10 tips for backyard barbecuers

Eric Devlin has enjoyed cooking outdoors for as long as he can remember, but about six years ago, it dawned on the Dix Hills event manager that grilling "isn't just a matter of throwing meat on a hot grill." Devlin, now an avid competition barbecuer and editor of the online barbecue magazine Smoke Signals, realized that to get better results, he was "going to have to become more systematic about grilling, pay more attention to basic skills."

Here are his top 10 tips for becoming a better griller:

Check out Devlin's recipes for:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's "recommended safe minimum internal temperature" guidelines call for poultry to be cooked to 165 degrees. Last year, the USDA lowered the pork temperature recommendation from 165 to 145. Both of these recommendations will yield a nicely cooked piece of meat.

The USDA also recommends that steaks, chops and roasts of beef, veal and lamb be cooked to 145 degrees, but I have never met a professional chef (or a good home cook) who adheres to those guidelines.

For rare, cook red meat to an internal temperature of 120 to 125, 125 to 130 for medium rare, 140 for medium, 150 for medium well, 160 for shoe leather. As meat rests, the internal temperature rises, so if you want your steak medium rare, take it off the heat at 122 degrees and give it a few minutes.