If you love grilled or barbecued foods, don’t let the cold weather stop you! Here’s 5 Winter Grilling Tips to keep in mind for outdoor cooking in the winter.

Disclosure: This post & giveaway are sponsored by Teflon.

Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall — we are a year-round grilling family.

Well, to be fair, we also live in Las Vegas, Nevada. And I’m guessing the average person dealing with Minnesota winters doesn’t want to hear from the Nevadan about grilling in the winter. But, hear me out. When we lived on the east coast, we were still grilling in the winter and we did learn a bit about grilling when the weather is cold.

Here’s our top 5 winter grilling tips:

1. Plenty of charcoal or propane on hand:It’s not fun to run out of propane or charcoal anytime you’re grilling, but it’s especially inconvenient in the winter when you want the cooking to finish as quickly as possible. When you know you are going to grill, double check your propane levels or check that you have enough charcoal. Speaking of charcoal, if you live in an area that is extremely cold in the winter, buy extra charcoal as summer is winding down as some stores carry less (or no) inventory of it.

2. Clear path:The last thing you want to do is slip and fall carrying that plate of gorgeous steaks. It’s important to have your grill away from your house and any combustible materials, which means that your path from door to grill might be wet or icy. Be sure to shovel and salt your path, if necessary, before any grilling starts.

3. Plenty of light:One of the great things about summer is longer days and the sun is still shining when it’s time to cook dinner. Unfortunately, we don’t have that luxury in the winter. Having a light outside is ideal, but if it’s not close to where you grill, you may want a quality grill light to allow hands-free lighting.

4. Use a wireless meat thermometer:Keeping your grill closed as much as possible is important in the winter because too much opening and closing will continue to reduce the temperature inside. Having a good meat thermometer can save you from having to repeatedly open the grill to check the temperature and is especially useful when grilling large pieces of meat or smoking.

5. Dress warm:Having gloves that allow easy movement of your fingers is ideal. You will also want warm clothing and a jacket that keeps you warm is essential. For us, this meant a brand new jacket with Teflon Brand coating for David. Not only does his jacket keep him warn during our winter grilling, but the Teflon coating is proving to repel dirt and moisture that he encounters outside while cooking.

Since jackets aren’t washed daily, having the Teflon coating is a huge help. It also has a hoodie, which keeps his neck and ears warm without having a scarf, which could be dangerous if dangling around a grill.

In addition to the jacket that I got for David, there is a variety of other warm clothing options available from Teflon, like flannel shirts and hoodies . Plenty of choices for winter grilling.

ENTER TO WIN $100 AMAZON GIFT CARD!

David loves his new jacket with Teflon coating, so we are excited to host a great giveaway just for Home Cooking Memories readers — a $100 gift card to Amazon! This way you can buy your own Teflon Brand Apparel — maybe a jacket or a flannel shirt. And maybe a new grill light or meat thermometer. To enter, just use the Rafflecopter below. The only required entry is check out the Teflon Brand Apparel on Amazon.com and comment on this blog post telling me which item you would most like to buy. I’ve also given you plenty of other options for extra entries, if you wish. GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Want some grilling recipes or ideas? Check these out:

Grilled Banana Dessert Bar