Gas Grilling 101: How not to burn your house down

[Kaido]

Kaido: How is the Brinkman holding up?

I had a Kenmore cheapo model ($150) for the past 7 years that was awesome for a small family and I like the cheap ones, but I also appreciate the quality of Weber. We moved and now I am looking for its replacement, but a 2-burner unit. The spousal unit has serious issues about me getting a Weber ( http://www.weber.com/grills/series/spirit/spirit-e-210 ) and after replacing most of the appliances in our new house, I kind of understand and am willing to get a cheaper alternate for the short term.

Any issues with hot spots? The reviews look decent on it, but you can almost never tell as people don't always update them.

A smoker will eventually be used for large chunks of animal flesh, but that comes later.

It's been good! Yes, it absolutely has hotspots. The best area for cooking is right in the middle, that seems to get the most heat because it's between the two burners. I did have an issue the other day when I tried a split chicken - the entire grill caught on fire and burned for awhile (the bottom was brushed with olive oil, top with honey mustard). I turned off the gas and let it burn out, but ended up using the flames to flame-grill it anyway :biggrin:

http://i.imgur.com/RRTrA9a.jpg

I tried using a whole package of ground beef to make enough burgers to fill the whole thing. The results were extremely mixed, a lot of soggy burgers. It does best with 2 or 3 burgers right down the middle. Fortunately, that's really what I wanted, so I'm perfectly happy with it. The metal is thin & does lose a ton of heat in the cold (100 to 150F or more heat loss). I wanted to do Smash Burgers (requires a cast-iron pan at 500-600 or higher) but I'm not sure if it can get up high enough - I'll find out tonight. But overall for my needs, it's perfect. It was cheap ($129) and it can grill a few burgers just fine. I can see why people love Webers - thicker metal, more even grilling area, etc. but I rarely cook for that many people, so this is working absolutely great for me, despite the drawbacks.

Yeah, I've been eyeballing a Traeger pellet grill for a long time (they make very nice smokers down to 180F). It's finally down to a good price, so I'm thinking maybe Christmas, but I'm on the fence because I've been ramping up my Vegan diet, so I don't know if I want to invest in another meat-cooking machine if I'm going to go to a full-blown veggie diet at some point (the Thrive Diet, if anyone's interested). I love meat and I love grilling, but the performance benefits of a proper Vegan diet are just amazing (endless energy, fast recovery, etc.). But maybe in a few more years :biggrin: My buddy has a Bradley Digital Smoker and gets amazing results out of it, but I think I'd rather have a pellet grill that can smoke AND cook, for the price. I might just pick up a cheap bayou burner to do the Smash Burgers on, one of my favorite meals, because those get wicked hot and only run about $40.

 

[slag]

>>>> Between 3 and 4 >>>>>>> Season the grill.

Doesn't really apply to gas grills, but..

Ashes from the past..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inubkn_TmUs

 

[Scarpozzi]

I bought a gas grill in 2009 that was $94 @ Walmart with a $50 gift card with purchase. Basically, it felt like I paid $44 for it. I've used that grill for the past few years and grilled for parties of 30+ people on numerous occasions.....lots of burgers, hot dogs,
bratwurst, etc...

While expensive grills are fine and probably have more control over temp....the cheap ones work too as long as you can keep them out of the weather. I stored mine, uncovered on my carport against the house and out of the water/weather. It's still going strong, but has been in the elements since last April. I'm going to bring it back indoors soon for storage when I get a place for it.

 

[Kaido]

I bought a gas grill in 2009 that was $94 @ Walmart with a $50 gift card with purchase. Basically, it felt like I paid $44 for it. I've used that grill for the past few years and grilled for parties of 30+ people on numerous occasions.....lots of burgers, hot dogs,
bratwurst, etc...

While expensive grills are fine and probably have more control over temp....the cheap ones work too as long as you can keep them out of the weather. I stored mine, uncovered on my carport against the house and out of the water/weather. It's still going strong, but has been in the elements since last April. I'm going to bring it back indoors soon for storage when I get a place for it.

Yeah, that's really it. If you baby it & carefully maintain it, then it's fine. I more or less knew going in that I was getting a cheap, flimsy grill, but it's fine for me. Meets my needs, does pretty much everything I want it to :thumbsup:

 

[HomerSapien]

Smashburger sounds great right now, but I need to stop eating out so much.

Outside storage isn't an issue as I live in a desert. I just want a solid, heat retaining two burner grill without spending an arm and a leg.

The most important non-grilling aspect for it is that it needs to be setup so the dog can't lick the grease catch pan. We cook burgers a lot and their is quite a bit of grease and she LOVES eating it. Typical lab mix.

I have been looking at the komodo charcoal grills (green egg knock offs) and am tempted, but not sure if I want to venture back to charcoal. (time, messiness, and dog eats charcoal). They do meet my requirements and also provide the smoker capabilities, but at $300 a little bit more would get me the Weber.

 

[Meghan54]

We'd been through a couple of cheap gas grills over the last decade or so, so when we moved last May, we decided not to take our yard sale special with us and instead buy new when we settled in.

After a month of debating the merits of the cost of a Weber vs. Brinkmann/any other cheap grill, bought a Weber Genesis. And now having had it for ~6 months, I'm glad we splurged on it.

The construction was much better than anything else we considered....the firebox was much heavier and thicker than cheaper brands. The lid was similarly constructed...heavy. Smooth hinges on the lid. Every part assembled easily, every part fit properly, none of that "push here, pull there" to get things to line up. Absolutely no sharp edges anywhere, which surprised me. None. I tried to find one and couldn't. There were more sharp edges inside my Corsair 650D case than the Weber.

Cooks beautifully, haven't noticed any hot spots anywhere when fired or cooking. Just even heat.

I was hesitant about spending the money on the Weber, but after using it for a few months, cannot imagine going back to a cheap piece of crap designed to fall apart in a year or two.

 

[RagingBITCH]

It's been good! Yes, it absolutely has hotspots. The best area for cooking is right in the middle, that seems to get the most heat because it's between the two burners. I did have an issue the other day when I tried a split chicken - the entire grill caught on fire and burned for awhile (the bottom was brushed with olive oil, top with honey mustard). I turned off the gas and let it burn out, but ended up using the flames to flame-grill it anyway :biggrin:

I tried using a whole package of ground beef to make enough burgers to fill the whole thing. The results were extremely mixed, a lot of soggy burgers. It does best with 2 or 3 burgers right down the middle. Fortunately, that's really what I wanted, so I'm perfectly happy with it. The metal is thin & does lose a ton of heat in the cold (100 to 150F or more heat loss). I wanted to do Smash Burgers (requires a cast-iron pan at 500-600 or higher) but I'm not sure if it can get up high enough - I'll find out tonight. But overall for my needs, it's perfect. It was cheap ($129) and it can grill a few burgers just fine. I can see why people love Webers - thicker metal, more even grilling area, etc. but I rarely cook for that many people, so this is working absolutely great for me, despite the drawbacks.

Your chicken - one of the bad things about gas, at least when you are grilling fatty meat or meat with a ton of fat dripping out. (The thigh/legs on the chicken) One of those you need to keep an eye on it or turn it to low to minimize the flare-up with gas.

For your burger experiment - what's a soggy burger out of curiosity? Dump water on it? lol. Like anything else, make sure you have airflow between the burgers. Burgers are another one of those big flare-up opportunities waiting to happen. One of those things where in time, you learn to rotate your meat from the hot spots to elsewhere on the gas grill. One of the downfalls of the cheap gas grill - the good ones cook fairly evenly. (Got to cook on a neighbor's Kenmore and it was even/perfect throughout)

I was straight gas grill for the past 6 years until I managed to get my hands on a new Hasty Bake for dirt cheap. I've used my gas grill once since then (for burgers, actually), but I can finally see why everyone makes a fuss about the flavor from charcoal over gas.

 

[Kaido]

The biggest problem I've run into is that the grill sometimes won't start when it's cold, even with a lighter. I wanted to make burgers today (15F & 82% humidity, VERY cold & snowing) but I don't even hear the slight hiss of the gas when I flip the switches. A buddy suggesting bringing in the connecting hose to warm up in the house, but it's mounted to the grill & not easily removable, so that's out.

Unfortunately I am out of charcoal, so it looks like I'm smokin' out my house tonight :awe:

 

[Howard]

The biggest problem I've run into is that the grill sometimes won't start when it's cold, even with a lighter. I wanted to make burgers today (15F & 82% humidity, VERY cold & snowing) but I don't even hear the slight hiss of the gas when I flip the switches. A buddy suggesting bringing in the connecting hose to warm up in the house, but it's mounted to the grill & not easily removable, so that's out.

Unfortunately I am out of charcoal, so it looks like I'm smokin' out my house tonight :awe:

I have no idea if this will work, but try an electric heating pad under the tank?

 

[gorcorps]

I have no idea if this will work, but try an electric heating pad under the tank?

 

[Howard]

There isn't enough wattage to get the propane tank to dangerous temperatures if it's that cold... right?

I don't know, I'm just guessing that it's so cold that the propane just doesn't want to boil into gas.

 

[destrekor]

Do you have a charcoal chimney? The one disadvantage of charcoal is waiting for the coals to heat up. That and the need to use lighter fluid. If you have a chimney, load it up with briquettes/lump charcoal and light a fire underneath with paper (I usually rip off pieces of the charcoal bag to use here). In 10-15 minutes you have glowing red coals that can be dumped into the grill pill. Stir them and even them out. I usually wait another 5 minutes for the flames to settle and the grill grates to get hot and then you can begin grilling. The chimney is a must have for anyone who seriously grills with charcoal.

It may not be instantaneous but 10-20 minutes is far better than 40+ minutes. You also don't mess with light fluid. I'm using the multiple bottles of lighter fluid I purchased over the years to start bonfires in the firepit instead.

I've got a 22" Weber. Love it.

Yep. I usually have a good routine that makes it not feel like to much effort - unless it's nasty outside, then the convincing self issue begins.

I'll drag the grill out, take off the top grate, set up the chimney and load up the coals, get it lit, then go inside and start and/or continue prepping, or do some other task that needs done.

Say it was after work - I might take burgers or steaks out, start the grill, go change into lazy wear, grab a beer, and start the grilling.

Now that I have what might be a foot of snow on the ground, it's unbearably cold, and fuck winter in general - I've been using my cast iron for steak a lot more, and making more baked chicken dishes.
I'm starting to get things consistent with the cast iron (I'm new to this), and I'm still working on my grilling game (well hell, also new to this - didn't own my own grill until this year, before, I've only ever used gas).

 

[Vdubchaos]

It takes me exactly 20 min (double the time) to heat up Charcoal grill vs Gas.

Put Charcoals in the chimney > start it > 10 min later put the charcoals in the grill + 10 min to warm up.

Gas Grill warms up in about 10 min anyways.

10 min won't kill me and I find the Gas grill to be no different than simply cooking on my stove top griddle.

I'm new to grilling too (started 2 years ago)....same for Cast Iron but love to use both.

 

[akugami]

Kaido, look into getting an aluminum tank. They're lighter in weight. Your back will thank you. Especially if you use 100lb tanks like we got at my house. Also no chance of sparks if it is somehow punctured. Also, it's also not going to rust out on you due to moisture.

The downside is that they do cost more. Obviously you'd have to go the refill route with an aluminum tank. The assholes at Home Depot tried to take mine last time. Gave me some crap about it being quicker to just swap tanks.

 

[NetWareHead]

There isn't enough wattage to get the propane tank to dangerous temperatures if it's that cold... right?

I don't know, I'm just guessing that it's so cold that the propane just doesn't want to boil into gas.

You want one of these

http://www.powerblanket.com/gas-cylinder-heaters/

 

[MrSquished]

not sure why you'd need that. i ran a foodtruck through 2 NJ winters of which one was brutally cold. we ran off propane. never had a problem starting our grills and fryers up - this was with temps at or near 0 degrees F. nothing special about our tanks, just 40lb tanks not 20lb tanks.

 

[Kaido]

not sure why you'd need that. i ran a foodtruck through 2 NJ winters of which one was brutally cold. we ran off propane. never had a problem starting our grills and fryers up - this was with temps at or near 0 degrees F. nothing special about our tanks, just 40lb tanks not 20lb tanks.

So here's what's weird:

1. I cannot hear the slight hiss of gas coming out of the grill when I turn the knobs on.

2. When I turn the tank off and unscrew the hose, I can hear the hiss of the excess gas leaking out for a second or two.

So it's like it's getting stuck in the hose or the output nozzles. When it warms up, it works fine. I'm using regular 20-pound tank (new tank, fresh fill). This only happens when it's pretty cold (less than 20F).

 

[MrSquished]

So here's what's weird:

1. I cannot hear the slight hiss of gas coming out of the grill when I turn the knobs on.

2. When I turn the tank off and unscrew the hose, I can hear the hiss of the excess gas leaking out for a second or two.

So it's like it's getting stuck in the hose or the output nozzles. When it warms up, it works fine. I'm using regular 20-pound tank (new tank, fresh fill). This only happens when it's pretty cold (less than 20F).

i can't say what is going on. i just can say the one thing we had no trouble with during cold winters was starting our propane stuff, which was all our cooking equipment - 3ft charbroiler, 1 40lb fryer, 1 burner stove - all of of 4 non-insulated 40lb propane tanks with non insulated metal pipes. perhaps cause your pipe is not metal but something flexible? that's the only difference i see.

we had problems with water freezing in our lines but thats it.

the only other problem was deciding to stay warm by turning of our hood and suffer some carbon monoxide poisoning, or run the hood and freeze to death unless standing over our grill going at full blast. so we just switched back and forth.

 

[Special K]

Does it make much difference if you oil the food as opposed to the grates? (In terms of food not sticking to the grill)

 

[Kaido]

Does it make much difference if you oil the food as opposed to the grates? (In terms of food not sticking to the grill)

I oiled the food, it dripped and caught my grill on fire. I went back to oiling the grates :biggrin:

That didn't happen on my charcoal grill, but whatever. I alternate between using a small bowl of olive oil and spreading it on with paper towels & a tong, or using the special grill spray (I think from PAM) that doesn't make your grill explode if you spray it on.

 

[Kaido]

i can't say what is going on. i just can say the one thing we had no trouble with during cold winters was starting our propane stuff, which was all our cooking equipment - 3ft charbroiler, 1 40lb fryer, 1 burner stove - all of of 4 non-insulated 40lb propane tanks with non insulated metal pipes. perhaps cause your pipe is not metal but something flexible? that's the only difference i see.

we had problems with water freezing in our lines but thats it.

the only other problem was deciding to stay warm by turning of our hood and suffer some carbon monoxide poisoning, or run the hood and freeze to death unless standing over our grill going at full blast. so we just switched back and forth.

It's a rubberized hose, so that's probably it. Oh well.

 

[NetWareHead]

not sure why you'd need that. i ran a foodtruck through 2 NJ winters of which one was brutally cold. we ran off propane. never had a problem starting our grills and fryers up - this was with temps at or near 0 degrees F. nothing special about our tanks, just 40lb tanks not 20lb tanks.

The problem with cold weather and propane is that propane is a liquid and must evaporate into a gas before it can be used. The surface area of the top of the tank and the temperature control how fast evaporation occurs. At low temps if you don't have "enough tank" you run out of fuel, (even though you have fuel, you can't access it).

When outdoor temps get so cold there's always a number of people with useless propane equipment that can't get heat because they either undersized the tank, or cooled it too fast with the cooking demand and lost vapor pressure when they needed it most.

You had bigger than normal tanks than what people typically use so they could flow propane in cold weather. I have a 225K BTU propane burner and even in the hot summer temps, I can not run the burner at full blast off of a 20 lb tank. Too much propane is drained, the tank frosts over and then stops flowing. I'm looking for a 40 pound or bigger tank.

 

[Howard]

It's a rubberized hose, so that's probably it. Oh well.

Heat up the hose and see if it changes anything.

I still think his case is an anomaly and that the cold temperature is keeping the propane liquid.

 

[RagingBITCH]

I oiled the food, it dripped and caught my grill on fire. I went back to oiling the grates :biggrin:

That didn't happen on my charcoal grill, but whatever. I alternate between using a small bowl of olive oil and spreading it on with paper towels & a tong, or using the special grill spray (I think from PAM) that doesn't make your grill explode if you spray it on.

Spraying with PAM is a decent way to keep it from not sticking. You can also use an onion (sliced in half) to achieve that non-stick surface.

Just also keep in mind that the meat will release when it's ready...throwing on a chicken breast onto a hot grate and trying to move it a minute or two later will result in the meat sticking. It'll lift up with no effort once the surface of the meat touching the grate is seared off. (Depends on the meat, how hot it is, etc)

 

[Kaido]

Heat up the hose and see if it changes anything.

I still think his case is an anomaly and that the cold temperature is keeping the propane liquid.

Yeah, it's wired inside the grill, so that's not coming off

It works fine in warmer temperatures, that's all I know! So charcoal in low temps, gas in higher.