Do your hot dogs look more like rock dogs after you cook them on the grill? Hamburgers look and taste like hockey pucks? Are you fed up with feeding your family hams and hots that would make Fred Flintstone cringe? Of all the things that you can choose to throw on the grill, hamburgers and hot dogs have the aura of being the easiest and most traditional meats to cook. By following some simple techniques, you can achieve your dream of having your kids’ thank you and call you the grill master (or the grill goddess) that you always wanted to be.
Start With the Fire
Cooking over a fire requires a little bit of knowledge. You must understand that meat cooked over a direct flame will cook faster than meat cooked over an indirect flame. Also, the hotter the fire, the quicker the meat will cook; on the outside, at least. With a hot dog, the worst that can happen is a black dog that is cold in the middle. While gross, it won’t really hurt you if you eat it. But in the case of a hamburger, you’ll end up with a blackened burger that still registers below the safe-cooking temperature if you aren’t careful. That can make you sick! So your fire must be hot enough to cook your meat, but low enough to keep it from charring. On a gas grill, you can simply regulate the temperature gage and keep it medium or low, depending on your grill. For a charcoal grill, spread your coals over half of the grill, leaving the other half empty. Place you meat over the empty side of the grill and you’ll get an indirect heat that will cook your food without burning it to a crisp.
Good Meat
There are many brands of hot dogs out there and you may have a family favorite already. From all-beef to turkey, cheese-filled to jalapeño, the flavor possibilities are endless. As long as you pick the brand and flavor that your family likes best and follow our expert grilling tips, you can’t go wrong.
As for hamburgers, there are frozen patties and there are fresh patties. Some are actually pre-cooked, but most are raw. There are turkey burgers and veggie burgers and even salmon burgers. Again, pick the type of meat that your family likes the best and go from there. Thaw it out if frozen, form it into patties if bought in bulk. But before you throw it on the grill; you have to season your meat so be sure to give it a sprinkle of flavor such as one of our
BBQ BROS rubs. From the south to the west, there is a flavor that is just right for your barbeque burger. Once you have the burger formed and rubbed, follow the low heat, or indirect heat, instructions and grill away.
Don’t Leave Them!
By all means, keep an eye on your meat.
While there are some meats that can be cooked for a long time on low heat, hamburgers and hot dogs demand your attention. They can char quickly, even if you are careful about your heat, and you must be there to save them if they catch on fire. Be ever watchful to avoid a burned mess.
Do your hot dogs look more like rock dogs after you cook them on the grill? Hamburgers look and taste like hockey pucks? Are you fed up with feeding your family hams and hots that would make Fred Flintstone cringe? Of all the things that you can choose to throw on the grill, hamburgers and hot dogs have the aura of being the easiest and most traditional meats to cook. By following some simple techniques, you can achieve your dream of having your kids’ thank you and call you the grill master (or the grill goddess) that you always wanted to be.
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