Super Bowl Sunday is a time for football, friends, occasionally creative commercials, and food, lots of food. But firing up the grill on a February afternoon isn’t exactly the same as cooking out on the Fourth of July.
With two-thirds of grill owners planning to utilize their gas or charcoal grills for the big game, Super Bowl Sunday is the most popular grilling day of the winter.
To make sure you’re able to easily add those burgers, wings, hot dogs, and brats to the menu this weekend, our colleagues down the hall at Consumer Reports compiled a set of cold-weather grilling tips for the pro and novice griller alike.
Perform A Grill Check: Because grilling in cold weather takes longer than it does in warm weather, you want to make sure you have enough fuel on hand for all that food. Additionally, make sure your grill isn’t covered in snow and that the knobs and lid aren’t frozen shut.
Exercise Patience: Properly preheating your grill in the winter is a must. Although that can take longer, it means that food won’t stick to the grates.
Protect Yourself: Just because the grill is warm, doesn’t mean you will be. CR suggests that grill masters bundle up against the elements; choose warm gloves that allow full movement so you don’t drop those spatulas and tongs.
Keep A Lid On It: Letting the heat escape from your grill can prolong the cooking time during the winter. For this reason, CR suggests only opening the grill lid when absolutely necessary.
Plan A Quick Cleanup: You don’t want to spend more time outside than necessary, so a quick cleanup is important. The best time to clean your grill is when it’s still hot so take the time to brush food detritus off the racks.
Check out Consumer Reports for more cold-weather tips, including how to ensure your meat is cooked to perfection and ratings for the best grills on the market.
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist
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