Grilling - Grilling Disasters

Grilling Disasters

Problem: You bite into your meal only to get the intense flavor of lighter fluid -- "undertones of petroleum distillates" -- or you have singed hair and second- to third-degree burns.

Diagnosis: You used lighter fluid or a charcoal product impregnated with lighter fluid.

Solution: Stick to a charcoal that isn't saturated with lighter fluid and isn't billed as easy-to-light--use a chimney starter instead. Never spray lighter fluid onto an open flame or hot charcoal.

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Problem: Instead of a luscious barbecue glaze, your chicken comes off with a burnt, black coating.

Diagnosis: You brushed barbecue sauce on your chicken too early. Sugar-heavy sauces burn very easily.

Solution: Don't brush your chicken with sauce until just before you're ready to take it off -- just keep it on the grill long enough to heat the sauce through.

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Problem: You expected your food to come out tasting of those expensive hickory/cherry/cedar chips you bought, but none of that flavor or smell comes through.

Diagnosis: You didn't soak your flavor wood or used pieces that were too small, meaning the wood burned up too quickly to suffuse your food.

Solution: Soak your wood for about a half hour before you throw it on the charcoals. Avoid using chips of wood -- use chunks or larger pieces instead.

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Problem: Your grate catches fire or the fire suddenly becomes huge and engulfs your food.

Diagnosis: Too much fat is falling onto the coals.

Solution: Trim meats of excess fats. Don't put too much oil on vegetables or breads. If the flames pop up, don't spray water on the fire -- simply move the food to a cooler portion of the grill until the flames subside. You can also put on the lid and partially close the ventilation holes on the lid and bottom of the grill to control fires.

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Problem: Your food's covered in ash or grit, or is simply sooty.

Diagnosis: Your grill is dirty, or your coals aren't ready.

Solution: Before you put anything on it, get the grill hot and scrub it of any gritty residue with a clean grill brush.

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Problem: You open your grill up expecting the delicious scent of sizzling food to waft up, only to find cold meat.

Diagnosis: The coals aren't lit.

Solution: This happens more often than you might think. Make sure coals are well on their way before you move onto the next stage (they should be covered in grey ash). Make sure the grill is hot before you cook anything on it. Use a chimney starter, if you have one.

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Problem: Everyone feels sick after eating your food.

Diagnosis: You created cross-contamination when you got raw meat drippings on cooked food.

Solution: Be strict about keeping separate the areas you use to prepare raw meat and cooked and other foods. Use two different tongs to handle food -- one for raw meat, the other for cooked meat.

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Problem: Half your veggies end up in the coals.

Diagnosis: You're cooking small foods without taking precautions, and they're falling through the grate.

Solution: Put small foods on a skewer or line part of the grill with perforated tin foil.

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Problem: Your guests asked for hamburgers but got hockey pucks.

Diagnosis: You patted down on the burger too much, forcing out the juices.

Solution: Don't touch the burger except to turn it or take off the grill (or move it in when the flames act up). Never pat it. Make sure you keep an eye on it and don't let it overcook.

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Problem: That juicy-looking hunk of meat you cut into ends up dry, and leaves a puddle of liquid behind.

Diagnosis: You carved the meat too early after taking it off the grill.

Solution: The juices in cooked meat have to redistribute after you take it off the heat. After you take meat off the grill, let it rest under the cover of aluminum foil for 10 or 15 minutes before cutting into it.

Michael Y. Park for AOL