WASHINGTON – It’s Labor Day weekend and you might be breaking out the grill for one last summer cookout.

But after a long summer of barbecues, your grill might look a little worse for wear. But doesn’t that build up help flavor of the food?

Paul Kita, editor of Men’s Health Magazine, says that although many people think not cleaning their grill results in a seasoning that adds flavor, the grime actually makes food taste worse.

“It’s preventing a good sear, one of the crucial steps to getting great grilled food. So clean your grill grates,” Kita says.

Before putting your food on, let the heat break up some of the crud and then attack it with your grill brush, he says.

Another tip for easy cleaning: Take off your grill grate and leave it in the grass overnight. The dew will take off the grime.

The real key to tasty, juicy steak: Leave it be. Don’t poke or prod it or flip it too often, he says.

“Meat will tell you when its done cooking,” Kita says. “Wait, just be patient, look at it. And you’ll hear it sizzle and eventually you’ll see some of the juices come up to the surface of that meat. That’s the meat telling you, asking you ‘flip me please’.”

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• Labor Day events in D.C., Md., and Va.

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