Barbecuing is almost mandatory on Memorial Day weekend and even if you live in an apartment you can always use your balcony or porch to whip out the old grill and cook up some steaks. Here are a few BBQ tips to try in your Sherman Oaks apartment this Memorial Day.

Clean grill: the first step to producing a great BBQ is to thoroughly clean the grill. You do not want the ashes of old food stuck on your burger or steak.

Use a thermometer: cutting into your meat to find out if it is done cooking is one of the worse mistakes a grill master can make. Cutting into a burger or steak allows the juices to seep out of the meat and cause it to lose taste. Use a meat thermometer instead.

Waiting on the BBQ sauce: most cooks throw on the BBQ sauce a little too early, which will cause it to burn and char up your food. The sauce should not be added during the last 15 minutes of the cooking process.