@Johnjoe0110: It's called "Shredded Wheat" in the US, and I honestly never thought of using it in burgers... Hmmm... there's one for next time.

@StrangeTikiGod: Thanks for the pineapple idea; it was a big hit.

HeartBurnKid

dunno if you can get it in the US, but 'Weetabix' is great for making burgers - crumble one into a couple of pounds of minced beef, add some sauteed chopped onion, form into burgers & grill... mmmm.

Johnjoe0110

I'm from Scotland and my girlfriend and I love to go camping and get the Webber smokey joe out. I think I'll be trying a few of the tips mentioned in the comments. Thanks guys.
I haven't heard of memorial day before but I think it's great you all get together and do something to mark the event.

hippytyre

Why was it so obvious?

NineTailedFox

@RonnyNussbaum:

It's simple. Why would a family meal be a terrible way of dishonoring members who've served?

I guess it's different when you're not serving because it's compulsory or whatever your experiences were, but I can't imagine someone who's served (especially overseas) thinking a meal with family and friends to be disrespectful.

It is insulting to hear someone refer to a shared holiday meal as "making something inside of you hurt".

>>"Clearly you weren't born in the USA"...eh...yeah...I said that in my comment.

I know you said that. I said "clearly" because it was obvious enough that you didn't even have to state it. Clearly you didn't get that.

AwesomeCheeseburger

@twins8791: hopefully this isn't too late, but here's a working link for the smoked pulled-pork.

[sofarthissummer.blogspot.com]

twins8791

I'll 2nd or 3rd the mixing ground pork (or other meat) in with the hamburger, adds a lot to the flavor. Another nice addition is a big cube of cheddar cheese right inside the middle of the burger.

tomanjeri

@AwesomeCheeseburger,

"Clearly you weren't born in the USA"...eh...yeah...I said that in my comment.

"..and it doesn't sound like you ever served in the military."
Actually, I served in the Israeli Air Force.

I would really like to know why you think that my comment were insulting... In what way?

RonnyNussbaum

As an OL Vegetarian I find the picture of a steak disgusting, especially on Lifehacker. I suppose not all geeks have studied the mass production and mass abuse of cattle.

YUCK!

DianaBoston

da5id_nz - that's right, hoss. Hot grill, if it's one inch+ beef, set it and leave it alone until juices start coming out the top ... that's the internal temperature doing it's magic pushing out fluids ... flip once, watch carefully, don't move it around and you're done.

Personally, I engage in heresy .... I roast my steaks briefly in a 375 oven, with a remote instant read thermometer jammed into the the thickest cut. When it goes off at 125 - 130 ... I pull'em out and slap'em briefly on a super hot grill. The meat chars beautifully on the outside, while just finishing off the internal temperature to 140 - 145. ABSOLUTELY essential to allow the meat to rest undisturbed on a plate or cutting board for 7-10 minutes to allow the proteins time to relax from being seared by fire. As these protein fibers relax, the meat takes on that wonderful velvety texture and reabsorbs the juices. Pork, hot dogs and chicken are different matters altogether, and Long Live Beer Can Chicken!

And RonnyNussbaum ... I understand what you mean. Thank you for thinking so well of our custom to honor our military dead. Many, many, many of us are hurt as well that a sacred custom is degraded by SALES! But this is America, and we're a free nation ... and freedom is messy. Gotta be room for all kinds. If you are moved to revere our honored dead, please, pay no attention to the commercial crassness that accompanies these moments.

BlackFlag55

@edosan:

"Do you mean to say that there is a time of year that you stop grilling?"

My sentiments exactly. I live in Wisconsin and I don't let a little cold weather stop me from grilling. After Memorial Day is when the amateurs come out.

JonathanB

@CMPalmer:
Who needs to torrent Good Eats or read Brown's books when we've got you.

AwesomeCheeseburger

@RonnyNussbaum:
Clearly you weren't born in the USA and it doesn't sound like you ever served in the military. There is little more than quality time with family and friends that soldiers and veterans want more on Memorial day. Lord knows seeing my family was at the top of my list when I wanted to get back home.

I certainly find your comment much more insulting than spending time with my family over a BBQ.

AwesomeCheeseburger

I've never really been much of a griller, but a guy at my work uses the method of getting the grill really hot, throwing on the steak and knowing the first side is done when the blood starts coming to the surface - that's the time to turn it over (only turn it the once), then do the other side..

da5id_nz

Salt, Salt, Salt lesser cuts of beef.

T'ain't never worked for this ol' boy. I raise my own beef, an Angus/Hereford mix. Grass fed, corn finished. Not many, just enough for family and to pay some bills. I've eaten a lot of dairy cows that were marketed as butcher meat, and blech! is the best I can say. A lot of supermarket beef is dairy breeds masquerading as butcher meats. Real steak house beef is raised to be just that, and costs more.

I've tried this salting method a number of times on lesser cuts from my own herd just to see what the shouting was about, and if it's a lesser cut, it's still a lesser cut when it gets to the table. Dry aging always works, but you've got to know what you're doing. But the salting method ... I've read glowing statements about it, but the end result has always been a lesser cut that is tough to eat.

BTW - as to marinade, the right beef doesn't need it. But ... if you've just got to marinate, you must try a FoodSaver vacuum sealer for the absolute best marinade. Meat in bag, marinade in, seal bag with vacuum. The vacuum forces the marinade down between the muscle fiber and truly penetrates the meat.

BlackFlag55

Making your own sauce is one of the best tips on here. The last time we grilled, my wife made a steak sauce that was absolutely amazing.

Wubbytoes

@edosan: Amen to that. Grilling and barbecuing are always in season.

kirby822

Here's a tip that can be used and combined with basically all other recipes that make a good food compliment with steak: Marinate the steak ahead of time using wine (i prefer any red, but I'm sure you can get some interesting flavors with white). I'd say anything from 3 hours before you cook, to overnight. Just fill up a non-metallic container with your steaks preseasoned if you wish, then leave them in soaking in wine. Makes for extrememly juicy steaks when grilled or broiled. Ignore the red color of your steaks because that is just the red wine that has soaked in. If you don't believe me just eat your steak next to some mashed potatoes and you'll see the mashed potaoes start turning purple from the juice of the steaks As for seasoning I also use Jack Daniel's BBQ sauce as my largest base, but then add brown sugar, mustard, and anything else that can make for a unique flavor. Mustard I would say is key though (not a whole lot, but maybe as much as you would conservatively put on a hot dog per steak), because the end flavor has the kick of mustard without the acrid taste (I hate mustard normally, only use it for cooking meats). After Preheating, I would leave the steak on the grill for no more than 15 minutes, probably a 10 minute minimum, same goes for broiling.

YolandaEpaphus

Please get some new stock photos, that beef looks terrible.

inboulder1

i've never done this before, but i'll do a little self promotion. i put up a blog entry with step-by-step instruction for slow smoking a pork butt on a weber kettle grill.

[russgoerend.blogspot.com]

and i can't say enough how great a tool a charcoal chimney is. do yourself a favor and get one.

twins8791

@RhymePhile: yea, me too... mmmmmmmm

baldingnerd

I learned my best grilling tip from Alton Brown - for the best steaks, choose good quality meat and cook it as fast as possible. Lean beef with a little marbeling is "done" as soon as it reaches the target temperature, it doesn't require extended cooking times (although other parts of different meats do - larger fat deposits, connective tissues, and other gross things break down and become more tender with extended cooking).

Although I am a gas grill heathen, my technique is this:

Choose thick, high quality meat - our favorites are 1.5-2" thick Angus rib-eyes, tri-tips cut into long tapered chunks about 3" in diameter on the thick end, or t-bones (although they are harder to get done around the bone).

Make sure the meat is at room temperature before grilling - cold steaks will be burned on the outside before the inside gets medium-rare.

About 15-30 minutes before cooking, season both sides of the meat with kosher salt, black pepper, and rosemary and a thin smear of olive oil. For tri-tips, season more and add some no-salt spicy seasoning/rub. You can also add a bit of garlic or steep crushed garlic in the oil and apply the garlic/oil paste.

Turn your grill on the highest setting. On mine, this is the "ignite" or "burn off grill" setting. Just "High" isn't enough. Let the grill pre-heat with the lid closed until the grill rack is glowing red (seriously). About half-way through the pre-heat, scrub the grill clean (it's much easier on a hot grill).

Get a kitchen timer or stop watch and bring the steaks out to the grill.

Open the lid, slap the steaks down, close the lid and start timing. After 90 seconds, open the grill, turn the steaks 90 degrees and close the lid again. Ignore any flameups or smoke.

After 90 seconds, open up and turn the steaks over. Close the lid. 90 seconds later, open and turn the steaks 90 degrees (the turning gives them perfect cross-hatched grill marks). 90 seconds later, the steaks will have been on the heat for 6 minutes total and will be rare-to-medium rare (depending on the thickness).

For tri-tips or very thick steaks, move them all to one side of the grill and turn off the burners on that side. Leave the other side (with no meat over it) on the highest setting. Close the lid and them them roast in indirect heat for 5-6 more minutes.

Remove the steaks to a wire resting rack and let them rest for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

For the tri-tips, after resting, take a sharp knife and cut them into 1/4" thick "disks" for serving. You put more seasonings on the outside of them because the ratio of meat surface area to spicy edge is greater. They are perfect as-is or you can serve them with some prepared horseradish (grated horseradish and sour cream).

The pre-salting and seasoning brings out the outer layer of juices so that the meat browns perfectly. The high heat drives moisture into the meat and the outside layer (aided by the pre-seasoning, oil, and searing) prevents moisture from escaping. These cooking times yield a perfect medium to medium rare steak. If you want it more done, increase the on-heat cooking times slightly or the indirect heat roasting times or use thinner cuts of meat. They will be perfect.

It seems counter-intuitive, but the higher the heat, the more moist the steaks will be because they will reach the temperature when the lean meat's proteins cook quicker, before the moisture can leave and before the continued heat starts carbonizing the already cooked portions.

If you are doing this with charcoal, put the grill down as close to the coals as you can and cook them when the coals are at their peak heat.

CMPalmer

"Memorial Day marks the start of the serious grilling season..."

Do you mean to say that there is a time of year that you stop grilling?

edosan

An excellent trick for hamburgers to have them hold together is mix in one egg (or two if you're cooking a lot) with the hamburger before you form the patties.

mohnkern

@RonnyNussbaum: Personally, my dad was a Vietnam vet (he didn't die there, but he did serve), and he loved to grill. I can think of no better way to honor his memory than to break out the old grill and char something.

HeartBurnKid

@HeartBurnKid: Pineapple spears are also great for grilling; just skin it, quarter it, and take a little bit of the insides out to get the woody core out of the way. Great with caramel sauce, too, or just mix some pineapple juice with a little sugar and reduce until it's a nice thick sauce.

StrangeTikiGod

My personal tip: After you've cooked your burgers, steaks, veggies, what have you, use the leftover heat to make a little dessert. Cut some peaches, plums, nectarines, or similar fruits in half lengthwise and remove the pit. Brush the cut side with honey and place on the grill. Grill each side for about 5-10 minutes or until soft. Top with whipped cream or a spoonful of vanilla yogurt.

HeartBurnKid

@Leah: With asparagus, on top of the seasonning you've put, I suggest a dash of lemon juice and a light sprinkle of parmesan (real Parmigiano-Reggiano in a brick, if you can find it).

Guizzy

Seriously, for a website that's all about finding clever ways to improve things, I can't believe you didn't mention the very best way to determine when your meat is properly cooked: temperature. Go out to your nearest cooking supply store and buy a good instant-read thermometer. Use the information in this article to find temperature information for beef (use the lower temperatures). For chicken aim for 165 degrees to be completely safe. For lamb, go a little cooler than beef, say 5 degrees cooler. No more guesswork - you'll know precisely when your meat is cooked to the proper degree of doneness. And don't forget to let the meat rest for a few minutes after it comes off the grill before cutting into it.

If you're looking for a real "lifehack", you can use the real "rule of thumb": poke the meat, then touch your right index finger to your right thumb, then use your left hand to poke the muscle at the base of your right thumb. Does the meat feel as soft as that muscle? Then it's cooked rare. For medium rare, touch your middle finger to your thumb, for medium, use your ring finger and for well-done your pinky.

Fishyfish

As a meat eater that has grilled for vegetarians in the past, I would also say that if you want to have a truly awesome BBQ then give the non-meaties some credit and don't just think throwing some Portobello mushrooms or (shudder) Boca Burgers on the grill will appease them. Try marinating sliced tempeh in something oily and spicy the night before and grilling that on a seperate section of the grill away from the meat (they'll appreciate that). Tempeh is nice because it takes up only a little space. Also, grill plenty of ACTUAL VEGGIES. Sliced zuchinni and squash in olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper is good. Peppers too. True grillmasters have BBQs that even vegetarians want to come to.

SaudaminiAmyntor

If you're into grilling seafood, grab some cedar paper (as opposed to cedar planks which can be hard to find) at the grocery store and wrap some salmon steaks in them after sprinkling with your own mixture of seasons... cedar paper is awesome and the taste is nice.

GA TechWriter

I recommend doing up some veggies in addition to the meat. Last night, I grilled up broccoli and asparagus and received rave reviews at the barbecue I attended. I just cut up the veggies (keep asparagus in shoots, and try to keep the broccoli in long spears) and put them back into their produce bag. Then, I poured in some olive oil, sea salt, and ground pepper and let it all sit for about 10-15 minutes.

I grilled the large broccoli pieces and asparagus directly on the grill, and I used a piece of foil for the smaller broccoli pieces. Super delicious!

You can also roast bell peppers on the grill. Just remove the sticker, washer, and put directly on. They're done when they feel mushy.

Leah

For a full walk-through of proper charcoal-grilling buffalo steak or burgers, I did a recent write up over at [moody-cat.blogspot.com] Very simple and works very consistently.

NNeko

@peoples31: For phenomenal burgers, mix some ground pork in with the beef. If you're feeling adventurous, add a little veal or venison.

Gann

Oh man, yeah! I was thinking about this subject for a while but for some reason didn't think I would find the answers on Lifehacker. Wicked!!

daving

You might want to mention that when salting the steaks, you want to rinse the salt off before you pat them dry. Otherwise it's entirely too salty.

oldredhat

The marinade is almost the most important part. As mentioned above, marinading requires 2 hours minimum; overnight is best. If it is less than 2 hours, it really is just saucing, not marinading.

My base marinade works well with chicken, beef, or pork.

I marinade in zip-lock baggies as it takes alot of the mess out of the equation. You have to have enough marinade to absolutely cover all the meat. I use about 2/3 Oil (usually half canola, half olive) and 1/3 vinegar. I usually use white or balsamic vinegar depending on what flavor I am going for. The vinegar is the trick. It helps break down the tissue of even the toughest cuts of meat. If you are worried about the meat tasting 'vinegary', don't worry it cooks out. After that add whatever seasoning you want.

For steaks I add freshly chopped garlic, Lawry's Seasoned Salt, and Worcestershire sauce.

For chicken and pork I usually add teriyaki or soy sauce or both.

I also will sometimes use fat-free Italian dressing for those times I want leftovers for Caeser salads and sandwiches or such. The fat-free Dressing tends to cling to the meat a lot better.

jaaydn

@RonnyNussbaum: @RonnyNussbaum:
I agree with Gina. It's not that we celebrate our fallen soldiers by cooking meat, but that Memorial Day is generally considered the start of summer (even though that technically comes a month later, but we're impatient and are not going to wait until late June to fire up some burgers).

Brad N.

I disagree with the article's opinion that no "off the shelf" sauces are worthy of a home grilled steak. I put Kikkoman sauce on all of my grilling creations.

Kikkoman Steak Sauce: [kikkoman.elsstore.com]
is the most incredibly delicious steak sauce I have ever tasted. Beats the pants of off A1, Newman's Own, and any of the others. I wish it wasn't so hard to find in the grocery store.

For chicken and fish, try a mix of Teriyaki and Ponzu sauce. Before I put the chicken breasts on the grill I score them a bit with a knife and pour Ponzu sauce on them, then I baste on some Teriyaki. It's excellent on chicken and removes any fishy taste from the fish.

Dom

I keep a little spray bottle of water handy, to quench flareups.

It's pretty for flickr shots, but try to avoid what is happening in that first pic above; setting your food (esp steaks) on fire isn't grilling, that's called playing. Heat cooks food, not flames.

savvy999

Man, now I want a hamburger, potato salad, and some corn on the cob. Damn.

RhymePhile

Kevin - Nice job on the article and thanks for using my steak photo. One of the exciting things about grilling is that it doesn't matter if you are divided between gas and charcoal, Weber Kettles and Big Green Eggs (Forge42, they are amazing!), or North Carolina and South Carolina pulled pork, you are in it for the fun. It is something everyone can experience and everyone can do.

Oh yeah, and for another way of "beefing" up your Memorial Day burgers, add in another type of ground beef (pork, lamb, or bison) to your ground chuck along with some fresh herbs!

Mike

APP

Any grilling article that doesn't mention the Big Green Egg [[www.biggreenegg.com]] is hardly a grilling article at all.

That thing is amazing.

No, I don't work for them! :P

Forge42

Grilling (and cooking in general) is one of the few non-geek things I do well. I'm charcoal all the way, and I've got a decent two-level barrel-type grill. A few things:

1. I've found that having a small cast-iron skillet is super-handy, esp. for things that either (a) fall apart, (b) drip a lot, or (c) anything fish-related, since that will corrupt the rest of the food.

2. Keep a can of non-stick spray on the grilling table. After each round, do a quick scrap and spray. That'll keep the surface going strong all day.

3. Add more coals during a lull in the action, as to not lose your heat mid-grill.

4. By all means, make your own sauce and marinade. It's simple beyond belief, and everyone thinks you're a genius for doing it.

5. Make sure to let your marinades work for a few hours, minimum (I like overnight). A helpful hint: adding some carbonated beverage (beer, Coke, seltzer water) to the marinade helps. Much like salt, the carbonation will help open the meat to absorb more flavor.

Norcross

@RonnyNussbaum: Memorial Day marks something much more important and somber than the start of the grilling season, for sure. But it's commonly regarded as the start of summer, hence Kevin's lede, which wasn't meant to be disrespectful or flip in any way.

Gina Trapani

I should reveal my super-secret (ok, not so secret) steak sauces/marinades, but the Lifehacker bunch seems trustworthy. Although... Well, most of you are probably americans; so my suggestions are probably wasted. You guys have a tendency to seriously overcook your steaks...

Anyway, for most normal steak cuts, it's as simple as this:
In a generous amount of olive oil (extra virgin), add a few dashes of Tabasco sauce, then steak spices until it's maybe 2/3rds spices 1/3rd olive oil. Coat your steaks, and keep coating back while grilling.

For flap meat/bavette I go for a different sauce:
Dijon mustard, olive oil, horseradish. Mix, coat, grill, coat then eat.

Guizzy

I wasn't born in the US, and I'm always amazed at how much Memorial Day is belittled by department store sales, special car sales, and now: grilling.

I didn't lose anyone to war, thankfully, but I still find it extremely inappropriate and insulting to those who did.

I don't want to be a party pooper, but when I read the sentence: "Memorial Day marks the start of the serious grilling season..." something inside me hurt.

-Ronny

RonnyNussbaum

quick marinade for steaks, lil bit of fresh crushed black pepper, kosher salt (good amount of), 1 or 2 oz of shiner bock, fresh stick of rosemary, dashes of worstesheire, dash of onion powder and dash of standard steak seasoning, toss in bag let it sit in fridge for 30 min and your golden!

rimp69

Peoples31 is right. The hamburger flavor is in the fat; buy ground chuck as opposed to ground round or ground sirloin. My butcher counter grinds their meat once, sometimes twice a day on site. Better taste and safer.

Use lump charcoal because it burns hotter (up to 900 degrees); for this reason alone, gas is inadequate. With practice, you can learn to control cooking speeds on charcoal-fired grills.

Lighting lump charcoal is pretty darned simple if you get a charcoal chimney or an electric BBQ starter (basically a big wand-like electric coil). One additional benefit to the charcoal chimney: you can start up a second batch of charcoal to eventually add to the existing coals without significantly reducing the temperature.

If you want to burn off the grill crud, wrap up the grill in aluminum foil and throw it onto a super-hot fire (gas barely does it) and put the lid on. This will carbonize the bits into grey ash (just like the self-cleaning oven cycle), but it takes 5-10 minutes, tops.

Learn two-level grilling (i.e., pile up all the charcoal to one side so you can either grill over the flame, or away from it).

Do not buy BBQ grill brushes. Go to the paint section of the hardware store and get some wire-bristled paint scrapers. Cheaper, more durable, and better looking.

Have fun making your own sauces and marinades. This also lets you buy larger cuts of meat several days before the event.

If you use ketchup (as a condiment or part of a marinade), get the organic stuff. It makes a big difference, tastewise. Really.

And since this article ignores this: grill a lot of veggies. Squashes & zucchini, green onions (be careful about the heat), portobello mushroom caps, asparagus, eggplants (pre-steamed), onions (pre-steamed).

If you are roasting peppers, do these at the beginning when the grill is insanely hot and char the heck out of them. Put the blackened peppers in a bowl and seal with plastic wrap (or a lid). They will easily peel ten minutes later after steaming.

Master BBQ fundamentals before you invite a dozen people for your Memorial Day barbecue.

Deprong Mori

Another secret for marinating chicken: stab/poke holes all over. This helps the sauces seep thru the skin into the meat when you're leaving it to marinate (preferably overnight).

QuidoGel

Good article. I would like to add that if you are going to BBQ a chicken, soak it in a brine solution for 24 hours. I used the brine in this recipe [www.cooking.com] once and the turkey was amazing.

Also, if you have a good amount of advance prep time, do not over-salt your steak. Instead, dry age at home with a little bit of salt. The third response in this thread [www.chowhound.com] will give you decent results. It does not specify to use salt, but I always sprinkle on a bit of kosher salt prior to dropping the meat in a fridge as the salt will help pull out moisture during the process.

jonny6pak

i already am the everyday grill master! mesquite charcoal is the best, not the fake crap in little perfect squares. Open pit. with some wood (of your choice) used to smoke... BAM! Er, wait, that's Emeril, BOOm!

drsphincter

Three words: BEER CAN CHICKEN! MMmmmm nummy!

mshortri

mmmmm.... meat.

chriskraft

For burgers, the more fat percentage the better they will be.

Also, I prefer lump charcoal, but if you use briquettes, just make sure they are not the "easy light" ones with lighter fluid or other chemicals because that will easily ruin the flavor.

peoples31

I think Shredded Wheat is different...

Weetabix (UK): [scruss.com]

Shredded Wheat (UK): [www.dkimages.com]

The former is flakier, the latter stringier. Either could work in burgers, though, I think...

NineTailedFox