It’s a sunny spring afternoon. The trees are in bloom, the air is warm and a light breeze gusts across Mt. Oread. On this day a young man on the Hill is on a mission. He is determined to grill a lot of meat and it’s going to be good.

Joel Schmelzle, Onaga junior, is the food board manager for Krehbiel Scholarship Hall. He’s grilling 70 pounds of pork barbecue ribs for his and neighboring scholarship hall residents. Working on the hall’s double-chambered charcoal grill, Schmelzle is obviously a pro. “Learning to grill is an experimental thing,” he says.

A self-taught grillmaster, Schmelzle improved his craft through online research and trial and error. “Grilling is really an art,” he says. “Each time is a different experience. You have to keep the temperature right, cooking everything for a good period of time but not so much that it’s dried out.”

Here are a few important tips to consider before firing up the grill this season.

Dealing with food and fire can be tricky. The last thing you want to do is make someone sick. For this reason, you should prepare proper grilling tools and take precautions to make sure everything is sanitary. Barry Dakake, executive chef at N9NE Steakhouse in Las Vegas, says depending on what you’re grilling, you should have long and short metal tongs, grill brushes, a thermometer and plateware.

Dakake says meats should be stored outside so they don’t go bad. He also says you should clean off places you’ve cooked previously, letting any residue burn off before cooking something new. “You don’t want to throw fish on top of a place where you just cooked a steak,” he says.

Knowing how to heat up your grill properly is an obvious necessity, but if you’re working with a charcoal or wood-burning grill it’s not always easy. Dakake, who opts to use fruitwood instead of charcoal for grilling, says you need to make sure the grill is “rippin’ hot” before you start cooking. “It can get up to 400 to 500 degrees, but you’re going to have certain hot spots that you need to find,” he says.

Don Mauer, author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Grilling, says the best way to start a charcoal grill, which he thinks is more flavorful than using a gas grill, is with a charcoal chimney. The chimney, which is a cylindrical metal tube with holes at the bottom and a wire grill inside, is earth-friendly and less hazardous than using starter fluid. “For pyrotechnics, starter fluid certainly puts on a good show,” he says. “But there are many who believe the flavor of the petroleum-based fluid carries over into the food.”

Another issue that inexperienced grillers need to consider is the placement of the grill. Mauer says a grill should always be on a hard, level and fire-safe surface at least 10 feet from anything that can easily ignite. If it’s windy, the grill should be placed even farther away from anything that could catch fire. When grilling in rainy weather, don’t put your grill in a place where flames can catch a ceiling on fire. Grilling should also not take place in an enclosed space because charcoal emits carbon monoxide, Mauer says.

Grilling and meat usually go hand in hand, but don’t forget that grilling also adds flavor to lighter foods such as seafood, fruits and vegetables. However, you need to take a different approach when handling and grilling these foods. Mauer says vegetables need to have oil brushed on them before going on the grill. He says the oil helps seasonings stay on the vegetables while keeping them from sticking to the grill.

When grilling fresh veggies, Dakake says less is more. You only need to use a little salt, pepper and garlic for seasoning. “Make the flavor nice and gentle. You don’t want to mask the taste of the product you’re using.”

Because of the intense heat of the grill, vegetables take less time to cook than meat. “You just have to mark them,” Dakake says. “You don’t want to grill them so much that they’re mushy.”

For sanitary purposes, Mauer says to keep raw meats separate from raw vegetables and cooked meats. “It’s important to be aware of the possibilities of cross-contamination at all times,” he says.

There’s no doubt grilling can produce some amazing food, but there’s also a wonderful community aspect to the experience. Mauer says grilling is a guest-friendly activity. “When you’re grilling, people can gather and watch and talk as their food’s prepared. There’s something about grilling that says ‘fun.’”

If you’re having people over to grill, there’s always the risk of being overloaded with things to do and food to prepare. Mauer says the best way to balance the workload is to make it a potluck. He says he likes to have his guests bring favorite side dishes, salads and desserts. “I provide the grilled food and they bring everything else,” he says.

For Schmelzle, grilling is a time to relax and hang out with friends. For those who are new to hosting a grillout, Schmelzle says you just need to pick a Saturday and do it. “Go out, get some charcoal and try it,” he says. “There is nothing like good weather, spending time with friends and eating food that’s been cooked over an open flame.”