Tips: Upgrading Your Grilling Experience
With the weather warming up, it’s time to heat up the grill. Whether you’re a pro behind the pit or a grilling novice, it is easy to upgrade your cookout.
Hebrew National®, the leading brand of premium kosher beef hot dogs, has partnered with outdoor grilling expert Elizabeth Karmel, creator of GirlsattheGrill.com and author of the acclaimed cookbook Taming the Flame: Secrets for Hot-and-Quick Grilling and Low-and-Slow BBQ. Together, Hebrew National and Karmel share these helpful grilling tips and tricks of the trade to help upgrade your overall experience.
Elizabeth Karmel’s “Go-To” Grilling Tips and Tools of the Trade
• Keep it clean. Use a brass-bristle cleaning brush to clean your grill without damaging the grates.
• Clean the grates after use by heating the grill with all burners on high to burn off any cooked-on residue.
• Preheat a gas grill on high. For a charcoal grill, preheat until charcoal is covered with a white ash.
• When using charcoal, use fire starters, a chimney starter and long wooden kitchen matches to start the fire.
• Tongs, tongs, tongs. Always use two long-handled locking tongs – one for uncooked meats and the other for cooked meats – to avoid cross contamination. Color-code your tongs with red and green duct tape so you can tell them apart. Red means STOP; raw food touched these. Green means GO; cooked food touched these.
• Use the best quality ingredients.
• Oil the food with a light coat of olive oil and season with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.
• The key to making hot dogs that are perfectly caramelized on the outside and done on the inside is to control the heat! The best hot dogs are cooked on medium to medium-low heat.
• Always use an instant-read thermometer to test for doneness.
Additional Tips to Upgrade your Grilling Experience
- Getting Started – Be prepared for any party this summer.
• Start with the grill. Whether it is gas or charcoal, make sure it’s clean and there’s plenty of propane or charcoal on hand.
• For safety, never place the grill close to combustible materials or on uneven ground.
• Purchase quality meats such as Hebrew National® Franks, which are made from only premium cuts of 100 percent pure kosher beef.
- Grilling Go Time – The sun is shining and everyone’s hungry.
• Hot dogs can be served in many ways – on a bun, on a tortilla, as part of kabobs or even as a topping for a grilled pizza.
• For lighter fare, offer low-fat options such as Hebrew National’s Reduced Fat or 97% Fat Free Franks.
• Switch up the side dishes. Grill veggies such as Portobello mushrooms, asparagus, patty pan squash, peppers, shallots and eggplant and serve them hot off the grill with a brush of best-quality or homemade pesto.
- Entertaining Extras – Keep things interesting; surprise guests with premium food choices and serving styles.
• For an evening meal, decorate the lawn with colorful paper lanterns and white Christmas lights. This great lighting will add a beautiful glow to the night and your party!
• Make mini hot dogs by cutting full-size grilled Hebrew National Franks in half and slipping them between small dinner rolls.
• Adorn your hot dogs with more than just ketchup and mustard. Fill ramekins with colorful condiments, such as jalapenos, cherry tomatoes, mild and spicy mustard, grilled and raw onions, barbeque sauce, relish and an assortment of cheeses. These little dips and sides are a hit with the kids, too
• Add a theme to your condiment table with a “Putting on the Dog” Bar—fill the ramekins with favorite toppings from the All-American hot dog capitals: New York, LA, Chicago, Boston and Cincinnati, to name the majors!
• Serve iced tea and lemonade in mason jars. Garnish with a full slice of lemon, a sprig of mint and a colorful straw for a refreshingly tasty beverage.
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