“Don’t cook it on high heat,” Matt Peterson says of the richly marbled American Wagyu. That’s the No. 1 mistake he sees customers make. The high fat content can cause flare-ups on the grill.

Calvin and Desiree Wineland became butchers after retiring from the Army. “The best thickness for the grill is 1 inch,” says Calvin. “For a good piece of meat, just season with a little salt and pepper at the end. Seasoning early will just dry it out.

“Let your steak sit out at room temperature between an hour and an hour and a half before ever putting it on the grill,” Devon McDougall says. “It makes it so you don’t burn the hell out of the outside of the steak and the inside’s still raw.”

“Don’t overcook your pork chop,” Gary Hirsch says. “People got so scared about trichinosis for a while.” But pork should be cooked to an internal temperature of 145 degrees, no higher.

Ask butchers Jessie Mendoza (left) and Tony Ruiz what you should be ordering for the perfect bur-ger, and the answer is unhesitating: an 85-15 percent lean-to-fat ratio of 100 percent prime ground chuck.

“Get rid of your gas grill—you should only be using lump charcoal,” Matt Hamilton says. He designed a line of solid steel pit grills that are handmade in Fort Worth by off-duty firefighters.

750 North St.Paul St. Suite 2100 Dallas, Texas 75201