Athletes in the Kitchen: Healthy Grilling Guide

In today’s Find Your Edge podcast, host Chris Newport sits down with Chef Jay for this month’s Athletes in the Kitchen. In our healthy grilling guide, we talk about essential equipment, safety tips, and some cool tricks that will make your grilling experience more fun and food more tasty. Get some ideas for cooking chicken on the grill including some ideas for dry rubs, slathers and marinades.

Healthy Grilling Guide

Listen in as we talk about:

What grill you should use (and which one you should definitely avoid), whether you want to grill occasionally or every night. Plus, Chef Jay’s “magical” grill, where you’ll cook some of the “best food you’ve ever had.”

Grilling safety tips (Chef Jay has some experience in fire suppression, so you’ll want to listen up)
Essential grilling tools, including his favorite tool that’s less than $5
Why a clean grill is important to optimal flavor, how to clean it and what to use
Chef Jay’s two bowl system that will change the way you grill!
Why it’s important to have the right kind of oil (and not the spray kind)
Tips for grilling chicken breast, even if you’re squeamish about touching raw meat
Why grill marks are not ideal
Some quick weeknight grilling techniques and recipes
Why grilling should be fun

Here’s Chef Jay in action using his Weber kettle grill (notice how he’s using his thermometer that’s listed below too!):

Essential Grilling Equipment

Here’s Chef Jay’s favorite essential grilling tool recommendations to make healthy grilling easier, safer, and more rewarding.

Our Weber kettle grill, which is in great shape (Chef Jay keeps it clean!) and well over 12 years old:

If you’re going to use a kettle grill, you’ll need a chimney starter. This one won’t do you wrong!

If you prefer to go with a gas grill, here’s a great option:

Here’s our favorite thermometer, which is magnetic and quick reading (and under $20!) We have two, one near the grill and one near our oven:

Fish turners (you may call them spatulas), are great for everything from grilling to flipping pancakes.

Chef Jay mentions a sturdy, commercial-grade pair of tongs (under $5!) that are excellent for grilling. Tongs are super versatile for cooking and serving indoors too.

Chef Jay loves using Charlie’s Soap on his grill, which is also a NC company!

Don’t forget safety! Here’s what you’ll need for a nearby fire extinguisher (a garden hose that’s on will work too!)

Use a good quality charcoal, which we usually find at our local big box store, but you can get it here too:

Simple Grilling Recipes

Play with different seasoning combinations and mixes, just look out for sugar and other unnecessary additives. Produce with sugar can burn with any flare ups or if your heat is too high.

For about 1 pound of chicken, use about 1-2T of your choice of spice mix. Check out this Asheville company that has great mixes called Spice It Up. For a slather, simply add a couple of tablespoons of oil to that spice mix (remember, use a grapeseed, avocado or canola oil) to make the consistency of wet sand. Rub on your chicken and be sure to grill to an internal temperature of 165F.

*Pro tip: remember to wash your hands with soap and water after handling raw meat. Also, be sure to avoid using any tools that touch raw meat with your cooked products.

Grilling Temperature Guide

It’s important to grill your foods to the appropriate temperature to avoid foodborne illness. Here’s a great reliable resource with a printable pdf for grilling temperatures.

Happy grilling!

Want some more Find Your Edge Athletes in the Kitchen podcast episodes?

We drop them the first Tuesday of every month, so be sure you subscribe to the Find Your Edge on itunes here or wherever your get your podcasts. Check out our episode on How to Cook Chicken here, that includes some bonus free recipes.

Let our dietitians help you eat healthier!

Book a free nutrition consult here.

Learn more about our nutrition programs.

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