Grill Times and Temps: A Griller's Guide for the Perfect Meal

As the warmer months roll around, outdoor chefs will begin eagerly taking their grills out of storage, ready to start using them whenever they can. Though anyone can use a grill, not everyone knows exactly how to grill. It may seem easy enough to throw some burger patties or a chicken breast on the grill and eyeball everything, but depending on what you're cooking, there's a lot more to it than you might think. At the very least, you're going to need to know the general temperature and length of time to cook something to make sure not only that it's cooked all the way through, but that it's cooked to your liking. Read on to find about the general times and temperatures you'll need to cook some grill staples.

Burgers and Steak

Ah, good ol' burgers and steak. Nothing quite beats hearing that initial sizzle as you toss a nice filet or a few patties on your grill. Though these meats are classic grill staples, you may not know exactly how long to cook them for and at what temperature.

How Long Do I Grill Burgers and Steak?

For the sake of brevity, we're going to be talking about how to get your beef cuts to medium rare. Steaks between 1/2" and 1" should be cooked for 4 to 6 minutes per side, while 1" to 1-1/2" steaks require 5 to 6 minutes per side. Thicker cuts might require as much as 8 to 10 minutes per side depending on how you cook them. For inch-thick burgers, you should typically cook them for 5 to 6 minutes per side.

At What Temperature Do I Grill Burgers and Steak?

The general rule of thumb for searing steaks is to use high heat, with the pan or surface in the ballpark of 450 °F. Thicker steaks should be cooked at medium or medium-high heat which is roughly 375 to 450 °F. For burgers, the surface should be around 400 °F.

Chicken

Almost as common as the burgers, a nice grilled chicken breast or even a chicken patty is another easy find in any backyard barbeque. Here's what you need to know.

How Long Do I Grill Chicken Breast?

There are tons of different types of chicken you can grill, but you'll most commonly be grilling chicken breast. Chicken breasts can generally be cooked for 5 to 6 minutes on each side. If you want to grill some wings, you're going to want to leave them on indirect heat and covered for about 25 to 30 minutes. You'll also need to turn them about every five minutes, depending on your crispiness preference.

At What Temperature Do I Grill Chicken?

In terms of temperature, you're going to want to cook your chicken breasts at around 425-450 °F, while you should cook your wings between 350 and 450 °F. When it comes to chicken, you really don't want to risk undercooking, so always use a probe thermometer to make sure the internal temperature hits 165 °F.

When most people think of pork on the grill, they're thinking of hot dogs or sausages, but there are plenty of other pork dishes you can cook up on the grill too. Let's get into what you need to know for pork chops and ribs.

Pork chops with a thickness between 3/4" and 1" should be grilled for about 4 to 6 minutes on each side, while a rack of baby-back ribs usually need to be on direct heat for about 25 to 30 minutes.

You want your pork chops cooking at high heat or medium-high heat, which means roughly 375 to 450 °F. Ribs should be cooked at a lower temperature, around 225 to 250 °F, so they can cook nice and slowly to really get the right texture.

Seafood

Though you may not find them at every barbeque event, plenty of people love throwing some fish on the grill. Though we can't tell you the cook times for every kind of seafood in the ocean, we can give some general numbers to help you get started!

How Long Do I Grill Fish?

For something like shrimp, you're going to want to grill them for about 1 to 2 minutes per side. For 3/4" to 1" cuts of fish like salmon, you're going to want to cook them for about 3-5 minutes on each side. For tuna steak, you should cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side.

At What Temperature Do I Grill Fish?

For shrimp, keep the grill between 350 and 450 °F. When cooking salmon or something similar, you should heat the grill to around 375 to 400 °F. Tuna steaks require a bit more heat, so you'll want the grill to be between 500 and 700 °F.

Sausages

Sausages and hot dogs can find themselves at home in any grilled dinner. Let's see how to grill 'em up right.

How Long Do I Grill Sausages?

Italian sausages should be cooked for as long as 15 to 20 minutes. Make sure you turn them occasionally, depending on how charred you like them. Hot dogs usually come pre-cooked, so 5 to 7 minutes with some occasional rotating should do.

At What Temperature Do I Grill Sausages?

For the Italian sausages, you're going to want to cook at temperatures between 300 and 400 °F. This may seem like low heat, but it's to help ensure the casings around them don't break. For hot dogs, you can set the temperature to around 325 to 375 °F.

Vegetables

You gotta make sure you get your veggies in, even when it's a grill night. Corn and asparagus are two grilled veggies you see most often, so let's check out how to grill them.

How Long Do I Grill Vegetables?

For corn on the cob, you're going to want to grill it for about 3 minutes per side if you're grilling them bare. If you've wrapped them in aluminum foil, you should cook them for about 30 minutes. For asparagus, you should cook them for about 3 to 5 minutes over direct heat, ensuring that you turn them while cooking.

At What Temperature Do I Grill Vegetables?

Corn on the cob tends to grill best at high heat, so around 450 °F should do the trick. Asparagus is best cooked at 375 to 425 °F to create that charred taste that can only come from the grill.

Cooking on the grill can be intimidating, especially if you haven't done it all year, but with a little preparation you'll ease right back into it! We hope this blog has helped take some out of the anxiety out of cooking your outdoor dinner. Have fun grilling!