Everyone is familiar with the term BBQ. But not many people know what a gas BBQ actually is. To put it in simple words, gas BBQ is such a kind of BBQ that is operated by gas to grill food items.
If you are eager to know more about gas BBQ and want to get more insights, this article is for you. Because this article is going to be a complete guide for you on gas BBQ. So, stay tuned and keep on reading:
7 Things You Should Know About Gas BBQ:
Are you planning to buy a gas BBQ but have been wandering around to know more about it? Here I am listing some valuable points below that you need to keep in mind before buying a gas BBQ and will help you to know more about it:
1. Turning The Gas BBQ On:
Lighting up the BBQ can be a great hassle for many. If you wonder that gas BBQ might be troublesome when it comes to turning it on, then know that it is pretty easy.
In other BBQ grills, you need lighter fluids or fire starters and so many other things. One wrong step can lead to a BBQ disaster. It sometimes ruins the flavor of the BBQ. Gas BBQ can be turned on and off with a knob, just as we turn the gas stoves. It is as easy as using a gas stove.
2. Controlling Gas BBQ:
If you think gas BBQ might be a complex or complicated thing to work with, then let me tell you; your idea is entirely wrong. Controlling gas BBQ is one of the most manageable tasks in BBQ. You just need to turn a knob on and off. That’s it. There is nothing more you need to do.
Unlike the BBQ grills, gas BBQ is really manageable and easy to control. You can maximize or minimize the heat amount with the same knob that you turned the gas BBQ on.
3. The Cost Of Gas BBQ:
You must be concerned about the cost of a gas BBQ and want to know about it.
You would be surprised to know that the price of a gas-operated BBQ is more than the regular BBQs that we use.
| Regular BBQ | Around 150 dollars |
| Gas BBQ | Around 1000 dollars |
So from the table above, we get to see that a regular BBQ can cost around 150 dollars. It can be more or less depending on the quality of the BBQ grill.
On the other hand, gas grills cost you like 1000 dollars. The more expensive the BBQ is, the more burners it will have. Also, the expensive ones will last longer than the cheaper versions.
4. Structure of The BBQ:
The first thing to look for in a gas BBQ is its structure or construction. If you are looking for the best, then look for the heavy metal ones.
There are some gas BBQs available that are made of stainless steel. They only look attractive and are a bit durable also, but they are very hard to maintain and difficult to clean. They sometimes have sharp edges that are very risky. You also need to look for well-finished edges where there are no gaps between the gaps.
5. Wheels:
As much as it is mouth-watering to eat a big chunk of BBQ every day but it is not healthy as well as monotonous. For the reason mentioned before, people tend to avoid BBQ as a portion of regular food.
As I mentioned, people don’t eat BBQ daily; the grill needs to be moved from one place to another. For such circumstances, a gas BBQ needs to have a set of wheels. It is for more effortless movements.
6. Burners:
The number of burners varies from less to more depending on how cheap or expensive the gas BBQ is.
The more expensive BBQs will have more burners. It is widely known that the more the merrier the more burners you have will help you to cook even faster. It allows you to cook many dishes at the same time.
7. Bonus Items That You Can Avail:
The Gas BBQs don’t always come alone. Sometimes they come with many more items with it.
- They might have side tables to put things on during cooking, like tongs or trays of food.
- They sometimes come with a subsidiary burner that helps to cook some side dishes. Like you can prepare the sauces or sauce-like items on the side burners.
So always look for what you are getting with your gas BBQ.
5 Best Tips For Cooking On A Gas BBQ:
If you are someone new to the gas BBQ world, you might be very confused right now. There are many pieces of information available on the internet that might contradict one another.
For this reason, as mentioned above, I will now try to give you some tips about starting off your gas BBQ journey and will help you in various ways. Here are 5 tips to boost up your confidence as a gas barbecuer mentioned below in a briefly detailed manner:
1. Controlling The Heat and Managing It:
From my personal point of view, I find the gas BBQ to be the most simple and the easiest to manage overall. Some tips regarding this are:
- First, prepare your grill by preheating for 10-15 minutes on medium heat before you start to BBQ.
- In the case of searing, only use high heat for a brief period of time.
- Slow cooks make food more delicious for that reason, use low heat.
- To create the effect of direct and indirect heat, try using the kind of gas BBQs that have more than one burner. It will help you to keep the heat high, medium, and low. It will create the effect of direct and indirect heat.
- Close the lid to preserve the heat inside.
2. Maintaining and Cleaning The Grill:
Gas BBQ needs a lot of maintenance than the regular ones. Here are some tips that I am sharing from my personal experience mentioned below regarding the topic mentioned above:
- Flare-ups and constant smoke, which scorch the surface of food and lend a foul flavor, can be avoided by keeping the grill clean.
- Stay careful while using a brush to clean gas BBQ. While a grill brush can assist in clearing clogged food, it also pushes down trash deeper into the grill.
- At least twice a year, clean the grill by removing the grates and burner covers. They often get filthy from the ash residue or the foods falling into them while cooking.
3. Maintaining Temperature Of The Food:
The most excellent approach to ensure outstanding taste and food standards is to cook meals to the proper temperature. Here’s a chart below to show you the right temperature for your food:
| Food Items | Require Temperature |
| Fish | 130-150 Degrees Fahrenheit |
| Chicken | 150-170 Degrees Fahrenheit |
| Ground Meat (beef/chicken) | 160-165 Degrees Fahrenheit |
| Beef Rare | 120-130 Degrees Fahrenheit |
| Beef Medium Rare | 130-140 Degrees Fahrenheit |
| Beef Medium | 140-145 Degrees Fahrenheit |
| Beef Medium Well | 145-150 Degrees Fahrenheit |
| Beef Well Done | 155-165 Degrees Fahrenheit |
The table mentioned above is an approximate value. Make sure to always use a thermometer to check the temperature of the meat. Also, try seeing the doneness with a fork.
4. Never Leave Your Grill Unattended:
Even if you’re going to be checking the game’s scoreboard, preparing a side dish, or simply hanging out together or gossiping with friends or family, just a few moments away from the grill is all it takes for it to lose grip and burn down your meat.
That’s why you always need to stay beside your grill. That is the success behind a mouth-watering, tasty BBQ. Make sure you have done all your preparations right before you start your BBQ. Keep the utensils and necessary items close to you so that you don’t need to move away from the BBQ and pay attention to cooking only.
5. Vegetables And Fruits:
Beef, chicken, or any kind of meat isn’t the only thing that you can grill on your gas BBQ. Several types of fruits and vegetables take on a completely different flavor if you grill them for just a few minutes on the grill.
Use these grilling ideas and strategies to prepare your favorite vegetable BBQ:
- Take a small chunk of butter and melt it. Then brush the melted butter on your vegetables.
- Vegetables like onions, asparagus that are comparatively thinner are perfect for cooking on direct heat.
- Thicker vegetables should be cooked slowly on indirect heat. Or else the core part won’t be cooked properly.
- Vegetables like tomatoes, brinjal are ideal for barbecuing because of their great taste.
While barbecuing vegetables on gas BBQ, ensure the outer part is charred and inside is soft and juicy to experience the most incredible taste.
6 Must-Have Items That You Need To Have With Your Gas BBQ:
Are you wondering what items or utensils you will need before you kick start your journey with gas BBQ? Then keep on reading what I am about to write in this article.
Below I will be talking about 6 items that you will need while using a gas BBQ:
1. Tongs:
Just one item is required: a sturdy set of tongs for shifting, turning and smoothing scrunched-up aluminum foil over the grill after cleanup.
These are the ones that the experts recommend because they don’t really lock. The ones that lock are often messier to use. They tend to lock right the moment when it is really not necessary for them to be locked.
2. A Handy Grilling Basket:
Without a grilling basket, barbecuing tiny portions of food such as small pieces of french fries or littles slices of onion rings is difficult.
The experts and grillers suggest big and good-sized baskets. It is for this reason, big baskets can hold a lot of food at the same time, which saves a lot of cooking time. It should also have enough holes so the oils can be drained.
3. Thermometer:
If your grill has a custom built thermometer to check doneness in the lid, let me tell you to be aware because that is insufficient. To begin with, that is the temperature at the top portion of the BBQ grill, not by the fire.
It is not able to detect the heat of the core of the food you are about to grill. That is why a thermometer is needed. It helps to determine if the food is done properly and ready to serve.
4. BBQ Grill Cleaning Brush:
Cleaning your BBQ grill once in a while is necessary. Unlike the charcoal ones, fats from previously cooked BBQs won’t increase the taste of BBQs made in gas BBQ. If you don’t clean your gas BBQ religiously, it will grow filthy, and the filth will create bacterias and germs around it. It may cause serious physical illness.
That is why a good brush is needed. You can scrape off the filth and dirt from BBQ with the brush and make it free from germs.
5. Spatula:
If you are wondering why you would need these things, let me enlighten you with the fact that these are some of the most essential and valuable utensils for barbecuing in a gas BBQ.
Tongs are very much needed while barbecuing, but they can get messy quite easily. Spatula comes to the rescue when your tongs start to throw tantrums. Spatulas help to flip, put things on BBQ or on trays.
6. Tray:
The next important thing that I am going to tell you about is a tray:
- If you have raw foods to keep, trays will be helpful,
- To put cooked foods, separate trays are important,
- To keep some burned items, separate trays are essential.
These are some basic needs for trays. You can use trays in many different ways also. So it can be said that trays have multiple purposes.
5 Safety Tips For Gas BBQ Cooking:
Anyone will agree with me that maintaining safety precautions while cooking is the best thing you can do. It is an unavoidable necessity. A BBQ session is always a fun session with your family and friends until you become negligent towards safety.
I will give you some tips for you to keep aware of before you start cooking.
Here are 5 safety tips given below:
1. Storing Your Ingredients Safely:
Always make sure to store the ingredients in their proper place. For example, fish, meats of different kinds like beef, lamb, or chicken should be stored in the refrigerator.
2. Keep Your Food Protected:
Always keep your food in a safe place. Also, make sure to cover them with a lid or something similar. You have to keep them protected from dirt, flies, and other insects.
3. Cook The Poultry In A Proper Way:
Cook poultry till the meat is completely white, and no pink hue remains. Meat really should be grilled till the fluids dripping from it are transparent.
4. Egg Safety:
Before cooking, test if your eggs are rotten or not. Never use dirty or cracked eggs. Also, make sure to cook the dishes involving eggs fully and adequately.
5. Refrigerate Perishable Food Items Before And After Serving:
There are food items that are sensitive and easily perishable. You need to refrigerate them before serving. You also need to refrigerate them after you are done serving them.
Conclusion:
To sum up, everything that has been discussed so far is that a gas BBQ is almost the same as the regular BBQs. Gas BBQs are more sophisticated and more manageable to control. For beginners, it is a perfect BBQ. I think every beginner should give it a try.
