Conventional grilling wisdom indeed stipulates that you should NOT flip food frequently. In fact, you should probably flip only once if possible, so you can get a nice sear on the meat and create those sexy grill marks. You're going for what's called the Maillard reaction, basically caramelization of the outside of the food.
Learn how to make those sexy grill marks here.
But if you're concerned for your health, and specifically
the cancer causing potential of grilling, you actually want to
avoid searing or charring your food, particularly meat,
since this has been linked with some cancers. Hence the
recommendation to flip your food frequently to avoid any
possibility of searing the outside of the meat.
As my colleague Andrew Knowlton, aka
The BA Foodist, said "If you're that worried about
carcinogens, should you be grilling in the first place?" Well,
yes. Everyone deserves a good burger every now and then. Just be
careful how you flip it.
Everything you need to know about grilling.
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