Rachael Ray: Rachael's Daytime Talkshow

The Summer All-Stars Answer Your Questions

Aired on: May 20, 2009

From the best burger to the perfect marinade, Rachael's summer entertainment all-stars have answers to all of your grilling concerns! Get the tips from Bobby Flay, Rocco DiSpirito, Sunny Anderson and Adam Perry Lang.

What's the proper way to use a marinade on meat? "Marinades do so many things to food," Rocco DiSpirito explains. "They flavor food, they age the food and they tenderize food. Great marinades start with some sort of fat like olive oil, aromatics like herbs and garlic, sweet and sour items like honey, agave nectar, lime, and lemon. All those do great things." Rocco recommends fruit acids if you're looking to tenderize the meat. "Pineapple juice is a great tenderizer and you use those on tough cuts of meat like hanger steak, flank steak ... great cheap cuts right now are flat iron as well as flank steaks."

Rachael then turns to grill master Adam Perry Lang for his favorite marinade - click here for his recipe!

How can you grill corn without burning and drying out the kernels? "I pull the leaves back and take the silk out, and then put it back, dip it in water, put it on the grill and it actually steams in its own shell," Adam Perry Lang explains. "But then after, because you want to get that charred flavor on it, put it back on the grill and char it up a little bit. Season it, put some oil on it and serve it. It comes out great."

Adam gets some praises from Bobby Flay who says, "A lot of times I'll do what Adam does!" Bobby also has his own secret tip: "A foolproof way to do it actually is to steam it in some water first for about 10 minutes," he suggests. "I put a little milk in the water - don't ask me why, it's something I've always done! Some people say it's an old wives' tale, I don't care I just do it ... I tell people it makes the corn creamier!" Once it's been steamed, just pop the corn on the grill to char it a bit.

Sunny Anderson offers a slightly different corn technique. "I keep it simple, I usually just take the husk off, and the silk off as well," she explains. "I dress it with a little bit of salt and pepper, some oil, wrap it in some aluminum foil and put it back on the grill. It kind of keeps you from charring it. When it comes out, I always do the lime juice with a little bit of mayo and some chili powder. It is so 'South of the Border!'"

Not sure where to put corn on the grill? Click here for Rocco's grill guide!

Is it OK to serve store-bought hamburger patties? The chefs all respond with a resounding "no!" What's their favorite way to serve a burger? Click on the video for all of their ideas!