Grilling Tips to Help Save You Money and Energy

When you cook in the summer, you’re not just consuming energy with your oven—it’s also more likely that you’ll need to keep your air conditioner running to counteract the heat it creates. Consider how much extra energy this means you’re consuming in your home, especially if you have an electric oven.

A great way to save money and energy is to grill out during the summer. Grilling out isn’t just a fun seasonal activity—it’s also highly practical to help you decrease your energy consumption over the summer and lower your monthly utility bills. This is true whether you’re using gas or charcoal. If you’re considering buying a grill, you just need to balance convenience versus flavor. Gas allows you to cut down your cooking time, but charcoal offers a more unique, distinct flavor that is beloved by purists. In general, the long-term costs associated with the two types of grills are very similar.

Even when you’re grilling, there are ways you can maximize the energy source you’re using to be as efficient as possible. Here are a few helpful grilling tips in Wausau, WI:

• Have your food ready: It’s important to actually have your food ready to go once the grill is ready to go. You have a little more time for your food prep when working with charcoal, but you shouldn’t start a gas grill until your food is already prepared for grilling.
• Cut down your warmup time: Charcoal grills take a little longer to warm up than gas grills. While a gas grill is ready for cooking within about five minutes, with charcoal you need all the coals to catch fire and burn. Usually about 20 minutes is good for charcoal, though you may need to provide for more time with larger grills and larger amounts of coal. Don’t feel like you need to sit and wait forever to begin cooking.
• Don’t use more than you need: With gas grills, only light up the burners you actually plan to use so you don’t use more propane than is truly necessary to get the job done. You might only need one or two burners if you’re not cooking all that much food. With charcoal, plan out the amount of coal you use based on the amount of food you’re going to cook. Small amounts of food require less coal. It might also help to have two different sized grills. You can find small charcoal grills for a relatively low price, and they will be more efficient for cooking small amounts of food for just one or two people.
• Turn off the grill: A lot of energy gets wasted in letting grills run after the cooking is done. Once the food is ready, stop the grill. This means shutting off the burners and gas for a gas grill, and closing up the vents on the lid for a charcoal grill. You can use the leftover coals for your next time grilling.

For more information about grilling tips in Wausau, WI to help you enjoy energy and financial savings this summer, contact Marcell’s Specialties Inc. today.

Categorised in: Grilling Tips

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