If you’ve recently purchased a new grill, or even if you’ve been grilling for years, you’ll find that you’re always in pursuit of better flavor.
Grilling is one of the most flavorful ways to cook, but some techniques and steps are needed to get the best results.
If your food isn’t impressing you or your guests, it’s time to start doing things differently.
You’ll get more flavorful food when you follow our helpful tips.
Sear Your Meat for Better Flavor on a Gas Grill
The art of delicious food is all in the cooking time and heat.
Taking the time to understand your grill and how it interacts with your ingredients will result in better meals, every time.
If you aren’t searing your meat, then you’re not getting the most out of your grill.
Searing caramelizes the outside of your food and creates a delicious texture and flavor that you’ll crave every time you fire up the burners.
Searing Is Easy Once You Know What To Do
- Turn your burner or burners to the highest setting and close the hood.
- Let the grill get up to temperature, before placing your steak, burgers, or other ingredients directly above the flame.
- Sear for one minute on each side to create an appetizing brown crust.
- Turn down the heat for normal cooking and finish your ingredients off as you normally would.
Searing results in juicier food that has a more appetizing texture and flavor.
Use a Marinade, Rub, or Add sauce While Cooking
It also helps to flavor your food before or during cooking.
Marinating is popular for steak, pork, chicken, and other types of meat and fish.
A simple marinade can go a long way.
A classic marinade includes chopped garlic, soy sauce, salt, and pepper.
Some people marinate with ketchup and soy sauce, while others prefer zestier flavors like lemon and pepper.
Your marinate ingredients are entirely up to you.
The key is that the flavors work well together and that the meat is fully covered and left to rest for at least one hour in the fridge before bringing it back to room temperature and grilling.
Rubs also work well.
A classic BBQ rub includes black pepper, brown sugar, salt, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and cayenne pepper.
The rub can be applied to the meat that has been dried with a paper towel.
Mix your dry spices to taste and coat all sides of the meat. Rubs can be left to rest on meat in an airtight bag or container in the fridge, before bringing back to room temperature and grilling.
Store-bought rubs and marinades also work well.
You can also apply BBQ sauce while cooking. Use a cooking brush to coat each side of your ingredients when turning.
You’ll need to cook at a lower temperature when using rubs and sauces that contain sugar, because it will quickly caramelize and burn, creating undesirable bitter flavors.
Add Smoke for New and Complex Flavors
Finally, we come to one of our favorite ways to add flavor to a gas grill.
If you want complex and interesting flavors, you can add smoke inside the firebox.
You’ll need either a grill with an integrated smoker or a smoker box like this Grillaholics Top Meat Smokers Box.
You can use wood chips or pellets inside a smoker box.
Popular options include Oak, Maple, Apple, and Mesquite.
However you add flavor, you’ve now got some great ideas to work with.
Home grilling is all about preference and experimentation.
Try our flavoring suggestions and find one that works for you.
Your ingredients will be more flavorful than ever before, and you’ll get inspired with new ideas every time you cook.