Any beginner can successfully cook fish, shellfish, and vegetables on an indoor grill, but meat requires a bit more guidance. For results that get as close to outdoors as possible without the charcoal, take some advice from those who (literally) wrote the books.

Marinate. Whether you use a family-secret recipe or a bottled marinade from the grocery store, season your meat as you would for an outdoor grill. Before cooking, drain it well and scrape off any bits of minced onion or garlic that could fall off and burn, says Steven Raichlen, author of Indoor! Grilling (Workman, $19, www.amazon.com). To prevent sticky sauce buildup, lightly coat the grill with cooking spray before using it, says Ilana Simon, author of 125 Best Indoor Grill Recipes (Robert Rose, $19, www.amazon.com).

Preheat. To prevent sticking and ensure that the meat cooks evenly, preheat according to the manufacturer’s directions. Most contact and electric grills have a light that turns off when the unit is preheated. To judge when a grill pan is ready, hold your hand a few inches above it (with the burner at medium-high). When you feel it radiating heat, it’s ready. Raichlen suggests sprinkling a few drops of water over the grill pan; they should evaporate in three to five seconds.

Ventilate. To minimize smoke and lingering meat smells, use a contact or electric grill under your stove hood and turn the exhaust fan on, or set the grill next to an open window. To protect the stove or the counter from heat and grease spatters, place a baking sheet or a piece of aluminum foil under the grill, Raichlen suggests.

Chill. Don’t fuss with your food once it starts to cook. With a contact grill, don’t lift the lid until the recommended time has passed— since there are cooking surfaces on both sides, there’s no need to flip the food, says Kathryn Kellinger, coauthor of George Foreman’s Indoor Grilling Made Easy (Simon & Schuster, $20, www.amazon.com). With electric grills or grill pans, let the meat cook on one side for at least three minutes, says Kellinger. Premature flipping can cause meat to stick to the ridges, cook unevenly, and toughen as you give its juices extra opportunities to escape.