Gas grill burner settings

[jacobariel]

Guys forgive my dumb question. I come from a plain charcoal grill and cooked based on appearance and temperature.
With gas grills how do you know how high or low you set the burner say for chicken or ribs? I can understand when it reaches the proper temperature by using a thermometer but how do you set the flame for set and forget while it cooks for a few minutes without burning it till it reaches the proper cooked temperature?

 

[chopsaw]

I pre heat mine on high . Then I usually turn one burner off , and just cook with 2 turned down to half or less . I normally cook in between the burners . Not directly over the flame .

 

[old sarge]

My grill has has three U shaped burners running L to R and has the fake briquettes which radiate a lot of heat once heated up. I do a lot of indirect cooking with the gas turned down by 1/2 to 2/3ds for the L and R burners for items that take a long time like spatchcocked chicken. Ribs are similar. BBQ sauce is the last item applied and food is transferred to one of the live burners for the char.

 

[Colin1230]

When I bought my Genesis II LX 345 it was all trial and error. I spent an afternoon trying different burner settings. After preheating with all three burners on high, I tried one burner on low, then two on low, then two on medium and so forth. You get the idea.
If I remember correctly it took a hellava lot of beer.

 

[jacobariel]

When I bought my Genesis II LX 345 it was all trial and error. I spent an afternoon trying different burner settings. After preheating with all three burners on high, I tried one burner on low, then two on low, then two on medium and so forth. You get the idea.
If I remember correctly it took a hellava lot of beer.

Lol, me and beer would actually take longer to figure it out. I know what you mean though.

 

[mike243]

I would set to medium and preheat for 5 minutes then turn to low, keep a sharp eye on it for several cooks , build up slowly with the heat, you turn around and have blacked food in a hurry. gas is famous for grease fires so start low. burgers can become hockey pucks before you can say shat lol

 

[Bytor]

On my Napoleon, with grill grates, I preheat about 3/4 of the way then back off to 1/3-1/2 depending on what I'm cooking. I also do a lot of baking with it that usually is at 1/3 burner with the food on a shelf about 4 inches off the grates.

 

[civilsmoker]

I also have a full set of grill grates on my old Weber Gen Gold. I usually preheat at 1/2 about 10 min, till it starts to smoke, ie they grates are above 350, I will spray them with a spray bottle to steam clean then turn it to 1/3 to 1/4 and hot days to low with the middle burner off. For my grill this will keep the grates at 650is deg and the chamber temp about 350 to 400.... any hotter than this will instant fire things....

 

[jacobariel]

With gas burners are you suppose to spray something on the grills to keep from rusting?

 

[civilsmoker]

With gas burners are you suppose to spray something on the grills to keep from rusting?

Nope, they will rust no matter what you do. The BBQ is a harsh environment.

The spraying that I mentioned above is to clean the anodized aluminum grill grates. I have found that a spray bottle cleans them instant.

Once a year I will wire brush (stainless brush) my stainless tube burners to keep the the burner holes clean and such and that is it.

 

[jacobariel]

Nope, they will rust no matter what you do. The BBQ is a harsh environment.

The spraying that I mentioned above is to clean the anodized aluminum grill grates. I have found that a spray bottle cleans them instant.

Once a year I will wire brush (stainless brush) my stainless tube burners to keep the the burner holes clean and such and that is it.

I see. What spray cleaner do you recommend? I did see a Weber brand.

 

[mike243]

Good grates don't rust imo never no rust with my Weber grates will ck back in in 10-15 years mor with a update lol

 

[jacobariel]

If I plan on smoking I am better off with a Masterbuilt gravity vs the Weber gas correct?

 

[chesterinflorida]

If I plan on smoking I am better off with a Masterbuilt gravity vs the Weber gas correct?

yes, but every style has trade offs. The Masterbuilt is a gravity fed machine and with its design you can grill and smoke. A Weber 22” or better yet a 26” kettle can also do those things well, and should outlast the Masterbilt. The Masterbuilt gravity is pretty cool though and has a built in temp regulator. Upkeep is a bit more time consuming on the gravity than the kettles. Kettles are pretty simple. I love Gravity fed machines and wouldn’t trade by Limo Jr. for anything.

While you can smoke a bit on a gas grill, they really aren’t designed for this and results won’t be as good, at least I never came close to what I could do on a good smoker. What a gas grill excels at is simple easy grilling with minimal cleanup. The Weber models will have some wear parts like the flavor bars and eventually the burners., but these are easily replaced and parts are everywhere. The grill body is cast aluminum and will last and last if takin care of.

Some of us our fortunate enough to have a few different cookers. The kettles are the most versatile cookers out there though, and if you wanted one unit that could do a little bit of everything, and do it pretty well, it would be damned hard to beat a 26” Weber kettle.

 

[jacobariel]

yes, but every style has trade offs. The Masterbuilt is a gravity fed machine and with its design you can grill and smoke. A Weber 22” or better yet a 26” kettle can also do those things well, and will probably outlast the Masterbilt. The Masterbuilt gravity is pretty cool though and has a built in temp regulator. Upkeep is a bit more time consuming on the gravity than the kettles. Kettles are pretty simple. I love Gravity fed machines and wouldn’t trade by Limo Jr. for anything.

While you can smoke a bit on a gas grill, they really aren’t designed for this and results won’t be as good, at least I never came close to what I could do on a good smoker. What a gas grill excels at is simple easy grilling with minimal cleanup. The Weber models will have some wear parts like the flavor bars and eventually the burners., but these are easily replaced and parts are everywhere. The grill body is cast aluminum and will last and last if takin care of.

Thank you, very useful information. Now if I get a smoke box and place it over a gas grill I should be able to smoke although not with the same effect as the Masterbuilt correct?

 

[chesterinflorida]

Thank you, very useful information. Now if I get a smoke box and place it over a gas grill I should be able to smoke although not with the same effect as the Masterbuilt correct?

I am not sure what you are referring to as a smoke box to place over gas grill is. What I am familiar with are the wood chip boxes that you will with wood chips and place in the grill.. (maybe we are talking about the same thing). I have used one that I have a few times (years ago) and it never really did a good job. My UDS, Kettle and especially the Limo Jr. make excellent smoked foods. Wouldn’t even want to try this on a gas grill now. Way to hard to control the lower temps you are looking for and harder to get any smoke flavor on the meat. Not a good recipe for tasty BBQ. Now for a quick grill of some dogs and burgers, the gas grill is excellent. Doesn’t come out quite as well as it would on the kettle, but is a bit easier and less time consuming.

 

[civilsmoker]

I see. What spray cleaner do you recommend? I did see a Weber brand.

just plain old water. I use the stream setting to spray down each channel. The grease just “steams away” no other cleaners on the inside.

I do use spray away brand stainless polish on the outside stainless a couple times a year. That keeps it nice.