Natural gas outdoor grill?

In My Humble Opinion
41

Not sure why you’d think steak was no good on a gas grill. Unless you have one that doesn’t get hot enough. The whole point of a good steak is to sear quickly over very high heat, then (if it’s really thick) to set it aside on indirect heat to cook through. A 1 inch to 1.5 inch thick steak should do just fine on a typical gas grill, as long as it can reach 700F.

The main reason to get a NP gas grill is to avoid having to deal with the propane tank level, it’s just hooked up to the gas line of your house. If you don’t have a problem with gas grill vs. charcoal in the first place, you’ll be fine. I’ve used one for 20 years, all Weber models.

I enjoy it for the ease of getting it started for quick cooking, medium to high heat foods like steaks, burgers, and hot dogs. Plus the oven-like convenience of “set and forget” on longer cooking foods, like large roasts, multiple chickens or racks of ribs, etc., that would never fit in my oven. I’ve had no complaints about the taste of the food, either.

Yes, you don’t get the smoky taste of charcoal cooking, but that’s fine with me. The flavor in what I grill comes from the rubs and spices and sauces, and the quality of the meat itself. Not everything that is grilled needs to be smoky.

And even then, for quick or even medium length cooked stuff, like steak or chicken drums and thighs that grill for about 40 minutes, I find I can get a smoky flavor added if I want to just by using unsoaked wood chips in a metal wood chip box placed between the (gas) fire and the grate as the grill preheats. In theory I could throw a few chunks of charcoal into that box, too - I may try that next time!

That said, I have been contemplating getting a charcoal SMOKER for the stuff that I do want that smoky flavor in it, that my gas grill cannot do: low and slow cooked stuff. Pulled pork, certain styles of BBQ ribs, briskets, that kind of thing.

That’s the only scenario where I’ve concluded yes, the gas grill just isn’t up to the task. But that’s a minority of what I consider grilling. “Grilling” is NOT synonymous with “BBQ.”

42

You didn’t give much of your grilling history. Have you used a grill with LP tanks? It’s really not that bad. Buy a 2nd tank and you’ll never run out of gas. When one is empty, hook up the other one and exchange the empty whenever you have free time. There’s definitely convenience for NG, but going with LP means you can get a standard grill and not have to worry about conversion. You can also move the grill around a little easier.

Webers cost a lot, but the benefit is that they will last a long time and will be able to get really hot. Cheaper grills will often rust out and not be able to hold in the heat as well.

43

By way of example: I just got a new Weber Genesis II E-435 natural gas grill, to replace the grill I’d had for 14 years that still worked but had body portions rusted out because I never covered it (d’oh).

One of the things I’ve made on it has been a 7 lb. standing rib roast. Yes, basically treating it as an oven, but that’s not a minus - this roast would not really have fit very well in my oven.

And further, I was able to reverse sear it much, much more effectively in my grill than in an oven. I rubbed it with dry spices (kosher salt, coarse ground black pepper, garlic, cumin), left it overnight, then let it come to room temperature after coating it with a paste of rosemary, olive oil, worcestershire sauce, and dijon mustard.

I put the roast on the center of the grill to cook indirectly with the lid shut at 250F, until it reached 100F. I used that metal smoke box filled with hickory chips over one of the burners. It imparted a smoke flavor even without cooking the meat with smoke. This took a long time (I forget if it was 4 hours? 5?),

When the roast reached 100F, I removed the smoker box, shut the lid, and cranked the outside burners to as high as they would go to do the reverse sear (the roast being in the center, with no burners on under it - I have a four burner grill). I shut it all down and removed the roast when it hit 125F. The grill temperature reached somewhere like 500F in so doing.

Then, I let the roast rest for 30 minutes while I made all the side dishes. The roast reached a perfect medium rare 135F in the center in that time, with a crispy seared outside, and a gently smoky flavor.

So, why was I glad to do this with the gas grill?

The grill accomodated a much larger roast than my oven would have done.

With a charcoal grill, maintaining that level of heat would take a lot of monitoring and fire tending. I’m a lazy man. Preheat the grill with the right gas level, and it just stays there.

Reverse searing the roast was much faster/easier than with charcoal, too: just turn up the gas knobs. Stoking a charcoal grill from 250F “low heat” mode to “as hot as you can make it, but still be indirect heat” mode would not be nearly so easy.

Using the wood chip box gave a noticeably smoky flavor to my rib roast, not as much as actually smoking it would have done, but it was fine for what I was going for.

And Lazy Man FTW, Part 2: no charcoal to dispose of. I just shut the gas off when I was done cooking. Eventually I’ll have to clean the grill of accumulated grease and whatnot, but not every time I use it.

44

Yes, that’s true, but if your house is already natural gas, why not hook it up?

The answer would be: if you wanted to place the grill somewhere not near your house. But my rear deck/backyard area has never been very large, and having the grill within 10-15 feet of my house has always been the right place to put it.

So, not saying propane tanks are bad - just that in my history, ever since I’ve had a house at all, it’s had natural gas and an easy way to extend it to reach where the grill would go. (In fact the first house I had, came with a natural gas grill already installed - I just upgraded it from a Sunbeam model to a larger Weber Genesis.)

45

Oh, and more of my history: until I bought a house that came with the gas grill, I did charcoal grilling in the park, so I know somewhat of what was involved (no long-and-slow meat smoking, just burgers, hot dogs, and chicken parts). Starting the fire, stoking it, using the vent thingy to control air flow and heat, and then putting out the fire and disposing of the ashes and charcoal at the end.

So gas grill, on the plus side: a push-button instant fire start, set-and-forget heat level, and no cleanup.

On the minus side: no charcoal taste. Which has its place, but I’ve found wasn’t absolutely necessary for what I used the grill for. And some part of that can be added back with wood chips. (I refuse to go “liquid smoke”, I tried that once with grilled chicken and that stuff is kind of nastily artificial, unless I used too much or did it wrong.)

When social gatherings are a thing again, I’ve decided I’m going to get a Weber egg shaped smoker thingy (that is charcoal) and try smoking a brisket or a whole turkey, what hasn’t come out in a way I like with my grill. And maybe do some more Memphis or Texas style BBQ pork ribs - usually I make Asian style honey coated spare ribs on the grill. But that’s literally the only time I’ve felt the absolute need to go charcoal.

46

My Weber Smokey Joe Platinum (18") is in its 14 or 15th year. It’s been outside, somewhat covered by a large awning, for the last 10. I did have a weld on the handle give way and I think that’s because it gets side loaded and then pushed down when the wire transport loop gets flipped up. I fixed it with a drill, nut/bolt and a couple washers. The grill doesn’t look perfect but is structurally in very good shape.

My WSM was used when I got it but it’s been outside for the 8-9 years I’ve had it and still doing fine. It blew over in a thunderstorm and made a big mess (some drip trays were in there) and one of the vent tabs was bent but otherwise fine. I drilled a 1/8" hole in the very bottom after a half gallon of rainwater froze solid in there. I hate that rain hitting the lid drains into the smoker and rain hitting the sides drains into the charcoal section.

This may be the last year for my 15 year old Weber chimney, though. The can is fine but the grate part it nearly rusted through. I’ve already got the replacement but no hurry to retire the old one.

I’ve never had a gas grill of my own.

47

I respectfully disagree. I’ve made some spectacular ribs, briskets and pulled pork with my gas grill, now entering its 15th year BTW. A Napoleon Legend 485. I’ve had to use up to 5 or 6 smoke packs depending on how long but it can be done. Also, donair meat, rotisserie chicken and eye of round roast.

48

BTW - one of the negatives about NG is the risk of leaving it on. Something I’ve never done, but only because I heard a funny cautionary tail on the radio around the same time we had ours installed.

I was listening to the morning show on our local Toronto Station, it was mid-January and we’d just had our first really big snowfall of the year, maybe 10" overnight. The host then starts talking about the “Remember the Grey Cup party I had last Fall?” and starts on a long segue into the amazing ribs etc. he’d BBQ’d for it [Grey Cup is the Canadian football “Super Bowl”, held in November every year.].

I’m thinking where is he going with this rambling story?

He then says,"So I’m the kitchen this morning getting a coffee and looking out over my yard thinking how lovely the snow is and my gaze moves to my deck and the BBQ on it. And I see the BBQ is bone dry with not a hint of snow on it. "

His BBQ had been running steady since November. :smack:

49

Appreciate the well wishes but congratulations are not in order. For the soap opera, she came back just after US flights were cancelled. by the way, there was no quarantine nor contact tracing, and the CDC advised staying at home and minimizing any actions outside the home.

Now, to go back to China. Is facing a 2 week mandatory quarantine in a crappy hotel with the interior covered by plastic sheeting (for cleaning), wndows that don’t open, central AC that is turned off, can’t leave the room, pitiful attempts at room service, in a hot humid envirnoment.

Don’t know when I can get the final papers drawn up and get her out of my life.

Although, I will be fair and say for once in about a decade, she has stepped up to sit side by side with our autistic daughter for remote learning about 6 hours a day, and she has not been a dick to our son that came out as trans a few days before starting high school about 9 months ago.

Me, I just wanna get on with my life with the kids sans the witch. She has flown into a rage a couple of times, only to be weak and sick for 2 days afterwards. Such is my soap opera.

But my weber bread is pretty dang good.

50

Webers are indestructible. Whatever sort of enamel paint or coating they use is amazing.

I still use my Weber Smokey Joe (the little 18" portable grill) that I bought in 1997, and have kept outside ever since. I’ve had to buy a replacement fire grate, but that’s it. The rest is in fine shape. Eventually the wooden handle will disintegrate, or the nuts and bolts holding it together will rust out, but I’d bet a lot of money that’ll happen before the actual enameled steel body is actually compromised.

51

Oh, my. Yes, I have done this more than once in the past 20 years. Not for an entire winter, and generally I realize it after only a few hours, but I’ve definitely left it running by accident for as long as 48 hours. Probably three times, not as many as five but more than twice.

Each time, I was letting it run longer with burners on direct high to burn off crusted on meat/fat on my rib rack after a long sesssion of slow, indirect heat cooking, set a timer to remind myself to come turn it off after 10 minutes, and then forgot to hit START on the timer (or double-fingered it, on a digital timer that just has a single START/STOP button).

So, chalk one up for a propane tank that just runs out, then :D.

52

The model I’m currently looking at has either a side burner or a side griddle. I don’t really see myself using either one all that much. The price difference is negligible, so what would be everyone’s preference?

53

I would go with a side burner. I wouldn’t think a side griddle would be used all that much when you could just use the grill itself. Get a cast iron griddle and put it on the grill if you want to use a griddle outside. A side burner would allow you to cook things in a pot that you wouldn’t be able to do on the grill.

54

I have a side burner on mine and, honestly, I don’t really use it. But that’s probably because mine is not particularly well insulated from the elements, so, if the cover is off it, it doesn’t really heat up my food very well on windy days. If I had a better side grill, I would use it more often.

55

I’ve found myself wishing for an outdoor burner for when it’s very hot out, the air conditioning is barely keeping up and the last thing I want to do is turn on the stove in the kitchen. I’ve thought about getting a portable induction cooktop to use outside but a gas burner on a grill would do the trick, too. I might also use it for messy and/or stinky and/or smoky things like frying fish or blistering chiles.

56

This is exactly what I use the side burner on my grill for: frying stuff that makes an odor or a lot of smoke. In particular, the smoke from cooking with chiles or chili powder, even paprika on fried potatoes, sends my wife into an allergic coughing fit, so I am required to do that on the burner outside with the kitchen windows shut that face the grill.

It’s also convenient to cook a side dish or keep a sauce warm over low heat while grilling meat, without running inside the house and back out again, in the kind of weather where we would be eating meals outdoors.

57

Side burner. We use ours quite often, for the reasons robardin mentioned.

58

@bijou_drains
FYI - from the new Popular Mechanics

59

I just purchased a Coyote S 36 natural gas grill which about to be installed in an outside kitchen that’s being built this week.
Couple of side burners one of which is big burner for stir fries etc
It has a smoker box and charcoal try insert so will see how that works but it’s a small area so won’t be good for big family gatherings if those ever happen again. l have a converted oil drum for doing big charcoal cooks or serious smoking.

When I lived at altitude I gave up on charcoal, just too much of a pain to keep the heat going particularly when it was winter so used a LP grill, which worked well even with big chunks of meat, just need to adapt cooking style a little and manage the heat