As soon as the warm weather arrives, many of us feel inspired to fire up the backyard grill immediately. Before you invite the whole neighborhood for a barbecue, however, a few moments of preparation can pay off. Spring is a great time to get organized by cleaning your grill, ordering organic meats and grass-fed beef to keep handy in your freezer, and practicing techniques that result in the most flavorful meals.

Here are few steps to make sure you make superior grilled meats and grass-fed steaks this spring and summer:

1. Clean and season your grill, and order new parts as necessary. Grills can take a beating over time, especially if they ever get left out in the rain or snow. Scrub grates or drip bars and wash with hot soapy water. After they’re completely dry, wipe down with vegetable oil or solid vegetable shortening and season at a high temperature for at least an hour to an hour and a half. If have a gas grill, make sure there are no cracks or holes in the gas lines.

2. Stock your freezer with high-quality, sustainably raised grass-fed steaks. Try rib eye, porterhouse, t-bone, top loin (NY Strip) or tenderloin (filet mignon) steaks for maximum flavor, juiciness and tenderness on the grill. Organic grass-fed steaks are not only delicious, but they are also better for your health. Grass-fed beef has as much as one third less saturated fat and two to four times more omega-3s than beef from grain-fed animals. (Omega-3s are heart-friendly, “good” fats that play a vital role in every cell in your body.) You can support family farms and sustainable eco-friendly farming practices by buying organic grass-fed beef and other organic meats.

3. Practice techniques that maximize the natural flavor and tenderness of grass-fed meat. Some people think grass-fed meat is less tender than grain-fed—but you can prove them wrong! In fact, grass-fed meat can be every bit as delicious, juicy and tender as your favorite grain-fed steaks. It is important, however, to remember that a healthy grass-fed steak tends to require a little more TLC, so it does not get overcooked and become tough or chewy. Here’s our advice:

• Bring your grass-fed steaks to room temperature and season with salt and pepper.
• Sear each steak for a couple of minutes on high heat, just long enough to create a light crust that protects the interior.
• Don’t finish your steaks on high heat! Instead, move your grass-fed steaks off the high flame and continue cooking at the edge of the grill, covered, until they come to your desired internal temperature. Cooking grass-fed steaks more gently, off the flame, will keep them nice and moist and tender.

As a rule of thumb, remember that treating animals more tenderly (through humane and sustainable farming practices) and cooking grass-fed meat more tenderly (through more gentle grilling techniques) results in a wonderfully tender, satisfying grass-fed steak.

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