Well, after years of being a charcoal griller, I finally caved and picked up a gas grill last night. I prefer the taste of charcoal or pellets, but I just don't have the free time during the week to wait 40 minutes for the charcoal to get nice & hot. Gas-grilled food still has the essence of the smoke/BBQ flavor, like Burger King's flame-broiled burgers. You can argue for or against either method; personally, I like the taste of charcoal-grilled food better than gas, but I needed the convenience of a gas grill. Plus, there are some tricks you can do to get the smoke flavor (like adding wood chips in the grill), but
Anyway, I didn't see any threads on the basics of gas grilling, so I thought I'd post one since I had no idea how to use a gas grill before last night and wasn't super confident about not burning down my house due to exploding gas tanks, so doing the build/setup/grilling was a new experience for me since I'd only grilled on gas a couple times in the past. I picked up this grill at Home Depot:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Brinkmann-Ranger-2-Burner-Propane-Gas-Grill-in-Red-810-4220-S/203524204
Only $129 and perfect for cooking for yourself & a few family and friends. The standard recommendation for gas grills is Weber; they make very good, high-quality gas grills, but they are also far more expensive. I'm not a big fan of investing in grills (other than a good pellet grill) because the results have always been the same for me either way & I don't cook for really large groups of people on a regular basis (I think this little model said it can handle 20 or 25 burgers anyway). I also liked the grill grates on the model I got; some of the larger models had weird patterns or the bars were too thick to get the look I wanted on grilled food.
Plus, the low-end grills are phenomenal these days. This Brickman one is a basic budget model, but it has 2 burners inside (reviews say about 350F per burner, or 600F combined on high, which was fairly consistent with my initial results last night) and one side burner. The right burner has a built-in ignitor, as does the side burner (the left burner inside mooches off the right burner after ignition), so you don't need a lighter or anything. I did install a $9 temperature gauge (using a 5/16" drill bit, per one of the reviews) so that I could monitor the temperature inside easily:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Brinkmann-Temperature-Gauge-812-7229-S/203016476
I believe that Home Depots offer free assembly, so if you're not handy, you can just have them build it & you can pick it up. I don't have a car big enough to pick up an assembled grill, so I bought mine at the store and had to pull out the pieces from the box in the parking lot to get it to fit, haha. You can also rent a truck for like $19 at Home Depot, or just get it shipped (Amazon, Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart, etc.).
As far as accessories go, I would recommend getting an oven mitt and a basic grill toolkit (metal spatula, grill scraper, tongs, etc.). You don't necessarily need an oven mitt, but it can get pretty hot so it can help (they make high-temperature mitts). I'd also recommend getting a grill cover, that way the propane tank will be covered too. There's some other miscellaneous stuff you can get, but read up on what's good vs. what's not and figure out what works for you (rotisseries, lava rocks, wood chips, shish-ka-bob skewers, branding irons, beer can chicken molds, etc.).
Regarding propane tanks, you need to buy a tank and you need to have it filled. You usually get an empty 20-pound model between $25 and $45. When you take it back in, you can either have it refilled or do an exchange, depending on where you go. Refills typically cost between $15 and $30. You can also buy a propane gauge if you want to see how much is left, but usually you can just lift it up and see if it feels empty or not. Some people keep two tanks at home to swap out when the first one runs out, so you don't have to interrupt your cooking to run to the store to get a refill.
Modern tanks are much safer because they have OPD valves (Overfill Prevention Device). They kind of look like triangles - the old ones looked like hose faucet knobs (visual comparison). They don't engage until you put the hose from the grill on because there is a pin in the connector, so you don't risk blowing your house up by opening the valve without plugging anything in. I've read that Blue Rhino uses Tri-Safe II valves (TS2) which only they can fill, so beware of those tricks going on (in case you want to refill somewhere else). Also a lot of places apparently only fill the tank to 15 pounds instead of 20 pounds, so pay attention where you go.
The grill I bought came with the hose, so all I needed was a filled tank. As far as hooking it up goes, you basically just hand-tighten the hose connector onto the propane tank and then open up the OPD knob to get the gas flowing. When you're done grilling, turn the OPD knob off. On this particular grill, it has a spark ignition, so you flick the knobs a couple times to get the spark to light the gas, just like a modern gas range in the kitchen, then turn off when done. Pretty easy!
They do make a grill spray (Pam, Weber, etc.) that you can use to oil the grates before putting the food on so it doesn't stick (using regular oil spray will cause a nice fireball, don't ask me how I know that). I usually just get a small bowl of olive oil, my tongs, and some paper towels and goop them up and spread it on. Works great! I do recommend getting a fire extinguisher or at least a pitcher of water in case something catches on fire. There are some tips on controlling flare-ups here.
The main reason I got a gas grill is because I have a ductless ventilation system in my kitchen, which means if I cook smoky foods indoors, it just gets recycled back into the air & smokes out my kitchen. I also have a busy work schedule, and even though I prefer wood or charcoal for cooking outdoors, the convenience of a gas grill is just too nice to pass up, especially for $129. Plus it has a side burner, so I can cook veggies, baked beans, etc. on the side with the main meal in the grill, which is great. You can get as basic or as fancy as you want (like the $20,000 Kalamazoo combo grill) and even convert your grill to natural gas if you'd like to never run out of fuel while you're cooking.
Here are some extra resources:
Gas Grilling Basics (all about zones, wood, water, etc.)
Amazing Ribs grilling website (LOTS of grilling info, not just on ribs)
DIY Smash Burger
Home Depot's Pinterest page
Pinterest Grill Recipes compilation
Grilled Veggie Recipes
Using lava rocks to make the grill hotter
Silicon basting brushes (great for slopping on sauces like BBQ & Honey Mustard)
TL;DR:
1. Pick a gas grill you like
2. Buy a 20-pound propane tank
3. Get the propane tank filled
4. Eat delicious food
I'm sure there are some gas grilling experts here who can chime in with more information, recipes, and tips. Happy grilling!
Anyway, I didn't see any threads on the basics of gas grilling, so I thought I'd post one since I had no idea how to use a gas grill before last night and wasn't super confident about not burning down my house due to exploding gas tanks, so doing the build/setup/grilling was a new experience for me since I'd only grilled on gas a couple times in the past. I picked up this grill at Home Depot:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Brinkmann-Ranger-2-Burner-Propane-Gas-Grill-in-Red-810-4220-S/203524204
Only $129 and perfect for cooking for yourself & a few family and friends. The standard recommendation for gas grills is Weber; they make very good, high-quality gas grills, but they are also far more expensive. I'm not a big fan of investing in grills (other than a good pellet grill) because the results have always been the same for me either way & I don't cook for really large groups of people on a regular basis (I think this little model said it can handle 20 or 25 burgers anyway). I also liked the grill grates on the model I got; some of the larger models had weird patterns or the bars were too thick to get the look I wanted on grilled food.
Plus, the low-end grills are phenomenal these days. This Brickman one is a basic budget model, but it has 2 burners inside (reviews say about 350F per burner, or 600F combined on high, which was fairly consistent with my initial results last night) and one side burner. The right burner has a built-in ignitor, as does the side burner (the left burner inside mooches off the right burner after ignition), so you don't need a lighter or anything. I did install a $9 temperature gauge (using a 5/16" drill bit, per one of the reviews) so that I could monitor the temperature inside easily:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Brinkmann-Temperature-Gauge-812-7229-S/203016476
I believe that Home Depots offer free assembly, so if you're not handy, you can just have them build it & you can pick it up. I don't have a car big enough to pick up an assembled grill, so I bought mine at the store and had to pull out the pieces from the box in the parking lot to get it to fit, haha. You can also rent a truck for like $19 at Home Depot, or just get it shipped (Amazon, Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart, etc.).
As far as accessories go, I would recommend getting an oven mitt and a basic grill toolkit (metal spatula, grill scraper, tongs, etc.). You don't necessarily need an oven mitt, but it can get pretty hot so it can help (they make high-temperature mitts). I'd also recommend getting a grill cover, that way the propane tank will be covered too. There's some other miscellaneous stuff you can get, but read up on what's good vs. what's not and figure out what works for you (rotisseries, lava rocks, wood chips, shish-ka-bob skewers, branding irons, beer can chicken molds, etc.).
Regarding propane tanks, you need to buy a tank and you need to have it filled. You usually get an empty 20-pound model between $25 and $45. When you take it back in, you can either have it refilled or do an exchange, depending on where you go. Refills typically cost between $15 and $30. You can also buy a propane gauge if you want to see how much is left, but usually you can just lift it up and see if it feels empty or not. Some people keep two tanks at home to swap out when the first one runs out, so you don't have to interrupt your cooking to run to the store to get a refill.
Modern tanks are much safer because they have OPD valves (Overfill Prevention Device). They kind of look like triangles - the old ones looked like hose faucet knobs (visual comparison). They don't engage until you put the hose from the grill on because there is a pin in the connector, so you don't risk blowing your house up by opening the valve without plugging anything in. I've read that Blue Rhino uses Tri-Safe II valves (TS2) which only they can fill, so beware of those tricks going on (in case you want to refill somewhere else). Also a lot of places apparently only fill the tank to 15 pounds instead of 20 pounds, so pay attention where you go.
The grill I bought came with the hose, so all I needed was a filled tank. As far as hooking it up goes, you basically just hand-tighten the hose connector onto the propane tank and then open up the OPD knob to get the gas flowing. When you're done grilling, turn the OPD knob off. On this particular grill, it has a spark ignition, so you flick the knobs a couple times to get the spark to light the gas, just like a modern gas range in the kitchen, then turn off when done. Pretty easy!
They do make a grill spray (Pam, Weber, etc.) that you can use to oil the grates before putting the food on so it doesn't stick (using regular oil spray will cause a nice fireball, don't ask me how I know that). I usually just get a small bowl of olive oil, my tongs, and some paper towels and goop them up and spread it on. Works great! I do recommend getting a fire extinguisher or at least a pitcher of water in case something catches on fire. There are some tips on controlling flare-ups here.
The main reason I got a gas grill is because I have a ductless ventilation system in my kitchen, which means if I cook smoky foods indoors, it just gets recycled back into the air & smokes out my kitchen. I also have a busy work schedule, and even though I prefer wood or charcoal for cooking outdoors, the convenience of a gas grill is just too nice to pass up, especially for $129. Plus it has a side burner, so I can cook veggies, baked beans, etc. on the side with the main meal in the grill, which is great. You can get as basic or as fancy as you want (like the $20,000 Kalamazoo combo grill) and even convert your grill to natural gas if you'd like to never run out of fuel while you're cooking.
Here are some extra resources:
Gas Grilling Basics (all about zones, wood, water, etc.)
Amazing Ribs grilling website (LOTS of grilling info, not just on ribs)
DIY Smash Burger
Home Depot's Pinterest page
Pinterest Grill Recipes compilation
Grilled Veggie Recipes
Using lava rocks to make the grill hotter
Silicon basting brushes (great for slopping on sauces like BBQ & Honey Mustard)
TL;DR:
1. Pick a gas grill you like
2. Buy a 20-pound propane tank
3. Get the propane tank filled
4. Eat delicious food
I'm sure there are some gas grilling experts here who can chime in with more information, recipes, and tips. Happy grilling!