Grilling season is in full swing so let’s stop and take a moment to remember some safety tips when you’re preparing those luscious, juicy steaks.

Who better to ask than the beef experts at beefitswhatsfordinner.com? Here’s what they have to say:

TOP 10 GRILLING TIPS

1. Keep beef refrigerated. Grilling times are based on beef being taken directly from the refrigerator to the grill – not at room temperature. Shape burgers in advance, cover and refrigerate until the grill is ready.
   
2. Trim, if necessary. Remove visible fat from meat and poultry before grilling to help prevent flare-ups and excess smoke formation.
   
3. Marinating mantra. Always marinate in the refrigerator. Tender beef cuts can be marinated for 15 minutes to 2 hours for flavor. Less tender beef cuts should be marinated at least 6 hours –but no more than 24 hours– in a mixture containing an acidic ingredient or a natural tenderizing enzyme. Pat beef dry after removing from marinade to promote even browning and prevent steaming. Do not save marinade for reuse. If a marinade has been in contact with uncooked beef, it must be brought to a full rolling boil before it can be eaten as a sauce.
   
4. Grilling temperature matters. Grilling over medium heat ensures even cooking and flavorful, juicy meat. If beef is grilled over too high heat, the exterior can become overcooked or charred before the interior reaches the desired doneness. Charring meat, poultry or fish is not recommended.
   
5. Watch the charcoal. Never grill while the coals are still flaming. Wait until the coals are covered with gray ash (approximately 30 minutes), spread in single layer. To check cooking temperature, cautiously hold the palm of your hand above the coals at cooking height. Count the number of seconds you can hold your hand in that position before the heat forces you to pull it away; approximately 4 seconds for medium heat.
   
6. Know your gas grill. Since gas grill brands vary greatly, consult the owner’s manual for information about preparing the grill for medium heat.
   
7. Turn properly. Use long-handled tongs for turning steaks; spatulas for burgers. A fork will pierce the beef causing loss of flavorful juices. And don’t be tempted to press down on burgers – it only releases the juices and creates flare-ups.
   
8. Use a thermometer. The best way to determine doneness of burgers and steaks is to use an instant-read meat thermometer, inserted horizontally from the side to penetrate the center of the meat. Allow 10 to 15 seconds for the thermometer to register the internal temperature.
   
9. Internal temperature matters. Cook burgers to at least 160°F. The color of cooked ground beef is not a reliable indicator of doneness. Cook steaks to at least 145°F (medium rare doneness). The color will be very pink in the center and slightly brown toward the exterior.
   
10. Practice food safety. Keep raw meat separate from other foods both in the refrigerator and during preparation. Wash hands, all utensils and surfaces in hot soapy water after contact with raw meat. Never place cooked meat on platters that held raw meat. Use clean serving platters and utensils. Serve cooked food promptly and refrigerate immediately after serving (within two hours after cooking).

Learn more from these guys here. And cook your steaks with confidence!

This one I never would have thought of myself in a million years . . . pickle juice as a steak marinade.

It’s so simple it’s genius!

Here’s the lowdown from a really good blog post in Cleveland:

Brush on some pickle juice for a sweet splash of flavor

It makes me cringe [to] think of marinating a steak. Why put my hard-earned money into a piece of meat you’re going to slather with a marinade, a rub, or — heaven forbid — ketchup or A1? But I will admit that adding a little flavor to the beef is suitable.

Maybe it sounds odd, but a light brushing of sweet pickle juice during the last part of grilling a steak is a favorite in our house. The family picks are Sechler’s Sweet Orange Strip pickle juice or Vlasic’s Sweet Gherkin pickle juice. It’s a quick way to add flavor without losing the natural taste of the meat.

Before grilling, we put a little olive oil on the steaks, to keep them from sticking to the grill. Then we center them on a hot charcoal grill for two or three minutes on each side, to sear in the juices. Then, after moving the steaks to the side of the grill for slower cooking, we brush pickle juice onto the steaks.

When cooked, they still taste like beef, with a slightly sweet taste. Yum!

— Brenda Junkin

You can read this and other “sweet” ideas here:

http://blog.cleveland.com/lifestyles/2008/06/mushroom_council_steak_is_deli.html

My husband and I just got back from a long weekend in New York City. We saw the Yankees play before they tear down their old stadium and we met a group of our college friends there.

Since NYC is the unofficial steakhouse capital of the world, one night we went to Sparks Steak House. The ambience is amazing and if you know your mob history you know that mafia boss Paul Castellano was murdered out front in the mid-’80s.

We tried not to think about the murder part but we figured if it was good enough for mob bosses who could go anywhere they wanted it was good enough for us.

The meal was, indeed, great, but it’s the little things that make or break the experience for me. And I gotta tell you, no matter where I go I always end up wishing I had cooked my own steak meal at home.

First of all, they do not have bacon for your baked potato. I’m sorry, that’s a must for me. Where I come from, EVERYONE puts bacon on their baked potato.  And, considering that and butter is all I like on my potato, mine was pretty boring.

Then we get to the steak. The quality of the meat is wonderful. This is NYC for Pete’s sake! But I like mine done medium well. And that apparently means different things to different people.

To me, that means very little pink.

On a really thick steak that’s hard to do. And, frankly, they just don’t wanna.

I’m not big on sending stuff back to the kitchen because I’m always afraid it will come back with invisible spit on it. So, I just eat it as is. Even if it’s not exactly the way I want it.

That’s disappointing.

Then, if you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time you know I prefer Teriyaki sauce on my steak. Gee, do ya think they’re going to have that? They’d laugh in my face.

So I suffer through.

I figure they can at least fix the bacon thing before I go there next. But, wow, do you think they have a Suggestion Box at the front?

Heck no.

And if they did here’s what they would do to my little suggestion . . .

So, as we were eating, a little phrase I tell my kids all the time kept running through my head, “You get what you get and you don’t throw a fit.”

My husband wouldn’t mind putting my steak back on the grill until it was perfectly done. And I’m sure he would buy me bacon for my potato (that is, if he EVER went grocery shopping).

But my husband doesn’t work at Sparks. So since he works for me, I think I’ll put him to work on our own grill pretty soon . . .