can hold it there only 2 - 3 seconds,
temperature is hot, above 375 degrees; for 4 seconds it's medium,
above 300; for 5 - 6 seconds it's low, above 200. To change the
temperature when needed, raise the cooking rack and/or spread out the
coals to lower the heat. To raise the heat, push the coals closer
together.
To keep flare ups to a minimum when cooking fatty meats, try tipping
the rack slightly so that the wires and drips off at the cool end of
the grill. To put out flare ups caused by dripping, raise the rack
and spread out the coals. Or remove the food and douse the flames
with water in a plastic pump-spray bottle.
About the Author: Amanda Formaro
is the mother of four children. She and her husband live in southeastern
Wisconsin. She is the owner of Family
Corner.com magazine.
Let's Get Cooking!
While there are many reasons for teaching kids to cook -- less expensive than eating out, preserves family heritage, etc, the most important
reason is that by teaching your child to cook, you're giving him a better chance to be a healthy grown-up. Enabling your child with the ability
to appreciate freshness and to transform ingredients into tasty foods opens their eyes to making wiser choices about what to eat...