From Derrick Riches,
Your Guide to Barbecues & Grilling.
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I've already pointed out that grilling can be a Healthy Grilling can be. Because a grill is open and allows fats to drain away you typically get a leaner cut of meat off a grill than cooked virtually any other way. But what if you are counting carbs? Of course in general meat contains no carbohydrates and what people grill the most is meat. It's what you do to after that's the problem.

Finding Carbs: If you've been paying attention you've probably realized that nutritional facts are debatable, science is confusing and food companies want to make money no matter how bad or good their products are. After all McDonald’s Crispy Chicken Caesar Salad has more fat than a Quarter Pounder Hamburger. So watch out for store bought marinades, barbecue sauce and spice rubs. Many commercial barbecue sauces are loaded with calories and carbohydrates. Typically they run between 5 and 8 grams of carbs per tablespoon. Even spice rubs can contain large amounts of sugar. Your safest bet is to make them yourself.

Adding Flavor: Corporate America seems to think that flavor means sugar. They add it to everything. Personally, I think it's sweet and that's it. Flavor comes from a whole host of things that are typically fat and carb free. Spices, herbs, garlic, onions are all great ways to add flavor and do it without adding anything you don't want. Take for instance a good marinade for a whole chicken cut up. This is a couple pounds of poultry here, already carb free and ready for the grill. Of course you want to marinate it for healthy and flavor reasons. Try mixing together a couple tablespoons of olive oil (fat here, but not really that much is going to make it to you outer reaches), a 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar, three cloves of garlic minced, dried oregano, thyme and mint. You've got a great marinade with loads of flavor and you haven't added a carb and very little fat. In fact much of the fat from the olive oil will be lost in the grill.

Barbecue Sauces: I said that most commercial barbecue sauces are loaded in sugars. It's really a shame that we've come to this. Traditional barbecue sauces were simple mixtures of vinegars (usually apple cider) spices and sometimes tomatoes. Of course tomatoes have sugars, but nothing compared to the vats of high fructose corn sweetener added to sauces these days. A simple sauce is there to add to the flavor of smoked and grilled meats, not over power it. You best strategy is to train your tongue not to expect hundreds of calories every time you bite into grilled chicken of smoked brisket. Try flavor instead of sugar.

On a last note, may things come off the grill and head for a bun. Of course you can go for the bunless hot dog or the burger wrap. There are also a large number of low carb breads and buns available these days. Me, I prefer to choose my carbs, calories and fats wisely.