If you are looking to buy the best gas grill, there are a few things you should consider. First of all, of course, will be your budget. There are gas grills that can be had for less than $200.00, but you could spend a couple of thousand dollars if you really wanted to by getting a large unit that includes a refrigerator and sink and lots of other items that would be ideal for an outdoor kitchen, but that aren’t strictly necessary. We will present several of our favorites in different price ranges and you can decide for yourself which one will work for you.
When you are evaluating a grill, there are a few things you’ll want to look for or keep in mind. One is the setup of the burners. You will want to look for a setup that allows for two zone indirect cooking. What this means is that you want one area of the grill to be your “hot” side, and the other side to be your “cool” side. This allows you to grill a piece of meat over direct heat to start the cooking and get some nice browning and grill marks on it, but then you might want to finish it on the cooler side so that it cooks more gently, and it remains moist throughout. If you were to cook it entirely on the hot side, the outside of the meat would be dry and tough before the interior was cooked. Learning how to employ the two-zone method is the most basic skill you need to develop as a backyard griller.
Another factor to keep in mind is the BTU. This does not truly refer to the amount of heat and power your grill will be able to put out, as is commonly assumed. It is more like the miles per gallon, or MPG of your grill. It simply gives you an idea of how much fuel the grill will consume while grilling. To get an idea of the efficiency, divide the BTU rating by the number of square inches your grill has. This will give you the average BTU per square inch per hour. This rating is not entirely useful in all situations because it is not applicable to infrared cookers, and the efficiency will also vary a lot depending on how you cook your food. If you raise the grill to be farther away from the burner, for instance, the efficiency drops sharply.
The last thing that is important is to decide whether you want a grill that runs on natural gas or propane. This all comes down to your personal preference and your gas supply. If you want to hardwire you grill in place so that it is not mobile, such as in an outdoor kitchen setup, you might want to go with natural gas for the sake of long-term convenience. If you want it to be mobile, you will want to use propane. If you do a lot of grilling during cold weather, natural gas will provide you with greater efficiency.
- Char Broil Gas Grill T480 Four-Burner with sideburner
This grill offers 480 square inches of cooking area. It is a very basic backyard grill that usually costs less than $250.00 (it is $220.00 at Amazon as of this writing). It is good enough for any family that does casual cooking in the backyard, and it allows for easy two zone cooking. As a standard all-purpose grill for the casual griller, this is a very good deal on a solid performer.
- Weber Spirit Gas Grill
If you want to spend a little more, around $500, you should consider the Weber Spirit Gas Grill. It has more advanced features such as a setup that allows for easier cleaning, plus very solid and attractive construction. It is also larger at 536 square inches of cooking area, including the warmer area. It has a center-mounted thermometer in the lid for easy monitoring of the conditions under the hood. It is a solidly built gas grill that should last for years.
- Weber Genesis Grill
For those who want an even more impressive machine, the Weber Genesis Grill still offers good value when compared to many machines that cost around a thousand dollars or more. The Genesis as of the time of this writing will set you back about $650. It has three burners plus a side burner. The exterior is a very attractive mix of heavy stainless steel and colored porcelain. The grill itself offers 507 square inches of cooking space. This is another solidly built product from Weber, the maker of the classic Weber Kettle Grill that most people are familiar with, and their history with grilling allows them to produce quality products for both the charcoal grill market and the gas grill market. If you want to spend over a thousand dollars on a tricked out grill, you can certainly find gas grill makers who offer that option.
