Getting a new gas grill today.

We've always had one, but I've never really looked into becoming a grill master.

I assume there are some here?

What are some basic tips and techniques to guarantee good grilling?

Pre-heat and sear? Lid open or closed to cook?

Let's hear it :)

Sorry, I'm a charcoal gal...Big Green Egg...LOVE IT!

We had a big green egg back in 1980. My dad still has it but it has plants growing in it. I remember getting it started with a shop vac set on exhaust to blow on the coals. It looked like a kiln in there.

If you have not done it yet, buy a TEC grill. No brickettes or anything like that, it uses either propane or natural gas and has a two ceramin blocks each one with 15,000 holes. It creates infrared heat, not flame. It cooks hotter than anything on the market. To cook a chicken breast you cook it 2 minutes on each side on high, turn it to medium and finish cooking. The outside is brown and black while the inside is juicey and barely cooked. Be forewarned they are not cheap.

I'm also a charcoal guy but like the convenience of gas. So I compromised with this Weber. The great taste of charcoal with the convenience of a gas lighter.

http://www.weber.com/bbq/pub/grill/2...coal/cg_p.aspx

They've "tweeked" the eggs a little since then. No shop vac required! ;) It takes about 5 minutes to get the coals going (we've got an electric starter for ours) and about another 5 minutes after that to get up to steak cooking temps. We got ours in March...so far we've made a whole chicken, ribs, grilled pineapple, steaks, fish, shrimp, burgers, and this weekend I'm probably going to make some cookies on it so I don't have to heat up our kitchen. We'll probably end up doing our turkey on it this year in November too.

Steaks open lid - closed lid to heat (high heat is better for rarer steaks). Sear on one side about 4 min then flip and cook for another 5-6 minutes and they are done (about medium-medium rare)

There is another forum out there that I frequent daily, they have a ton of information, from what BBQ to buy, what tools to use, how to build your own BBQ island, what recipes to use, etc. Here is the link:

http://forums.bbqgalore.com/backyard/

Greg

Here's a good article from another forum I visit.

I do prefer lump...but when time is pressed...I fire up the gas. Perhaps some day I'll get me an egg :)


happy cooking,
dan

Searing is not needed. The key to juicy meats is resting, let it sit, off the grill, for 5 minutes after cooking.
Hamburgers: Don't press them with the spatula, this will dry them out. Yes it's fun but it makes for a bad burger. :)

Just pre-heat the grill and then cook, preferably with the lid closed. Keep your eyes on it thought, hamburgers tend to get engulfed in flame, just open the lid and move them away from the flame to calm them down.

I always cook on low heat, with the lid closed this is all you need. Higher heats are more for charcoaling with the lid open, I will do this to finish chicken breast with the skin on, etc... .

Alton Brown's "Good Eats" show has a couple episodes that cover searing (I believe this is the myth smashers episode) and on grilling.

Oh, one more thing, close the regulator on the tank when you are done, don't rely on the grill controls to completely shut down the gas flow.

Just my own preference but when I was looking for a gas grill about 4 years ago, first time in maybe 15, found hardly any will handle lava rocks and I like them. Takes a little longer to get up to temp but I think they provide more even heat. Finally found one.
Al