3 of the biggest grilling mistakes people make, according to a MasterChef winner

• Insider spoke to MasterChef Israel winner Tom Aviv about the biggest grilling mistakes people make.
• Aviv said that people often choose the wrong type of grill or don't manage the heat properly.

MasterChefs know a thing or two about mastering the grill.

Insider recently spoke to Tom Aviv, MasterChef Israel's 2016 winner and the owner of the restaurant Branja in Miami, about his biggest grilling tips and tricks, as well as the biggest mistakes people make when grilling.

Here are the biggest grilling mistakes people make, according to Aviv.

Getting the temperature and heat wrong can ruin your meal

Aviv said that not managing the heat of your grill or moving your burgers, steak, and other items around to prevent too much heat exposure are the most common mistakes he sees people making while grilling.

"You should know when your charcoals are on the right temperature, and when they're burning too fast because you don't want the open fire touching your product," Aviv told Insider.

Picking the wrong grill type can also blow things off course

Aviv made a distinction between the three most popular types of grill: gas, charcoal, and electric.

"We need to remember that gas has its own flavor profile," Aviv said. "During the cooking, it creates gas flavor."

Aviv said that while a little bit of gas flavor is tolerable, he personally prefers to use charcoal to get a richer, smokier flavor in his cooking. He also said that while electric grills can be an easier alternative for beginner grillers, they often don't give foods like grilled meats and vegetables the same amount of grilled flavor.

"I know that the solutions today are making it possible to bring an electric grill out onto your back balcony, for example, or if you have a small porch, using an electric grill can be great because you get less of the smoke, and it's friendlier, easier to clean, and obviously easier to turn on," Aviv said.

"We need to understand that when we do that, there are things that we can accomplish, and then there are things we can't," he continued. "Because with open fire, it's a different taste."

Aviv explained that when you want your food to have a slightly smoky flavor, or "want to take vegetables to the other level," using an electric grill won't give you a really great caramelization or Maillard reaction.

"I need open fire, I need charcoal, I need smoke — I need it. And an electric grill, as fun as it is, is never going to give me that," he said.

Don't be cavalier about what you choose to grill

Aviv said one mistake some people make is that they "shove everything that can be grilled into their grill, put some charcoals maybe, put some gas, and put it up."

The chef said that some of his favorite things to grill are steaks, kabobs, and, for a vegetarian option, cabbage.

For cooking cabbage on the grill, Aviv said he likes to smoke the vegetable to cook it down until it becomes tender, like a "vegetable steak."