10 Common Barbecue Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)

Tonight’s topic came from a great article by Bree Via of the Smoke n’ Magic competition BBQ team, published in The Smoke Sheet. She laid out ten big-time mistakes you might be making at the grill, and they’re worth going through one by one — because avoiding these can make a huge difference in your barbecue. These apply whether you’re cooking on a kettle, a pellet grill, an offset, or a gas grill.

Mistake #1: Not Preheating the Grill

Tossing food onto a cold grill leads to sticking and an uneven sear. You’ll never get those picture-perfect grill marks or that crusty bark starting from a cold grate.

The fix: Let your grill preheat for at least 10 to 15 minutes — treat it like a warm-up stretch. On charcoal, wait until the coals have ashed over gray. On a pellet or gas grill, close the lid and let the temperature stabilize first.

Mistake #2: Cooking at the Wrong Temperature

I was definitely guilty of this when I first started fancying myself a backyard pitmaster: going full blast for everything. What you end up with is food that’s burned on the outside and undercooked on the inside — and once it’s burned, there’s no going back.

The fix: Learn two-zone cooking. Set up a direct (hot) side and an indirect (cool) side — on a charcoal grill, just bank your coals to one side. Use the hot side for searing and the cool side for roasting and finishing. Think of your grill like an oven with a broiler side. Kettles, the PK360, and the Summit Kamado are all great for this, and an accessory like the Slow ‘N Sear makes the setup even easier (with a handy water reservoir for humidity). Master two-zone cooking and your outcomes will improve dramatically.

Mistake #3: Overcooking or Undercooking the Meat

Guessing doneness by cutting the meat open? Please don’t. You get dry or unsafe food either way — a wasted effort.

The fix: A meat thermometer is a must-have, starting with a simple instant-read (around $20). Thermometers don’t lie; your gut does. For food-safe temps: chicken to 165°F (pull around 160 and let carryover finish it), ground meats to 160°F, fish to 145°F. And for the low-and-slow cuts, target roughly 195–203°F for brisket, 200–205°F for pulled pork, 195–203°F for ribs, and 175–185°F for chicken thighs.

Mistake #4: Pressing Down on Burgers

That sizzle you hear when you press with the spatula? That’s flavor leaving the building — you’re pushing the juices out.

The fix: Hands off. Flip once, maybe twice, and let the burger do its thing. If you’ve got to have your smash burger, fine — but smash before the crust forms, not after the juices have settled in.

Mistake #5: Lifting the Lid Too Often

Opening the lid every 30 seconds “just to check” dumps heat and stalls the cook — or does the reverse, feeding oxygen to the fire and spiking your temps.

The fix: Set timers on your phone and trust your thermometer. A leave-in or wireless thermometer gives you constant insight without opening anything. If you’re looking, you ain’t cooking.

Mistake #6: Not Cleaning the Grates

Cooking over last week’s crusty bits causes sticking, off flavors, and grease flare-ups.

The fix: Brush the grates while they’re hot — but skip the wire-bristle brushes. Those bristles break off, end up in food, and can seriously hurt someone. Use a nylon brush, balled-up aluminum foil, or my favorite trick: cut an onion in half and run it across the hot grates. It cleans and seasons them. Bree’s pro tip: oil your grates after cleaning, not before lighting.

Mistake #7: Under-Seasoning the Meat

Forgetting the salt or relying only on sauce leads to bland meat — and bland meat is sad meat. You’re putting in all that effort managing your fire; don’t put yourself behind the eight ball before you start.

The fix: Season generously before the meat hits the grill — rubs, marinades, finishing sauces. Pro tip: salt early, sauce late. And personally, I believe your barbecue should stand on its own with or without sauce. Sauce should be optional, never mandatory.

Mistake #8: Using Lighter Fluid

Never, never, ever. Lighter fluid imparts a chemical taste to your food — nobody wants that gasoline-ribs vibe.

The fix: Use a chimney starter. It’s cleaner, faster, and safer. Fill it with unlit coals, light a wax cube, tumbleweed, or crumpled newspaper underneath, and in about 20 minutes your coals are hot and ashed over, ready to pour over the unlit coals in your firebox. Bree’s pro tip: lump charcoal plus starter cubes equals the perfect light-up.

Mistake #9: Saucing Too Early

Sugar burns fast. Apply sauce at the start of the cook and you get a bitter glaze and a darker appearance than you wanted.

The fix: If you’re going to sauce, apply it during the final 5 to 10 minutes. For thicker ribs, Bree suggests saucing twice — once with 10 minutes left, and again right before pulling. My preference? Let the guests sauce at the table.

Mistake #10: Ignoring Flare-Ups

Don’t just stand there while flames torch your food — burnt outside, raw inside.

The fix: If flames are raging with the lid open, close the lid and cut off the oxygen. Close the intakes too if it’s safe to do so. Keep a spray bottle nearby, move food to the cool zone, and always have a fire extinguisher on hand just in case. Never walk away mid-cook — even “set it and forget it” cookers need you nearby. A flare-up is just your grill’s way of saying, “Hey, I need attention.”

One More Thing: Burp That Lid

A bonus from our live chat: when your grill is running hot, “burp” the lid — crack it open a little, then a little more, before lifting it all the way. Yank a hot grill wide open and the fireball can take your eyebrows with it.

Avoid these ten mistakes and your cooks will improve immediately. And if you’ve got questions between cooks, don’t go it alone — join the free Backyard Smokemaster Society, where we keep the barbecue conversation going all week long. Want masterclasses and live group hangs? That’s the Backyard Smokemaster Inner Circle.

This post is based on an episode of the Backyard Smokemaster Barbecue Podcast, live every Wednesday at 6 p.m. Pacific / 8 Central / 9 Eastern. Catch the replay on YouTube or listen on your favorite podcast player.