GRILLING IS GREAT--If You Know What You're Doing.

• Position: Brief Article

Barbecuing may be as American as apple pie, but it's no piece of cake for many grillers. That is one of the results of the annual Weber GrillWatch Survey of grilling practices and trends.

The survey confirms that Americans are cookout-lovers, grilling an average of 2.3 times per week during the summer months. Yet, many grill owners really don't know what they are doing. For example:

The vast majority of grills sold today are covered, designed to be used with the lid or hood closed. While 74% of respondents report that they do so, more than three-quarters of them are peeking under the lid so often that they lose the benefits of a covered grill. Frequently lifting the lid cools the grill and can extend the cooking time. "With a covered grill, you should really only lift the lid to turn the food," explains Betty Hughes, consumer affairs director for Weber-Stephen Products Co., manufacturers of grills and accessories. "That way, you trap the heat and the smoke under the hood, where it can cook and flavor your barbecue."

Charcoal grill owners were asked if they cook with the vents on the lids opened or closed. Fifty-eight percent of them either grill with closed vents or open and close them as they cook. According to Hughes, this is a no-no. "A charcoal fire needs those vents open to maintain an even temperature, By closing the vents, you are starving the fire of the oxygen it needs to continue to burn. If cooks want to vary the temperature of a fire, they should vary the amount of charcoal used."

Charcoal briquets take 25-30 minutes from lighting until they are ready to cook, but most backyard grillers don't wait that long. Eight percent wait zero...