There is a photo of one of the first times Torey Smith entered a restaurant kitchen. At the time, he wasn’t thinking, “I’d like to run one of these someday.”He wasn’t cooking the food or serving customers.Now that it’s officially summer, it’s time to ready that grill for the biggest barbecue day of the year.
Next Sunday is July 4, and 80 percent of adults say they plan to host or attend a cookout, according to the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association.
So what are people planning to cook?
Burgers (85 percent) are the top choice, followed by steak (80 percent), hot dogs (79 percent) and chicken (73 percent).
We can’t forget about the toppings. Ketchup is the top topping while mustard is second.
Here are some grill tips:
•For charcoal grills, never use gasoline, kerosene or highly volatile fluids as a starter. Use an electric, solid, metal chimney or other starter specifically made for lighting charcoal briquettes or wood chunks.
•Feel the heat: To tell the temperature of a charcoal fire, carefully hold your hand, palm side down, just above the cooking grid. If you can keep it there for five seconds, the heat is low, four seconds, the heat is medium. Three is medium-hot. Two or one is hot.
•Make sure you have enough propane, cooking wood and/or charcoal for the cookout, so the fireworks don’t fizzle out early.
•Before lighting the grill, apply non-stick spray on the grates. The protective spray cuts down the clean-up time afterward.
•Squirt grease-cutting dishwashing detergent on grill and grates (once cool). Scrub with brush or abrasive pad, then rinse. Repeat as necessary.
