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Reynolds Wrap chief grilling officer contest: $10K, free BBQ to winner

"Allowing the meat to come to room temperature before cooking is one of the most important parts of grilling that home cooks often forget. This will lessen the steaks cooking time and help perfect an evenly cooked piece of meat. If the steak is cold when you put it on the grill, it will overcook the outer part of the meat, drying it out while you wait to cook the internal part of the meat to the desired temperature." -Wolfgang Puck, chef and restaurateur. Audrey Ma "For most items, a two-zone fire is the best setup. One hot side for searing, and one cooler side to allow items to cook more slowly." -Melissa Cookston, Mississippi restaurateur and eight-time world barbecue champion at Memphis in May. courtesy of Memphis Barbecue Co. "Avoid buying frozen meat. When you freeze meat, you break the muscle cells and when you ultimately defrost it, you lose a lot of the moisture and the flavor." -Pat LaFrieda, fourth-generation meat purveyor, Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors. Evan Sung Fullscreen "Remember, it makes all the difference in the world to your cooking process if you keep your gas grill free of grease and grit and clear those spider webs from the inside of the charcoal grills flue. Designate a cleaning tub solely for grill cleaning and include an industrial strength wire brush, steel wool soap pads, a sponge, a powder cleaner (such as Ajax), a degreaser of some kind and disinfecting wipes." -Guy Fieri, chef, restaurateur and TV host courtesy of Guy Fieri Fullscreen "Stop playing with the food when it is on the grill. Leave it be. Let your meat or chicken or fish or veggies form a crust and naturally release from the grates. Only flip it once so the burger or fish doesn’t fall apart." -Bobby Flay, chef and TV host Michael Crook Fullscreen "Be sure to remove the membrane on the back of the ribs before you start cooking them. It helps the smoke penetrate your meal and the membrane (or “silver skin”) becomes tough and chewy when cooked. Your butcher can do this for you if you want. But note that pulling off the membrane exposes loose fat, so you will have to trim that up as well." -Myron Mixon, pitmaster and four-time World Barbecue Champion. courtesy of Bolster Media NYC Fullscreen "Simplify your sliders. Baste beef-slider patties with a mix of Devonshire butter and smoked paprika for optimal flavor. It's all in the glaze." -Gordon Ramsay, chef at four Caesars Entertainment restaurants in Las Vegas and Atlantic City; his first Hell's Kitchen restaurant will open later this year. Erik Kabik Photography "Before you put your protein on heat, let it come to ambient temperature and then grill it. After grilling, let it rest before plating it (for meat 8 minutes)." -Marcus Samuelsson, chef and restaurateur. Marcus Samuelsson Group Fullscreen "Citrus brightens up everything, whether it’s lime or lemon, or even a blend of orange -- I always try to work it into my grilling. For an extra tang of flavor, grill citrus fruit, cutting it in half and placing it cut-side down for a minute or two to give it a char." -David Guas, host of Travel Channel’s 'American Grilled' and chef owner of Bayou Bakery, Coffee Bar & Eatery in Arlington, Va. courtesy of simoneink, llc "Source your meat form a local butcher shop that sells all organic humanely raised animals, if possible. That way you are also supporting local business." -LeAnn Mueller, chef at la Barbecue in Austin, Texas. Megan Clem Fullscreen "One of the biggest misconceptions of charcoal grilling is that people think they should be grilling their burgers or brats over a flame, which isn’t the case. For the best charcoal barbecue, you want to cook over hot, ashy gray charcoal." -Josh Capon, executive chef partner at Lure Fishbar, B&B Winepub, El Toro Blanco and Bowery Meat Company. Stuart Ramson, AP Images for Pine Mountain Fullscreen "You should never let fire touch your food directly, it makes it taste of gasoline. You grill over coals (the ember of thoroughly heated cooked down wood). If you don’t allow yourself to establish a proper coal bed, which could take several hours, you should just stay in the kitchen and forget about using the grill for the evening." -Steve McHugh, chef and owner of Cured in San Antonio and two-time James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef: Southwest. courtesy of simoneink, llc Fullscreen "Sauces can mask the flavor of what you are working with. Any high quality meats and fresh vegetables should shine on their own. If anything, use a bright, acidic vinaigrette." -Michael Gallina, chef and grilling master at Vicia in St. Louis Greg Rannells "Understand the breed and where your meat came from. The most recommended breeds are the Angus, Hereford or a cross-breed between both." -Matt King, executive chef, Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group courtesy of Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group Fullscreen "Grill the cut side of the bun! This small touch adds a textural component to the finished burger, a light smokiness, and allows the bun to absorb more juice without getting soggy." -Brad Farmerie, chef at Saxon + Parole in New York City. courtesy of AvroKO "For me, it’s all about the marinades or the sauces. You’d be amazed what a few ingredients can do to completely change the flavors of even your most classic recipes.” -Michael Symon, chef and restaurateur courtesy of Michael Symon Restaurants Fullscreen “Some chefs will say this is crazy, but for a burger on the grill, you can make it juicier and moister by dipping the patty in water for about 30 seconds. No longer than that!” -Laurent Tourondel, executive chef and owner of L’Amico and The Vine in New York City. Robert Zuckerman “To spice up your grill and smoke, add orange zest, cinnamon sticks and fennel seeds randomly to your fire. It adds a great undertone of Moroccan flavors to your meats without being too overpowering.” -Jason Dady, chef and restaurateur courtesy of Jason Dady Restaurant Group Interested in this topic? You may also want to view these photo galleries: Replay