Cooking Tips For Gas Grills - What You Need To Know For Great BBQs

Now, the first tip you need to learn is to always make sure you have enough gas. That may sound obvious but it is often overlooked. If your BBQ uses a gas bottle, always make sure you have a spare one on hand. Do you really want to run out in the middle of cooking? Thought not!

If you have a natural gas barbecue grill hooked up to a household gas supply - good for you! You shouldn't run out of gas (barring any unforseen problems...)

The second tip is to always make sure you set the grill to the right temperature for the food. For red meat I always heat the grill to a high temperature, but for food like fish or chicken I would use a lower heat to make sure these foods cook all the way through without burning the outside.

The third tip is for those BBQs with hoods. My gas BBQ has one and I think it really adds to the quality of the cooking. What is does is create an oven, thus allowing your food to roast a little bit as well as grill. For food like steak, the result is a mouth watering meal.

If your BBQ has a warming rack, then use it to warm your red meat up before grilling. You don't need to keep it there too long (since the meat should already be at ambient temperature and not straight out of the fridge). What this does is slightly roast the meat and helps trap the moisture and juices within the fibres of the meat.

OK, so you now have some goods ideas to follow prior to cooking. But what about some actual cooking tips for gas grills? Well, read on!

I'm going to use an example of steak here, because that's the most common food cooked on a BBQ.

1. Using a pastry brush, slight oil your grill using a good quality oil. I prefer to use canola oil as it gives a better taste and is less acidic to protect your grill.


2. Light up the grill, and set the heat to High.


3. If you have a warming rack, place the steak(s) on the rack, preferably not directly above the lit grill, if possible.


4. If your BBQ has a hood, close the hood.


5. Now wait about 5 minutes until the grill surface gets nice and hot. If your hood has a temperature gauge, around 100 degrees celsius/210 degrees Fahrenheit. Alternatively, once the oil starts smoking then it's ready.


6. Carefully place your steak on the grill. You should hear that satisfying hiss!


7. If you have a hood, close the hood and reduce the gas down to medium.


8. If you don't have a hood, leave the gas on high.


9. After about 5 minutes (depending on the thickness of the meat), juices will start appearing on the top of the meat. Once you see that, turn the meat over.


10. If your BBQ does not have a hood, reduce the gas down to medium. If you do have a hood, leave the gas at medium and close the hood.


11. After about another 5 minutes (usually a little less) you'll see the juices coming through the top of the meat again. Now is the time to remove your meat from the grill and place on a warm plate. Cover with foil until you're ready to serve it.


12. Turn the gas back up to high to allow the excess fat to burn off for about 30 seconds.


13. Turn off the gas supply before turning the BBQ off via the heat control knobs. This will ensure there's no gas left in the hose lines.


14. Once the flame is out, turn the heat control knobs to off.


15. Finally, use a good quality stainless steel brush and give the grill a good scrub to remove the leftover bits of meat.


16. That's it. Leave your BBQ to cool and go and enjoy your steak.

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