Grilling - Grilling Safety

The secret to good -- and safe -- grilling, Neely said, is to keep the coals hot and the flame low. If you're adding wood chips, he recommends soaking them in water for an hour before putting them on the flame. That way, they tamper out any active flames and give off a rich smoke that flavors the meat.

"When you're grilling and barbecuing, you really don't want the flame. You want the heat from the coals," Neely says.

Elizabeth Karmel, author of "Soaked, Slathered and Seasoned: A Complete Guide to Flavoring Food for the Grill" and the creator of Grill Friends kitchen and grilling tools, said that in addition to keeping children and pets away from the grill, a conscientious grill master needs to keep basic fire and food safety in mind.

"Grilling is not dangerous except for the fact that it's an open fire and flame, so you just have to follow the same rules that you would if you were building a campfire or if you were having a fire in your house," Karmel says.

When using charcoal, Karmel recommends lighting it in either on the charcoal grate of the grill or in a chimney starter, and if the starter isn't on the grill, be sure to light it on cement or on a metal tray to keep it from burning anything.

"I'm not a proponent of lighter fluid. You don't need it to light charcoal. You don't need it for anything. Lighter fluid really is a fire hazard. You can very easily light charcoal in a chimney starter ... even using crumpled up newspaper," Karmel says.

When cooking, she suggests keeping the lid on to both allow the meat to bask in the charcoal smoke, giving it a richer flavor and keeping both its juices and the heat contained. Covering up also decreases the risk of a stray spark causing a fire.

Taking care when cleaning up is a must.

When you're done, put the lid back on and close the vents to slowly kill the fire by depriving it of oxygen.

"The smartest thing to do is to either leave the coals in your grill or pour them into a metal bucket to make sure they're 100 percent out," she says. "You don't every want to put them in a trash can or anything like that while they're still warm because there may still be a spark in there."

She recommends having separate tongs for raw meat and cooked meat to prevent cross-contamination. Grillers should also never put cooked meat back on the same platter that held the raw stuff.

Karmel says marinades should be one-time-use foods, and if you plan to reuse one to make a sauce, it should be boiled for 3 minutes to remove bacteria.

"I basically say 'you've marinated, it's done its job, discard it.' Don't reuse a marinade," she says.

Also, stay safe by wearing sunscreen and keeping well hydrated, Karmel says.

While safety is important, sometimes it can be best fostered by good preparation so that you're free to enjoy your food and your guests without jeopardizing safety while rushing to do too many things at once.

"Try and do as much as you can prior to your party," Gena Neely says. "When you're having a barbecue guests don't want to see you working and sweating at the grill. You want to kick back and have a good time and have everyone enjoying the atmosphere."