Tips for Cooking Different Types of Meat on the Grill
Certain meats run the risk of becoming tough or burnt when cooked on gas and wood grills. You can find grilling charts for almost every type of meat you can imagine—or you can simply follow some general rules for perfect meat every time. Here are some tips for cooking different types of meat on the grill so that you can feel confident grilling anything.
Beef
First and foremost, steaks need to be seared on the outside. This should take about 1 minute per half an inch of steak in terms of thickness. Afterward, lower the heat to cook the interior to the desired level.
You don’t want to cook roasts on direct heat but rather indirectly, away from the main grill plate and with the fatty side up. Because roasts are usually very thick, you’ll want to use a meat thermometer to gauge the internal temperature.
Whether you’re cooking a steak or a roast, the internal cooking temperatures are the same:
- 120–130℉ for rare
- 130–135℉ for medium-rare
- 135–145℉ for medium
- 145–155℉ for medium-well
- 155–165℉ for well-done
Pork
You never want to eat rare pork. You want to cook pork to a minimum internal temperature of 145℉. Pork tenderloin and roast have the same cooking technique: fat side up on indirect heat. However, you can cook pork chops and steaks over direct heat. If you have a thicker cut of pork, you can slow-cook it on indirect heat after you’ve seared the outside.
Chicken
Chicken requires entirely different techniques, as it’s the most liable to dry out on the grill. Therefore, chicken is best grilled after you have tenderized it and let it sit in a brine for a few hours in the fridge. You must thoroughly cook chicken to 165℉ to eradicate any foodborne illnesses.
You can’t grill an entire chicken, so you’ll have to cut it into different pieces; they all have different grill times:
- Thighs can take up to 40 minutes.
- Drumsticks can take 30 minutes.
- Chicken wings can take 20 minutes.
- And chicken breasts may take only 6 minutes.
However, if the pieces are skinless and boneless, you can take 1 or 2 minutes off the cooking time.
Ultimately, if you’re a beginner, prime rib roast is your best option, as its marbled fat content and easy cooking technique is hard to mess up. So use these tips for cooking different types of meat on the grill and start practicing for the summer grill season!
