Summer Grilling Tips #Applegate

Summer time and grilling go hand and hand, am I right? On hot Summer days, who wants to heat up their house even more then mother nature already does.

Our family tends to grill at least a couple times a week. Which includes meat, vegetables, and even breads or fruit. You’d be surprised what you can stick on the grill. I wanted to share just a few grilling tips I learned from my father-in-law, the grill master of Nick’s family.

Clean your grill often.

Clean your grill inside and out at least once a week or month, depending on how often you use your grill. It’s very simple to make a paste mixture of baking soda and water – which works on all surfaces of the grill, including the grill rack its self.

Additionally, once a month, preheat your grill for 10 to 15 minutes. Uncover the grill, then scrub away with a grill brush. Finally, give your grill a wipe down with a paper towel dipped in olive oil (using tongs of course), and your grill is good to go.

Come Prepared

It’s a good idea to thoroughly read through any grilling recipes, ahead of time. Some call for your meats or veggies to be marinated hours before or even overnight, and most meets should be defrosted before you can cook them. If you’re planning your whole meal on the grill, start with the foods that will take longest to cook, like meat, corn, and potatoes. As they are grilling, add on the other foods, that take less time to cook.

Be Patient

Just like using your oven, a grill needs to be preheated before you start cooking on it.  If your using a charcoal grill, make sure the coals are all the way gray before you put anything on it. Your food will cook much hotter and more efficiently.

It’s also good idea to close the grill lid after you’ve placed your food on it, in order to help it maintain its temperature. Try and avoid opening the lid too often. A frequent change in temperature will cause your meat to cook unevenly.

What are your favorite foods to grill?

Besides many of our favorite foods to grill, which you can check out in my Summer Grilling board on Pinterest, one of the girls’ favorite meals is hot dogs.

When I was younger, my third grade teacher took a tour of a hot dog making factory. She came back and told us exactly what is put into hot dogs, and it quickly turned me off of them. Thankfully today, there are a lot more options to choose from, including Applegate’s antibiotic and nitrite-free hot dogs.

Buying organic for my family is something I started doing more recently. It’s buying products like Applegate, that provide us with high quality meats – that are less processed, and actually contain natural whole muscle meat. No fillers. No junk.

According to Applegate -

• Their animals are never given antibiotics.
• Their livestock eat a completely vegetarian diet with no animal by-products; Cattle are grass-fed and hogs and poultry are fed a grain diet that includes corn, soy, barley, and flax that are free from GMOs.
• Their animals are never given hormones or artificial growth promotants. They grow at their natural rate.
• Their products never contain artificial nitrates or nitrites. Instead, they use celery juice and sea salt to preserve their products the natural and old fashioned way.
• Their deli meat, hot dogs, burgers, and bacon are even gluten and casein free.

How do you like your hot dog?

While the kids prefer a basic ketchup and relish hot dog, I like mine a little different. My favorite is stadium buns, a little mayonnaise, a slice of cheese, and some sauerkraut - delicious!

You can now purchase Applegate products, including meats and cheeses, at your local grocery store 0r click here, to find their products near you.

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Applegate blogging program. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own. To read more posts on this topic, click here.