Step 2: How to properly prep your meat, fish and vegetables for the grill

Meat should be at room temperature before grilling, otherwise it is more likely to become tough. Depending on its size, take it out of the fridge early enough; a steak should rest around 20-30 minutes, larger cuts will need longer. But to ensure a smooth, exact cut, make sure to cut larger pieces of meat while it's still cold. As butcher, Darren O'Rourke, points out, the meat gets softer as it warms, making it harder to cut.

Spare ribs are one of those dishes that need quite some knife work before they are ready to hit the grill. In particular, you’ll need a sharp knife to remove the silver skin from the ribs. See how it’s done in our video below.

We’ve marinated our spare ribs for maximum flavor, but if you don’t like to marinate, here’s a classic American spice rub suggestion as an alternative. Grind the spices and rub them into the ribs shortly before grilling.

• 2 tablespoons each of black pepper, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, smoked salt
• 1 tablespoon each of rock salt, paprika flakes, caraway, paprika powder and garlic chips

Knives with a flexible blade are best suited for preparing whole fish, because you need to make fine incisions on both sides of the fish to ensure even cooking and to avoid the skin curling up during grilling. For filleting and descaling, we recommend our Swiss Classic Filleting Knife because of its sharp and flexible blade.

Put the fish into a plastic bag and descale it inside the bag with a knife or a descaler, this way the cutting board stays clean. Then rinse the fish carefully inside and out and dab dry with a paper towel. Make fine incisions in the skin on both sides at even intervals. Salt the fish inside and out. Coat the incisions with butter or olive oil so they don’t dry out.

If you didn’t choose to marinate your fish, you can add a Moroccan spice rub to fish. Grind the following spices together and rub into the fish shortly before grilling:

• 2 tablespoons of ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon each of caraway seeds, ground cumin, paprika,
• ¼ teaspoon salt and 3 teaspoons freshly ground pepper

The right knives also make precision-cutting vegetables and herbs easier. A serrated blade is ideal for soft, plump skin (e.g. tomatoes). A sharp, smooth blade helps with hard skin or firm fruit.

We recommend choosing seasonal vegetables that are not too soft, otherwise they can fall through the grill. It’s best to cut the vegetables into equally sized pieces so that they are cooked through at the same time. Whole vegetables like corn on the cob can simply be rubbed with oil or fleur de sel before grilling.