When it comes to grilling the choices are many – charcoal, gas, wood, electric – each method has it’s fans and many a battle has been fought over which is the best. Some folks even have more than one grill, using charcoal for BBQ and gas grills for everything else. The options are endless. One thing almost everyone can agree on is that grilled food tastes great – grilling lets the true flavor of the meat, fish or poultry take center stage and grilled food is generally easier and less time consuming to prepare.

 When you serve grilled food the entire meal and pace of the event can be more relaxed – most grilled foods are quite forgiving and do not require precision preparation and presentation. Meat in particular tastes much better when it has been allowed to “rest” – this means that after cooking, you let the meat sit  for as little as ten and as many as 25 minutes. This allows the meat to retain the succulent juices, rich flavor, and moisture that is otherwise left on the cutting board if you cut and serve it too soon.

It can be tempting to slice and serve meat while it’s hot – set the knife aside for at least ten minutes and you will find the meat easier to slice and far less “runny” because the juices have been reabsorbed. Searing meat, fish and poultry helps to retain flavor and moisture and is one of the secrets to grilling success regardless of your grilling weapon of choice. Another handy grilling secret is to use olive oil on vegetables and fruits – this keeps them from sticking to the grill basket and helps to seal in flavor. Spray olive oil or vegetable oil is handy for any metal surface which may come in contact with the grill.