 Keep it Sanitary. When handling and preparing fresh meat, always wash hands and the preparation surface areas regularly. This is particularly true with fish, pork and chicken. Bacteria and germs can prevail in many places and unsanitary habits can make you sick. If you wash your hands and dry them on cloth towels and you do this regularly, you may not be accomplishing the cleanliness that is necessary because the towel can become dirty. We recommend using paper towels and that way each time, you are using clean material to dry the hands. No need in becoming sick enjoying what we like doing best!
 Grilling grates must be hot! If you are "grilling" (fast cooking directly over the heat), as opposed to barbecuing (low temperature and not directly over the heat), always make sure the grates are very hot. This means making sure you have the fire at maximum temperatures and the cooking grates over this heat for at least 10 minutes. By pre-heating the cooking grates, they will sear the meat to make it look pretty, but more importantly, it will keep the meat from sticking to the cooking grate when turning it over. If they are still sticking, the meat is not ready to be turned. When the meat releases from the cooking grates (or if there is the only the slightest pull) then the meat is ready to be turned. BUT, for this to work properly, the grates must be HOT!
 Enjoy the process. Don't be in a hurry. Relax, plan ahead, take your time, have the necessary ingredients available before beginning. That may look like going to the store the day before cooking and buying everything. It may also look like seasoning the meat the night before and placing it covered in the refrigerator for marinating or just applying a dry rub. Having enough charcoal/gas to complete the task is also important. This keeps the franticness from overwhelming the process. Most importantly, have plenty of your favorite beverage and good friends over to enjoy not only the process - which is the most important part - but also the results.
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Don't over cook the food in the pretense of making it "falling off the bone" tender. This is a mistake made by most beginners/uninformed cooks. Anytime you overcook the meat, it will dry the bone and release the meat from the bone. This has nothing to do with being tender. Just over cooked. To test this theory (and to waste some perfectly good meat), simply cook the ribs, chicken or any other type of meat to the point where you know it will be completely overdone. You will notice the meat "falls off the bone" every time. It is not necessarily tender as it probably has dried out, but it will certainly come off the bone easily. If you judge tenderness in this method, you should rethink your definition. Elsewhere on the site is information which defines when meat is properly done.
