If your holiday cookout had more fizzle than sizzle, fire up with some new techniques before summer’s over.
The Citizen spoke with local chefs for hot tips on grilling.

Mitch Plant mans the kitchen of Atlas Valley Country Club, located at 8313 Perry Road in Atlas Township.
Grill grates that aren’t hot enough keep juices from being seared in meat, and cause food to stick and tear when turned. Charcoal should be covered with thick white ash.
?(Proper temperature is) really important if you’re using a marinade,? says Plant, since sugar or alcohol especially causes sticking.
Grilled pizza is one of Plant’s out-of-the-ordinary favorites. He rolls out pizza dough, places it on a hot grate with the flame low, flips it, adds pizza toppings, and throws on cheese before putting the lid on and melting the cheese.
Fish baskets are a great tool for grilling food that falls apart easily, like whole red snapper.
Plant’s favorite grilling tip?
Not overcooking, using marinades–for fish, poultry, and beef–and using a little butter when grilling fish.
David Adair is the chef and owner of MacPhee’s Restaurant & Pub, located at 650 S. Ortonville Road in Ortonville.
“Cooking at the wrong temperature is a mistake,” says Adair. “Instead of using the lower level on high, cook on an upper shelf and cook longer or cook with a lower flame and cook longer. Watch it. A lot of time when grilling you get distracted and walk away. Pay close attention. Another mistake is not flipping the food enough.”
Tips: Soak corn in the husk overnight in salt water to add flavor. Don’t boil ribs prior to grilling to conserve flavor, but roast in the oven. Marine chicken or beef, even if only using Italian dressing.
Rattlesnake is the most unusual food Adair has grilled, along with haggis–a Scottish dish–which the chef says is an acquired taste.
Eric Alderton, chef at Bullfrog’s Restaurant, 2225 M-15 Ortonville, says it’s important to season meats correctly when grilling.
“You don’t want to season your meat before you grill, because it pulls out the flavor.”
Alderton also recommends cooking at medium to high temperature, but not too high, timing different elements of a meal to finish at the same time.
Propane is easier to grill with than charcoal, he says.
“You can adjust the temperature to what you want, and you have less of a mess.”

Mitch Plant’s marinade for fish
Plant stirs this up to marinade swordfish, ahi or yellowfin tuna, or marlin. Amounts are estimated.

2 cups water
1/2 cup Chardonnay or white wine
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons Rose’s Lime Juice
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Marinade one-inch thick fish fillets a maximum of one to two hours. Cook approximately three minutes on each side until only a thin line of translucency remains in the middle. Serve with a slice of lime.

David Adair’s honey-mustard chicken

Boneless breast of chicken based with own honey dijon mustard glaze. 1/3 cup honey, 1/3 cup prepared mustard, 1/3 cup Dijon mustard, 1/4 cup sour cream. On medium flame start to cook chicken breast basting chicken with sauce three to four times during cooking time. Baste a final time after taking chicken off grill.

Chef Eric Alderton’s Cajun seasoning mix
1/2 pound kosher salt, 1 cup Spanish paprika, 3/4 cup cumin, 1/4 cup thyme, 1 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 1/2 tablespoon black pepper, 1 1/2 teaspoon oregano, 1/4 teaspoon white pepper.
Mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container. Use for steaks, seafood, chicken, and in creme pasta dishes.

Smoky wings
2 1/2 tablespoons ground peppercorns
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon seasoned salt
5 pounds chicken wings, rinsed and dried
1 cup honey
1/2 cup hot or extra-hot barbecue sauce, according to taste
3 tablespoons apple juice
Sift spices together to blend. Shake wings and spices in large zip plastic bag to coat well for at least 30 minutes, or up to 24 hours in refrigerator.
Prepare coals using 3 pounds of charcoal, stacked on one side of grill. When coals are white, place 2 cups soaked, drained apple wood chips on top. Set wings on other side of grate and smoke 25 minutes. Turn the wings and smoke for another 20 to 25 minutes.
Warm honey, barbecue sauce, and juice in saucepan over medium heat until warmed.
Place wings in foil pan, pour sauce over, and toss to coat. Cover and smoke in pan another 20 to 30 minutes over coals, stirring occasionally until glazed to taste.

Baked onions with sherry
4 medium Vidalia onions
2 beef stock cubes
4 tablespoons sherry
4 teaspoons butter
salt and pepper
mixed herbs
Peel onions, hollowing cavity at one end of each. Season outside with salt, pepper, and herbs.
Fill cavity of each onion with half of beef stock cube, 1 tablespoon sherry, and 1 teaspoon butter. Wrap onions individually in foil and place in barbecue coals approximately 45 minutes.

Where the grillers go
Brown’s Do-it Center, located at 7281 S. State Road in Goodrich, has an entire aisle devoted to grill accessories.
The store carries portable gas or charcoal grills, including new Weber and stainless steel styles, along with smokers. A propane tank costs $29.99; a 20-pound fill costs $12.50 including tax, says Lori Fraker of Brown’s.
The store carries two brands of wood chips for smoking, including hickory, mesquite, apple, cherry, and alder woods. There are barbecue tool sets, skewers, tongs, forks, basting brushes, charcoal and lighter fluids, matches, grill covers, stainless steel and non-stock fish and hamburger baskets, seasonings and sauces, cooking grates, propane hoses and fittings, disposable roaster pans, and rotisseries.
Grill cleaners include spray-on, brushes, scrapers, flexible venturi tube cleaning brushes–to get rid of those cobwebs–and chemical-free pumice stones that shape themselves to a grill’s slats.
Some replacement parts are in stock; others can be special ordered.
Brown’s is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.