The Best Meats for Grilling This Summer
With Stauffers Big Meat Sale right around the corner, you may be getting ready for grilling season! If your weekly meal plan includes steaks, burgers, chicken, or seafood, grilling opens up so many mouth-watering meal options. The easiest way to ensure a perfectly grilled meal is by choosing the best meats for grilling. We’ll give you our advice on the top-rated meats to choose for your summer grilling recipes.
What Are the Best Steaks For Grilling?
There is nothing more delicious than a classic, grilled steak. But, as you explore the butcher case in your meat department, you’ll see many steak cuts to choose from. Depending on which steak you purchase, your meal can turn out tender and flavorful, or tough and dry.
We recommend the following, as the best steaks for grilling:
- T-Bone
- Porterhouse
- Top Sirloin
- Strip Loin
- Wing
- Tenderloin
- Bottom Sirloin Tri-tip
- Rib Eye
Starting with the best cut is good, but you also need to choose the best pieces from the selections of steak. Here are some tips on finding the right ones:
- Look for marbling (thin white streaks of fat running throughout the steak) instead of large areas of fat. Marbling signifies tender and flavorful meat.
- The lean portion of the meat should have a bright, cherry-red color.
- The steak should feel firm and cold to the touch.
- The steak should appear moist but not wet. Avoid packaged steaks with liquid in the bottom of the tray.
- Choose the highest grade of beef available.
Try this recipe: Grilled T-Bone Steak with Wasabi Sauce
Choosing the Best Chicken for Grilling
When you’re grilling chicken, do you immediately reach for boneless, skinless chicken breasts? Although they are the most popular part of the chicken, when you grill chicken breasts, it can be hard to maintain moisture and they can easily end up dry. This grilling season, try out other parts of the chicken for a great result. Chicken thighs and chicken legs are among the best meats for grilling.
Here are a few benefits of choosing these parts of the chicken when cooking on the grill:
- Chicken thighs — Thighs are a flavorful part of the chicken and have a high ratio of meat to bone. It’s pretty hard to overcook chicken thighs, as they don’t dry out as easily as chicken breasts. Finally, the skin on chicken thighs turns out brown and crispy when prepared on the grill.
- Chicken legs — Chicken legs include both the drumsticks and thighs. Drumsticks are fattier cuts that stand up well to grilling. When grilled on moderately high temperatures, the meat will be tender and moist, while the skin becomes crispy brown.
Try this recipe: Mango Barbecue Chicken Thighs
What is the Best Way to Grill Seafood?
Grilling seafood requires a type of fish that is thick and firm. Flaky, delicate fish like tilapia or flounder aren’t substantial enough to hold up on the grill. Instead, we recommend these hearty fish fillets or steaks:
- Swordfish
- Salmon
- Tuna
- Mahi-Mahi
- Snapper
- Sea Bass
- Cod
- Grouper
Grilling with a Cedar Plank
A unique method of grilling seafood is plank grilling, in which you grill your seafood on a hardwood plank to add natural smoke flavor to your dish. Cedar planks are the most popular, but planks are available in other wood species such as sugar maple, alder, black cherry, or hickory. And, it’s not just for seafood. You can grill a variety of other foods using planks.
Here are a few tips for plank grilling:
- Soak planks for at least 30 minutes before grilling. Soaking for three to four hours is ideal. This helps to avoid charring or grill fires. Make sure your plank is fully submerged in water.
- Place the empty planks over medium direct heat for 3 minutes.
- Flip the plank so the charred side is face up and move to indirect heat.
- Add your fish to the plank skin-side down.
Try this recipe: Teriyaki Tuna
The Best Meats (and Non-Meats) for Healthy Grilling
Are you searching for healthy grilling recipes? You’re going to find a lot of ideas for skinless chicken breast and fish. While they are certainly healthy options for grilling, don’t limit yourself. Consider these healthy substitutions the next time you heat up the grill:
- Substitute a beef burger by using ground turkey or chicken. Switch out your pork sausages for turkey or chicken sausages.
- Skip the meat altogether and try a portobello mushroom or black bean burger.
- Grill shrimp and an assortment of vegetables in a tin foil pouch.
- Try a grilled pizza loaded with veggies.
- Kabob recipes allow you to perfectly balance your meat and vegetables, and even add in a little fruit.
Try this recipe: Basil Turkey Burgers