Six ways to botch a barbecue

Even the best gas grills can yield miserable meals if you ignore the basics, always have in mind the following:

• Not preheating the grill. Food sticks to cool grates.  What to do: Before cooking, heat the grill for 10 to 15 minutes with the lid down and the burners set on high.
• Grilling on dirty grates. Food sticks and absorbs unwelcome flavors. What to do: Scrape hot grates clean with a grill brush.
• Searing with wimpy heat. Steaks and burgers don’t develop a flavorful, caramelized crust. What to do: Set burners to high or medium-high for proper searing.
• Cooking with the lid open. Heat escapes, compromising searing (except with TEC infrared) and roasting. What to do: Close lid to concentrate heat.
• Grilling thick cuts with high heat. Thick chops, steaks and burgers are grill-marked outside, yet undercooked within. What to do: Use high heat for searing, then turn down burners to finish cooking meats.
• Guessing when food is done. Food is under-or overcooked. What to do: Insert an instant-read thermometer into the sides of steaks and chops or into the thickest section of burgers and chicken parts.