Get The Summer Season Fired Up With These Expert Grilling Tips

We’ve got some sage advice on cooking outdoors just in time for the Memorial Day weekend. Let’s get lit!

Start seasoning

For the best tasting meats and veggies on the grill, chef Trey Lamont from The Jerk Shack in Seattle suggests building layers of flavor.

“The most important thing to understand is that you season throughout the whole process,” Lamont said in a recent phone interview.

One of his go-to seasoning blends — his famous jerk rub — is available through Tom Douglas’s Rub with Love. That tasty collaboration that began during the early days of the pandemic when executive chef and managing partner Eric Tanaka approached Lamont about helping get his seasoning to his fans. Thanks for sharing!

When preparing protein and/or veggies, Lamont suggests sprinkling salt first on meat or seafood and then adding seasoning. For veggies, coat in oil before adding the seasoning. “Then, you’ll season the food again when it hits the grill. When some of that seasoning touches the flame, it toasts the seeds away from the fat and creates a different layer of flavor.”

Finally, give it another sprinkle of seasoning after it’s done cooking. “It’s raw, but it’s going to melt into the food.”

Quality counts

Seasoned Memphis-based chef Patrick Reilly loves grilling on the deck at home when he’s not cooking at his two popular restaurants, Majestic Grille and the newly launched Cocozza. He’s also participates in the annual Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest.

The ritual of firing up the grill — whether gas or charcoal — must be preceded, of course, with a trip to the supermarket or butcher shop. “Not all supermarkets offer the same quality when it comes to meat,” he said in a recent phone interview. “It’s always a good sign when you can talk to someone behind the meat counter and see what they’re enthusiastic about.”

Reilly has been working for many years with a local pork purveyor — Newman Farm — and said buying directly from the farm yields incredibly flavorful results. “And because there’s no middle man, you’re usually paying about the same as you do at the supermarket.”

Once the protein is procured, Reilly said he’s a minimalist when it comes to seasoning meats. “I use cracked black pepper and Kosher salt. That’s it. I want to taste the meat.”

When it comes to hitting the target on the temp, he’s also a fan of the ThermoPro. “Some chefs pooh-pooh using a thermometer, but I think it’s a good investment.”

Finally, when the meat is done cooking on the grill, let it rest for at least as long as it has cooked. “Remember that it’s going to continue cooking a little bit when it’s off the flames,” he said.

All right, now who’s hungry?

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