What Kind Of Gas Grill Should I Buy

What Is A Grill Grate And What Is It Usedfor

Many grill masters see thegrilling plate that cooks their food and simply refer to it as the grill. Inactuality, this is called the grill grate.

A grill grate is simply the surface upon which you cook your food above the heat source. Grill grates can be made of many different types ofmaterials and take on different forms.

The grill grate is one ofthe most important parts of your grill. Not only does it hold your food, but itaids in even heat transfer, keeps food from sticking, and can even providethose beautiful grill marks. Choosing the right grill grate is an essentialpart of your entire grilling experience.

Talk about being above the fire! Regardless of the material your cooking grids are made from, odds are they will eventually wear down and need replacing. Give your barbecue grill a face-lift with new grids.

Do You Need A Grill Or A Smoker Or A Combo

This is an important first question and let me explain why. Some people already have a grill they like to use. It could be gas, charcoal, backyard fire pit, infrared, whatever. If thats the case, do you really need another grill? Maybe what you really want is a smoker. And if thats the case, I recommend keeping your current grill and getting a vertical smoker.

If you want a grill or want a better grill then what you have, then a pellet smoker grill is a great way to go. Youll get convenient dry wood heat with unique flavoring specific to whatever wood you choose like hickory, pecan, mesquite, apple, etc. Plus youll have the option to smoke meat as well as grill.

Calculate Grill Surface Area

When deciding what size grill you need, its better to pay attention to the grill surface area rather than any abstract measuring factors.

Measuring by other factors, such as the number of burgers that can fit on a grill, is very dependent on external factors and should be avoided.

Instead, you would want to pay attention to the cooking surface area.

Cooking surface area

The cooking surface area is equal to the width of the grilling area multiplied by the length. This gives you the measurement in square inches.

Most gas grills will measure in between 400 and 500 square inches. This is a common size for the average household.

For those with a large family or want to host guests, choosing a larger grill up to at least 600 square inches is a good idea.

What about half shelves?

When calculating or reading grill surface areas, make sure to check if the number includes any half or top shelves in the calculation.

These shelves add extra cooking space, but they grill much differently than the lower shelf. In short, they are incredibly useful for two-heat cooking or indirect cooking.

Since most people will use each area of the grill for different things, you should know how much space is devoted to each section.

Without this knowledge, you might accidentally plan to cook too much at once on direct heat even though the space is unavailable.

If you need a grill with 400 square inches of active, hot grilling space, models with a top-shelf might not be ideal unless you go bigger.

Don’t Miss: How Long Does It Take To Grill Pork Tenderloin

Pellet Grill Buying Guide: Factors To Consider

Should you buy a pellet grill? Pellet grills, also known as pellet smokers, are a popular choice among grillers. These grills seem to do it all, as they have multiple cooking styles that a beginner and pitmaster can find useful.

While many pellet grills operate similarly, you can still find numerous kinds that are unique and offer capabilities to make them stand out.

The full line-up of Grilla Grills pellet grills includes:

Consider what to look for when buying a grill to help you decide which pellet grill to buy.

Comparison Guide: How To Choose The Best Cooking Grate For Your Grill

When it comes to choosing a grill, there are a lot of important details to consider.

Should you go with a gas grill or a charcoal grill?

Do you want something built-in or something portable?

Should you go with a flame-heated grill or infrared heat?

Having so many options available can be exciting, but alittle intimidating.

However, one component thats easily overlooked is the cooking surface of your grill. While you do need todecide on the best heat source for your grill and what you want the grill to look like, its super important to choose a grilling surface that cooks your food the way you want it.

What you need to determine,then, is which type of grill grate is best for your grilling needs. Strength, durability, material, and having a non-sticksurface are all things to consider when choosing the ideal cooking grate.

In this guide, well walkyou through the different types of grill grates available, as well as how topick the best type of grill grate for you.

Not all cooking grates are created equal. We will go over the different types of grill grates and the best way to care for them.

Also Check: How To Clean Weber Stainless Steel Grill Grates

Rule #8 The Grills Lid Test

The first thing you need to test is the lids weight the heavier the better In high quality BBQs, the grill cover will cover and sit well on the bottom of the grill, the higher the weight of the lid, the higher its quality and the better the heat inside the grill and save you energy.

You also need a lid that closes fairly tight for smoking. Alas, lids do not seal tightly due to laws to prevent them from building up explosive gases.

Pellet Grills: Factors To Consider

Pellet grills blend the flexibility of a charcoal grill and smoker with the convenience of a gas grill. These grills all look about the same, and feature a large metal bin, or hopper, to which you add pellets made from the compressed sawdust of flavorful woods, such as oak, hickory, and mesquite. You can buy the pellets at a home center or hardware store. An electronic igniter draws out these pellets and lights them, creating heat and smoke, which imparts a distinct flavor to your food. An especially convenient feature: A thermostat allows you to adjust the heat to a precise temperature, something you cant do with gas or charcoal grills. Prices for models in our tests range from $400 to $1,200.

Hopper: The hopper size determines how many pellets a grill can hold, and in turn, how long the grill will run before you need to add fuel. The larger the hopper, the longer the grill can cook from a single load.

Temperature range: Look for a pellet grill with the broadest possible temperature range. Those in our tests run as low as 160° F and as high as 600° F, and even hotter on a dedicated searing zone. These models are more versatile because they can sear at high temperatures and slow-smoke foods at low temperatures. Its worth noting that they generally cant get as hot, or sear as well, as the best gas, charcoal, and kamado grills.

Read Also: Weber Reset Regulator

Want To Color Your World

Unlike refrigerators and clothes washers that are available in fashion-forward shades like ruby red or apple green, mid-range and premium ranges are typically available in shades of black, white, and stainless steel. Youll have to look at pro-style ranges to get custom colors such as red, blue, and green.

Is 2 Burner Grill Enough

When buying a gas grill, two burners is the minimum number you should consider.

Having two burners enables you to be able to have one on and one off so that you can control the heat as needed.

Two burners also give enough flexibility to do all of the basic grilling that you will want to do.

If youre new to grilling or like to keep things relatively simple, two burners should be enough for your grilling needs.

Also Check: Cleaning The Outside Of A Stainless Steel Grill

What Can A Gas Grill Do For You

Gas grills are pretty standardized, when you think about it. Sure,there are a fair few gas grills that you can add some wood chips to so that youcan add some nice smoked flavor, and there are certainly some grills that canact as an oven, but for the most part, gas grills are meant to do exactly asthe name suggests. They are meant to grill your food to perfection.

Gas grills are also known for being relatively quick with theircooking, depending on which model and type you invest in. This is good for whenyou want to cook a quick and easy dinner for your family on a late night.

Gas grills are also considerably easy to operate as well, meaning thatyou dont need a lot of cooking experience to be able to use one of them. Allyou really need to do is know how to turn the knobs to get your desiredtemperature.

Grilling food traditionally with a gas grill can give you theadvantage of being able to cook either end of the grill at a differenttemperature, which is spectacular for larger meals. This gives you theopportunity to have one type of food cooking on one end of the grill, andanother type of food at the other end.

Most other grills dont have this option, making the gas grill rather unique in this aspect. In a way, you can compare this feature to the different burners on a stove top.

Here Are Some More Buying Guides

Wood pellet burners

That leaves gas and charcoal. Now this is a debate like Mac vs PC or Democrat vs. Republican or Omnivore vs. Vegan. It is a quasi religion fueled by a lot of misinformation. Each has advantages and disadvantages and the choice is not as easy as proponents would like you to think. For the facts, read my article on Charcoal vs. Gas. Please do so before you comment below “Charcoal Uber Alles!” Here’s a quick summary:

Gas is really easy to get up to temp and there is little cleanup. But only those with sear burners or infrared burners get hot enough to do steaks properly . But for chicken, fish, veggies, they are as good as charcoal if not better.

Charcoal takes longer to set up and clean up, but it generates more heat and imparts a slightly different flavor.

But when it comes to direct heat grilling, the fact is that, if all things are equal such as cooking temp, most folks can’t tell the difference in the taste between charcoal and gas grilled food. That’s a big if. Because most gas grills cannot achieve the same high heat as charcoal, charcoal is superior for getting that great dark crust on steaks. If you use strong flavored rubs, marinades, and sauces, you will never notice taste differences especially because they hamper browning . You may think you can, but blind tastings have shown that you probably can’t. So if there is little taste difference, the choice comes down to functionality. That’s why I use both gas and charcoal.

Color. I ask my wife.

Don’t Miss: Internal Temp For Pork Loin On Grill

What Size Barbecue Should You Buy

• Standard barbecues If youre catering for a group of four to six people, a two-burner gas or a charcoal barbecue with a grill area of around 40 x 45cm should suffice. These barbecues are the most common and are usually the cheapest option, but they’re limiting if you plan on hosting bigger parties.
• Large barbecues If youre cooking for more people, youll need a three-burner or four-burner gas grill or a larger charcoal barbecue type, such as an oil drum or half barrel, to meet the demands of eight guests or more. These barbecues tend to be more pricey and have high fuel requirements, so you should choose carefully before buying.
• Portable barbecues If youre keen to pack up your grill and take it camping or to the beach, a portable barbecue can be a handy and versatile solution that lets you take your grilling experience anywhere. A small cooking area comes with the territory, so dont expect to cook for more than three or four people in one go, and prices vary greatly from as little as £25 to more than £350.

How easy barbecues are to manoeuvre is an extra-important factor when we calculate the test score of portable barbecues. Head to ourhow we test barbecues guideto learn more about what makes up our test scores.

How Much Do I Need To Pay For A Good Barbecue

This all depends on how much you can afford and how durable you want your barbecue to be. Barbecues vary widely in price: disposable grills cost a few pounds, while the priciest multi-grilled outdoor kitchens can set you back thousands.

Youll often see cheaper barbecues that have some of the features of more expensive ones, but many compromise on build quality. A cheap barbecue will still be a waste of money if the features are shoddily made, as they won’t last long and wont give you the results you want.

Most barbecues we test are around the £300 to £350 mark, but a Best Buy is likely to cost just over £400 on average. As a rule, we find that if you spend more on a barbecue, you can expect to see features such as:

• larger, easier to clean grills
• lots of extra storage

Also Check: Best Way To Grill Chicken Thighs On Gas Grill

Do I Need A 3 Or 4 Burner Grill

Not everyone will need a grill with more than two burners, but many will find that having more burners is helpful. The more burners that a grill has, the more versatility you can get out of it.

Of course, having more burners means that you also have to get used to working them there is a learning curve to grilling.

With three and four burners, you will be able to create low, medium, and hot zones.

Having all of these zones allows you to cook things in very specific ways, even when cooking various items.

Three or four burners are great for many people, but they are not necessary.

Do you want to be able to create a beautifully grilled meal of meat, veggies, and more? What about kabobs for five or six people?

If so, you will want to look for grills with three or more burners to ensure you have the necessary flexibility to do just that.

Plus, having more burners makes it easier to implement healthy grilling tactics!

What about side burners?

Speaking of added burners, many people wonder if they need side burners or not. You can find these on some grills, and they are useful for heating sauces, side dishes, cheeses, and more.

Very detailed BBQ masters will love having this added burner, but not everyone will make use of it.

If you find a grill that you like without a side burner, you can always use a portable side burner instead.

Side burners are by no means a requirement for good grilling, but many find them to be a useful benefit.

Faqs & Tips To Choose Your Grill

What type of grill is best for me?

Your cooking preferences and the frequency of use should be the main deciding factors when selecting a model and size of BBQ. Gas BBQs are the most used, as they produce more heat than charcoal and can cook food faster.

However, charcoal grilling is thought to be superior in the flavour it creates. When smoking, food isn’t cooked by direct heat created by a flame, but rather by the smoke produced. All methods of cooking produce a different result.

What is a BTU and how many do I need?

The level of heat generated by a BBQ is measured in BTUs . Generally, it’s best to look for a BBQ with a rating of 80 to 100 BTUs per square inch to ensure enough heat is generated for the size of your grill.

Before using BTUs as your sole deciding factor, remember that BTUs are a measure of heat produced by the burners over the course of an hour and not a measure of the temperature a BBQ can reach. The ability of a BBQ to reach and maintain various cooking temperatures is more important than how much heat it can produce. Check out your BBQs top temperature in the product description if, for example, a good sear is important to you.

How big a BBQ do I need?

When deciding which BBQ to buy, consider the size of the meals you’ll be preparing and the number of people you’ll be feeding. For example, the average eight-ounce steak is roughly 5 by 3.5 in. depending on its thickness, resulting in a 17.5 sq. in. surface.

Don’t Miss: How Long To Cook Chicken Thighs Grill

Consider The Way You Like To Cook

All this talk of configuration, fuel type, size, and class can make it easy to forget what this journey is really about grilling! Nows the time to step back and look at what you grill and how you do it. Your grilling style determines what aspects of a grill should matter most to you, and how you’ll want to customize your grill to fit your needs.

• Are you after high heat and steakhouse-level sear marks? You may enjoy an all-infrared grill capable of searing the thickest steaks. High heat, moisture retention, and less flare-ups are just some of the many benefits of infrared grills.

• Maybe you prefer low-and-slow smoking? Look for gas grills with an optional charcoal tray accessory or gas/charcoal combo grills that let you use gas fuel alongside charcoal in two separate fireboxes. A wood chip smoker box will help you infuse your BBQ with amazing flavor.

• Is it your goal to become the best outdoor entertainer on the block? A grill with gorgeous LED backlit control knobs or internal stadium lighting will illuminate your culinary artistry and dazzle your guests.

• Or would a dependable grill with simple controls make you happy instead? Weve got you covered with straightforward and effective gas grills like the Victory gas grill or the Blaze Prelude LBM collection across multiple grill classes, all primed to deliver consistent results each time you cook.