The Grill Guru!

My dear friend Melanie Peskett has taught many classes on grilling so I asked her to share some of our tips with us!  They are great!  For private lessons with this fantastic cooking instructor, email goodsquaremeals@att.net.

• low heat (200-275)- you can hold your hand 5" above thick ash covered  coals 5 or more secs.

• good for grilling fruit

• medium (325)   you can hold your hand 4 secs.
• cook fish to 120, 10 mins per inch total time or until just opaque. cook skin side down
• cook pork to 160, if it's an inch thick, about 4-5 mins per side 

•  beef tenderloin- very rare 10-12 mins, rare 12-15 med rare 15-17, med 18-23 per side
• lamb chops- rare 4-5 mins, med rare 6 mins, med 6-7, well done 8+ per side
• medium hot (350)  you can hold your hand 5" above coals  with bits of red glow 3 secs.
• cook chicken breasts to 180, boneless 6-8 mins, bone-in 10-12 mins per side
• cook pork tenderloin to 160, 9-13 minutes per side
• lobster 10-15 mins, tails 6-8 mins total time
• shrimp 2-4 minutes depending on size total time
• hot (375)  you can hold your hand 5" above glowing red coals 2 secs.
• steak 1"  very rare 4-5 mins, rare 5-6 mins (130-135), med rare 7 mins (145), med 7-8 mins (155), well done 10+mins (165) per side
• flank steak (fajitas) very rare 3-4 mins, rare 4-5 mins (130-135), med rare 5-6 mins (145), med not  recommended  per side
• hamburger very rare and rare not recommended, med rare 5 mins, med 6 mins, well done 7+mins per side

Cooking times are approximate! It depends on the temperature of the food and how far away it is from the fire, wind and air temp.

Best grill tip: oil your grill before cooking. Take a paper towel, fold it up in a small square, saturate it with cooking oil and grab it with your tongs and wipe down your grill rack. you can also do this with a basting brush.