--- title: Grilling Secrets: The Science Behind Grilling description: Nothing says the Fourth of July like seared food, so here’s a quick lesson on the science behind grilling canonical: https://time.com/3943999/grilling-tips-how-to-grill/ author: Alice Park article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-02T12:00:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:02:41.279Z article:section: Health og:title: Here's What Happens To Your Steak When You Grill It og:description: Nothing says the Fourth of July like seared food, so here’s a quick lesson on the science behind grilling og:url: https://time.com/3943999/grilling-tips-how-to-grill/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta451a52301a32d29/69885971a988ca0cb26b34f5/grilling-grill-chicken.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: grilling grill chicken og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's What Happens To Your Steak When You Grill It twitter:description: Nothing says the Fourth of July like seared food, so here’s a quick lesson on the science behind grilling twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta451a52301a32d29/69885971a988ca0cb26b34f5/grilling-grill-chicken.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's What Happens To Your Steak When You Grill It  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Jul 2, 2015 12:00 PM UTC  Barbecue cooking on outdoor grill Barbecue cooking on outdoor grillGetty Images  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Jul 2, 2015 12:00 PM UTC It’s time to throw nearly everything you can think of—meat, chicken, fish, vegetables and even fruit—on the grill and give it a good sear. But what makes food cooked over a fire taste so good? Here’s the simple (we promise, it’s not that complicated) science behind what makes red meat red, when to take your food off the flame, and whether gas or charcoal is really better for that getting that smoky flavor, thanks to the experts at the American Chemical Society. ### Photos From 'America's First Family of Fireworks'  Burj Khalifa, Dubai. December, 2013. Fireworks by Grucci  Liberty State Park, New Jersey. July, 2014 Fireworks by Grucci  Liberty Island, New York. October, 2002. Fireworks by Grucci  Washington, DC. January, 2005. Fireworks by Grucci  Oswego, New York. July, 2013 Fireworks by Grucci  Baltimore, Maryland. September, 2014 Fireworks by Grucci  Salt Lake City, Utah. February, 2002 Fireworks by Grucci  Palm Jumeirah, Dubai. December 2013. Fireworks by Grucci ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3943999/grilling-tips-how-to-grill/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3943999/grilling-tips-how-to-grill/"},"headline":"Here's What Happens To Your Steak When You Grill It","datePublished":"2015-07-02T12:00:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:02:41.279Z","description":"Nothing says the Fourth of July like juicy seared food, so here’s a quick lesson on the science behind grilling","url":"https://time.com/3943999/grilling-tips-how-to-grill/","keywords":["Diet & Nutrition","BBQ","grilling","fourth of july","July 4th"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta451a52301a32d29/69885971a988ca0cb26b34f5/grilling-grill-chicken.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alice Park","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/alice-park/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta451a52301a32d29/69885971a988ca0cb26b34f5/grilling-grill-chicken.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"grilling grill chicken","caption":"grilling grill chicken","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/dietnutrition/","name":"Diet & Nutrition"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3943999/grilling-tips-how-to-grill/","name":"Here's What Happens To Your Steak When You Grill It"}}]}] ```