HolySmokes BBQ & Catering
Cooking Tips
To be a successful grill master, it takes two things: confidence and patience.  These 2
essential ingredients, combined with some of the helpful suggestions and tips below,
will help to launch you on your way to becoming a better and more confident grill cook.
  • Always use a properly calibrated, instant-read thermometer to tell the doneness of
    your meats. Never cut into them to check for doneness.
  • Always cook with the lid of your grill closed.  Steaks, burgers, chicken and larger
    pieces of fish need "oven time".  Only cook small pieces of meat or fish with the lid
    open.
  • Let your meat rest at least 5 minutes before serving or carving.  This allows the
    muscle to relax after its intense meeting with the flame.
  • Save basting with sauce until the last few minutes of cooking time.  Basting too
    early can cause the sauce to caramelize or burn long before the meat is done
    cooking.
  • Don't marinate in heavy sticky sauces.  The sauce or marinade will surely burn
    before your meat is near being done.  Use fresh garlic, onions, herbs, beer, wine or
    booze, or salts and peppers with very little oil, to impart flavor to your foods before
    cooking.
  • Always finish chicken, burgers, dogs and steaks using indirect heat.  After you
    seared on both sides, shut off the flame under your food.  Let the opposite side,
    heat the cooking chamber.
  • When preparing your food for the grill, lightly oil your food using an aerosol
    vegetable or olive oil to apply to your food.  Too much oil on your food will cause
    excessive flare ups, and a black sooty finish on your food.
  • Oil applied to any protein before grilling is merely used to help transfer heat from
    the grill to your food.  It literally allows a more even heat transfer from the grill
    and the cooking surface to your meats.
  • Always season your food with salt and pepper.  You use less and get more flavor
    from freshly ground black pepper than previously ground.  Diamond Crystal
    Kosher Salt, has the lowest amount of sodium per serving than any other kosher
    salt I have found yet.  Use it liberally and notice the difference.
  • Consult your favorite cookbooks for recipes and cooking doneness temperatures.  
    Remember recipes are merely guidelines to help you achieve a product someone else
    thinks is great.  Cooking methods on the other hand are usually the real keys to a
    successful BBQ.
  • Remember to practice cooking all year on your grill.  Just because Labor Day comes
    doesn't mean its time to put the grill away.
  • Always remember to keep the surface of your grill clean.  This will avoid any
    residual build-up from getting on your food.
HolySmokes BBQ & Catering
845.224.4147                      Sean Munk Chef/Owner            www.HolySmokes.biz