Are You Grilling Your Meats And Vegetables In The Correct Order?

Grilling season is upon us — so long as you're not in the middle of a heat wave, anyway — and you're probably itching to get out there with your tongs, fire up your grill (gas or charcoal), and set right to work mastering the easiest kind of cooking. But as with everything worth doing, there are certain best practices to keep in mind, especially when it comes to what goes on the grill in what order. We talked to Scott Thomas, "The Original Grillin' Fool" and owner of The Grillin' Fools blog, and he told us how to tackle your meats and veggies. In short, grill whatever takes the longest first — which usually ends up being meat.

Meat, you see, requires at least a few minutes of rest in order to be fully ready, which is usually just enough time to get your vegetables done, too. To illustrate the importance of timing, Thomas describes the meal his family asks for most often: steak and grilled salad. "A steak takes maybe 20 minutes to cook (when [it's] not a massive tomahawk) and a grilled romaine salad takes about four minutes to get a quick char," he says. "So, grill the steak. While the steak rests off the heat for three to five minutes, slap that romaine down and get that quick char." It's nice when things work out that way, isn't it?

So what factors influence your grilling order of operations? According to Scott Thomas, you'll want to consider the amount of connective tissue or fat in your meat when you put it over the flames. "Steak is super tender and has very little connective tissue," he says. "A quick sear on both sides is about all it takes to have a [rare or medium-rare] steak." By contrast, denser pieces of meat, like brisket and pork shoulder, are better suited for smoking. "Brisket has a ton of connective tissue and takes many hours of low and slow cooking (smoking at 225 to 300 degrees Fahrenheit) to break down the connective tissue without burning the outside," says Thomas. The same goes for pork shoulder, due to its levels of fat and collagen. (If you want a great smoker to make brisket, we've got you covered.)

As for veggies? "Very few vegetables go on early," says Thomas. Although potatoes and corn will often take a while to cook on the grill, Thomas notes that these are both starches, and not strictly speaking vegetables. (In fact, starch is why you need to soak your potatoes before making french fries.) "Things like squash, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, peppers, etc, don't take much time to go from raw to wonderfully charred," he adds. With that in mind, it's best practice to grill your protein first and take care of the veggies later.