It seems that no matter where you live in the country, August is hotter than Hades. Don’t be fooled by our freezing-cold, brutal northeastern winters; Upstate New York can get hot in the summer! Frequent dips in the pool as well as running through your sprinkler should help keep you cool. Stock up on some popsicles and ice cream and provide refreshing treats. However, once the sun begins going down, the temperature drops to a much more tolerable degree. One of the most pleasant summer activities is cooking on your propane grill. Cooking indoors may only make your home feel hotter, so take your cooking outside. Are you not a grill master? That’s okay because we’ve provided some tips to get you started.

Starting Your Propane Grill

Before performing any other tasks, make sure that you have plenty of propane available in your tank. If you’ve signed up for our automatic propane delivery system at DiSanto Propane, this shouldn’t be a problem. Once you’ve confirmed that your propane tank is filled, you then want to turn the gas on at tank level. Turn the dial to the flame position and then hit the ignitor button, which will push gas into your burners.

Create Two Heat Zones

All grill masters know that you need two heat zones to achieve the tastiest grilled food. One part of your grill needs to have a high heat setting for direct heat while the other area needs a low heat setting for indirect heat.

Thermometers

The scariest part about cooking meat is making sure that it’s cooked through enough. When meat is undercooked, you can get food poisoning, which is no walk in the park. Especially when it’s dark outside, you may have difficulty determining if your meat is cooked enough. Instead of risking it, buy an internal meat thermometer to discover if your meat is cooked through. Even after you take meat off the grill, it continues to cook. Therefore, you can take it the meat off the grill if it’s only a few degrees less than the listed temperatures. Chicken needs to be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees, while pork and fish need to be cooked to 145 degrees. For beef, the minimum internal temperature should be 145 degrees. For those of you who like your steaks cooked medium rare, cook them to 135 degrees and medium steaks should be cooked to 140 degrees.

Before Grilling

Before grilling steaks or pork chops, you need to leave them out at room temperature prior to grilling. However, chicken and fish need to remain refrigerated prior to grilling. No matter what type of meat you are grilling, season it well with salt and pepper prior to cooking. Make sure to preheat your grill before you begin cooking.

After Grilling

For truly delicious chicken, steak, and pork chops, always let them rest for about ten minutes after grilling. This means simply letting them sit out at room temperature to truly soak in their magical flavors. Enjoy!

If you need propane refills in upstate New York, contact DiSanto Propane today. We would be happy to add you to our growing list of satisfied customers.