Grilling Tips from the Pros

Tips, techniques, and recipes from the pros that will help you master the grill.

The process of grilling is a gratifying one—building a fire, smelling the savory smoke perfume the air, enjoying a perfectly charred cut of meat cooked over a flame. And it's not just us—putting food to fire has global appeal, which means there are plenty of flavors and techniques to be learned from grilling traditions around the world. Whether you're looking to master the art of succulent ribs or create the perfect cheeseburger, we've got the ultimate collection of grilling tips, tricks, and recipes from the pros.

I always do two things when grilling chicken: I flatten the bird, which helps it cook evenly, and marinate it. Marinating is a technique Latin American cooks inherited from medieval Spain. In Cuba, where I’m from, we marinate everything under the sun in an aromatic paste called adobo that combines garlic, cumin, oregano, and lots of fresh citrus. For even more punch, I add ground aji molido chiles, paprika, and lemon; a bath in this mouth-puckering concoction provides a basic underpinning of flavor that blossoms and evolves while the bird cooks. –Maricel E. Presilla See the tips and recipe for Adobo Chicken Under A Brick »