Easy Grilling Tips for Your Labor Day BBQ

A three-day weekend like Labor Day is the perfect excuse to fire up the smoker or grill, get your friends and family together, and enjoy a great meal.

An awesome Labor Day BBQ doesn’t require you to spend the whole day working over a hot grill. With a little prep work, a simple menu and a few tried-and-true grilling techniques, you can serve up champion-style BBQ and still enjoy the party.

Whether you’re cooking shrimp, chicken, sausage, ribs, burgers or a little bit of everything, here are 10 easy Labor Day BBQ and grilling tips to help make your cookout a success.

1. Keep Your Labor Day BBQ Menu Simple

Even when you’re cooking for a crowd, you don't have to put together a huge menu. Choose one or two main dishes that you know you can cook well. Burgers, chicken wings, sausages and ribs are all great options for a casual backyard BBQ.

You can complement the grilled items with a few easy sides, appetizers and desserts.

Keeping the menu simple makes prepping and grilling easier — and gives you more time to hang out with your guests instead of spending the entire day manning the smoker.

2. Prep Beforehand

One of the easiest ways to make Labor Day entertaining less stressful is to get your prep work done before your guests arrive. Here are some things you can prep in advance:

• Season or marinate meats ahead of time.
• Chop vegetables.
• Prepare toppings.
• Mix sauces and dips.
• Assemble cold side dishes.
• Organize serving platters and utensils.
• Set up your BBQ station and self-serve beverage station.

The more you can take care of early, the less you’ll have to think about once the grill gets going.

3. Season Your Meat Like You Mean It

Great BBQ starts with great flavor. Whether you’re cooking chicken, pork, beef or seafood, seasoning your protein before it hits the grill gives the flavors time to adhere to the surface.

This is where your favorite Loot N’ Booty BBQ rubs come in. Don't be afraid to season generously, especially when it comes to larger cuts of meat. You want enough seasoning to create deep flavor and develop a nice crust.

4. Prep Your Grill Before You Start Cooking

Before tossing burgers, chicken or steaks onto the grill, give it enough time to come up to temp. A hot grill helps create a better sear, encourages browning and can help prevent food from sticking to the grates.

Make sure your grill grates are clean before you start cooking. Give them a good brushing after the grill heats up so you have a clean surface ready for your Labor Day spread.

5. Create Different Heat Zones

One of the most useful grilling techniques you can learn is how to create multiple heat zones. Instead of having the entire grill going at the same temperature, set up a hotter side and a cooler side.

The hotter area can be used for searing burgers, steaks and other foods, while the cooler area gives you a place to continue cooking food more gently.

It also comes in handy when you have different meats going at the same time. If something is cooking too quickly, you can move it away from the hottest part of the grill to avoid burning while other meats are finishing up. Learning how to use both direct and indirect heat gives you a lot more control over your cook.

6. Don’t Overcrowd the Grill

Your meats need some breathing room. Overcrowding your grill makes it harder to move food around and manage different temperatures. Leaving open space also gives you somewhere to move food if you encounter flare-ups or notice that one section of your grill is hotter than another.

If necessary, cook in batches. Your guests will probably appreciate freshly grilled food more than a giant batch that has been sitting around getting cold.

7. Resist the Urge to Flip

Once the food hits the grill, resist the urge to constantly move it around. Burgers, steaks, chicken and other proteins need a little uninterrupted time against the hot grates to develop a flavorful exterior.

Put the food down and give the grill a chance to do its job. Instead of flipping over and over again, keep an eye on your heat and turn the food when it is ready.

8. Cook to Temp, Not Just Time

Cooking times are useful guidelines, but they aren’t guarantees. The thickness of the meat, outdoor temperature, grill temperature and even the location of the food on your grill can change how quickly something cooks.

An instant-read meat thermometer is a great tool for checking the internal temp of your meats as you go. It’s an especially important step when grilling foods like chicken.

9. Sauce at the Right Time and Let Meat Rest

BBQ sauce can add incredible flavor, but timing matters. Many BBQ sauces contain sugar, which can burn when exposed to high heat for too long. Instead of loading on the sauce at the beginning of the cook, brush it on toward the end so it has enough time to caramelize without burning.

Once your meat comes off the grill, you can brush on additional sauce. For example, our Loot N' Booty BBQ Apple Cherry BBQ sauce has a balanced, slightly sweet flavor that complements many grilled foods. Then give it a few minutes to rest before slicing into it. This is especially important for larger cuts, steaks and chicken.

You can use that resting time to finish your sides and set up your serving stations.

10. Put More Than Meat on the Grill

Your grill doesn’t have to be reserved for meat. Take advantage of that hot cooking surface and grill some of your Labor Day sides, too.

Corn on the cob is a classic. But while you're at it, grill some peppers, onions, zucchini, potatoes and other vegetables. Don't forget to season those, too. We like to use Gold Star Chicken and even What's Your Beef? to liven them up before they hit the grill.

You can also get creative with appetizers. Wings, sausage, jalapeño poppers and other small bites can get the party started before the main meal is served.

This Labor Day, keep it simple. Fire up the grill. Cook what you like. And use bold flavors (like your favorite Loot N' Booty BBQ rubs and sauces!) for a fun and memorable BBQ.