Corey Milligan's Top 3 Grilling Secrets

We want to make sure you're ready for the ultimate summer of grilling, so in honor of the upcoming Memorial Day Weekend, we sat down with Corey Milligan, founder of New West KnifeWorks, and - with a good deal of prying - were able to capture his top three secrets to impeccable meat and veggies on the grill. Being a man of good food and wild mountains, Corey knows his way around a fiery grill pit and now these secrets are recorded for the first time ever - just for you.

Secret # 1: 24 Hours of Salt

For pork Corey gravitates towards cuts that have a good layer of fat and chicken cuts that still have skin on the outside. To these he applies a generous coating of kosher or Himalayan salt and some seasoning (pepper and fresh sage for pork; thyme and garlic for chicken) 24 hours in advance of grilling and lets them sit covered in the fridge. Corey says “the flavor is fantastic, but it’s not just a flavor thing, it’s a texture thing. It makes the meat more tender while helping form a crisp, tender crust on the exterior.”

Secret #2: Put it on the grill and don’t fuss with it.

The key to getting a perfectly crisp exterior and well-defined grill marks is to put something on the hot grill and not move it for several minutes. Moving or touching the meat or veg before it gets a good grill mark on it means that delicious crispy layer will stick to the grill rather than your food.

Secret #3: Vegetables, vegetables, vegetables...and wire mesh.

According to Corey, the grill is not just for meat, he likes to experiment with a wide range of unexpected vegetables on the grill. The real secret: “¼ inch wire mesh from hardware store on top of the grill makes a great vegetable grilling surface. Just season with olive oil, salt and pepper, and you’re good to go.”

And his favorite veggies to grill are...

  • Green onions – cooked whole make a bright and tasty side dish
  • Cabbage – cut into large, round ½ inch thick slices; don’t worry, the mesh keeps small pieces that might separate off from falling into the flames
  • Green beans – Corey won’t even eat unless they’re cooked over a flaming grill
  • Cauliflower – looks beautiful when the middle section is cut into ½ inch “steaks” that look like trees

And our favorite companion knife to all this grilling...? The Teton Edge Santoku - rugged outdoor beauty with scientific precision. 

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