My name is Jerry, I have been barbecuing since the Reagan administration. Before my barbecue awakening, I knew of only two ways to cook outdoors: 

Pre-barbecue awakening, the author charred hotdogs on the campfire. 

1. Over an open campfire using forked sticks to suspend hot dogs or marshmallows charred often beyond the point of combustion. 
2. On a searing hot natural gas grill to quickly prepare frozen hamburger patties. 

One day through friends, I learned a method for cooking chicken leg quarters. It involved using soaked hickory chips on a charcoal fire in a Weber ® 22” kettle grill. So began my barbecue wanderlust. Currently the proud owner of 6 different outdoor grills, I rotate like a pitching staff and have my eye on a wood-fired oven. 

10 Tips to Successful Barbecue 

1. Season in advance

Before you light your grill, liberally season your uncooked foods with your favorite herbs and  spices as they warm to room temperature.   A thin coat of vegetable oil brushed on the surface of foods can prevent drying out over a fire and help spices adhere.

2. Use wood

True BBQ flavor does not come in a bottle. It requires food be cooked over wood. To cook or merely grill food, all you need is heat.  To truly Barbecue, you need the magic flavor of wood. It’s best for flavor if you choose lump charcoal, charcoal briquettes, or wood pellets to heat your grill or smoker.  If you have only a gas grill, you can add woodchips in a foil packet or place your food on an untreated cedar shingle for impressive results. 

3. Avoid lighter fluid

In addition to the danger of handling flammable liquids, lighter fluid residue imparts terrible flavor that is impossible to overlook…or forget….ever.  Use a charcoal chimney ignited with crumpled paper, fire starter cubes, a propane starter or electric coil to ignite your fuel.  Let the fuel become fully ignited before introducing your food.  Avoid adding your food until thick smoke or flame subsides as it may impart a burnt flavor. 

4. Clean your grill

Use a stiff wire brush or a wad of foil as the grill heats to clean your grill. Do it again immediately after you remove food while surfaces are still hot.

5. Position your food

Do not grill immediately over your heat source. Instead, move your fire to the sides of the grill and place your foods in the center of the grill grate. This indirect cooking technique allows you to use heat from convection to more gradually  cook your food and thus impart more smokey flavor to your foods before they are cooked to the point of doneness.  

Light one end of a charcoal snake for long-cooking large meats like pork shoulders or beef briskets.

6. Apply low heat slowly

To achieve a low, slow barbecue, use a covered grill and closely monitor your internal grill temperatures by attending your fire.  Different recipes call for different sustained temperatures.  Use a grill with a reliable thermometer and learn to adjust your heat by widening or narrowing vents to control oxygen flow to fuel your fire.  If air cannot draw in through the bottom and out of the cover, then the fire will be snuffed out and the grill will cool.

7. Gather around the fire and socialize

As long as you’ll be watching the fire, invite friends to join you in the time-honored tradition of outdoor cooking.  Share stories, listen to music, play songs, play lawn games and enjoy the outdoor beauty.  

Only lift the lid to add fuel, flip foods or check for doneness.

8. Trust the time and temperature

Every time you lift the lid of your grill, temperature is lost, and cooking time is added.  Only lift the lid to add fuel, flip foods or check for doneness. Use an insta-read Thermometer to probe the thickest parts of your food to determine if your food is safe to eat.  As you gain experience, you will notice telltale signs of when food is done to your liking. It’s important to note that cooking on wood can impart surface color to your food while the interior is still underdone.

9. Sugar burns over a hot fire

So, be sure to add your sweet bbq sauces in the last twenty minutes to help set the sauce on your food but avoid excessive burning and charring.

10. Be green

Burning fuel adds green house gasses to the atmosphere. Since barbecued foods often freeze wonderfully, cook in large batches and freeze leftovers for a quick delicious meal.  (In my experience, leftover barbecue is often as good, if not better than when consumed immediately.) Additionally, don’t burn more fuel than you need. Once you’re done cooking, tightly close the grill vents to extinguish the fire and save fast-starting fuel that can be used the next time you ignite your grill. Cold charcoal ashes also make a wonderful addition to a compost pile. 

BBQ part of a healthy lifestyle

Now that you’ve learned barbecue basics, you need recipes to show off your skills. For a quick weeknight barbecue, here’s 5 Healthy and Easy Chicken Marinades. If you’re a meat lover, for special occasions, treat yourself with the following rib recipe from Crispy Green’s Sheri Feldman. Sheri shows in Turning a weight loss journey into lifelong healthy habits that everything is life in moderation is part of a healthy lifestyle. Her rib recipe is easy to make and worth the effort. 

Sheri’s Rib Recipe

Sheri applies BBQ sauce in the last stage of cooking.

-Jerry Edwards

The author grew up in North Carolina but has been honing his backyard barbecuing for hungry family and friends across America since the Reagan administration.  The fire department has been mistakenly summoned by neighbors two times thus far.