GREAT GRILLING It’s the choices you make

By ERICA MARCUS

Summer began Saturday, and there’s no better time than the onset of the barbecue season to brush up on grilling skills. While any slouch can handle hamburgers and hot dogs, a good all-around griller will have a firm grasp of general barbecue techniques and be able to handle the four major grilling groups: steaks, chicken, fish and vegetables.

These 27 tips cover all the bases.

FISH

Firm, meaty fish, such as tuna, swordfish and mahi-mahi, are the easiest to grill.

Steaks are easier to grill than fillets. (Salmon lovers, take note.)

Don’t try to grill pieces of fish that are thinner than 1 inch. (You can, however, wrap them in foil pouches and cook them successfully on the grill.)

Helpful fish-cooking tools: a grate (wire grid that you lay directly on the grill) and a basket, particularly nonstick. Heat the grate or basket on the grill, oil it, then lay in the fish.

Unless you are cooking a whole fish, use direct heat — cook directly over the coals.

Don’t overcook fish. Use a sharp paring knife to cut into it and look. It’s “done” when the flesh turns opaque. Salmon is often enjoyed just before it turns opaque, and tuna is best when it is still raw in the center. Don’t panic if some of the skin sticks to the grill.

TECHNIQUES

Grillers are well advised to bear in mind grillmaster Steven Raichlen’s mantra: Keep it hot. Keep it clean. Keep it lubricated. Food is less likely to stick to a clean grill, and it’s easier to clean a hot grill, so light your fire, and, just before you are ready to cook, clean the grates with a metal brush.Then, put some oil on a folded paper towel and use long-handled tongs to rub it on grates.

Preheat a charcoal grill a good 30 minutes before you cook.

Flare-ups occur when fat drips directly onto coals. To avoid them, either grill indirectly (i.e., not where the coals are), or move the food periodically.

Leave the food alone. The No. 1 cause of food sticking to the grill is moving it too soon. Unless you are dealing with a delicate vegetable, don’t touch the food for at least 5 minutes, preferably 10.

In almost every case, keep the grill covered. Grill uncovered only if the food is cooked through and you just want to get some color on it.

STEAK

Get the right cut of meat. A well-marbled cut such as T-bone, porterhouse, rib-eye, shell (aka top loin, strip, sirloin strip) is the most forgiving. Thinner cuts such as skirt steak, or leaner ones (e.g. filet mignon) can get tough if cooked too long.

The right thickness: 11‚Ñ2 inches is ideal. Thinner and it will overcook; thicker than 2 inches is tough for a home (i.e. not commercial) grill.

Sprinkle meat generously with kosher salt and, if you wish, pepper, before grilling. You will be amazed at how much flavor a little salt brings out.

Don’t move the steak for 5 minutes.

Build a bi-level fire and sear over the hottest part. (Once meat is nicely browned on either side, take its temperature. If it’s not done, move it to a cooler area and continue cooking.)

When is it done? An internal temperature of 125 degrees is rare, 130 is medium-rare, 140 is medium, 150 is medium well, 160 is shoe leather. Remember: The meat continues to cook once it is removed from heat, so take it off a little rarer than you want it.

Let meat rest off heat, covered, for at least 5 minutes; 10 for a really thick piece.

CHICKEN

Keep grill at 350 to 400 degrees.

For charcoal grills, use indirect heat: pile hot coals on one side, and cook chicken on other side.

Lay chicken pieces skin-side down and leave them alone for at least 10 minutes. Then rotate them about 45 degrees to get nice crisscross marks. Leave them alone again for at least 10 minutes before you consider turning them over.

Smaller pieces should be ready to come off in 40 minutes. Larger pieces may need more time. Cook white meat to an internal temperature of 160, dark meat to 165. If pieces are done but not browned, move them directly over the coals for a few minutes.

Sugar burns, so apply barbecue sauce only at the end, say, during the last few minutes of cooking.

VEGETABLES

Cut vegetables into pieces as large as possible, so they won’t fall through the grate. Cut vegetables lengthwise rather than crosswise.

Try to make slices of uniform thickness so that every piece of a given vegetable cooks in the same amount of time. About one-third inch is a good rule of thumb.

Whenever possible with leafy or layered vegetables (e.g. fennel, onion, endive), cut through the core, so they don’t fall apart. And don’t trim the core too much; there should be some in each individual piece.

For little vegetables, such as cherry tomatoes and pearl onions, cook in a grill basket.