Anyone can cook food on a grill. But, very few can do it correctly or well. If you follow these cooking tips for gas grills, you will soon be known as the local grillmaster of the neighborhood.
1) Safety first, check for leaks – Most grills use highly flammable gas to cook, it’s important to make sure that there are no leaks along the hose running from the tank to the burners. The way to do this is to take a small cup filled with water and a bit of dish detergent. Rub the solution along the joints of all the connections along the hose. Turn the gas on and look along hose. The gas will make the detergent/water solution bubble up if there are any leaks.
2) Let the grill heat up – It’s important to give a gas grill a few minutes to heat up. Turn the grill to high on all burners and letting it sit for 5 or 6 minutes. Not only will this burn off anything stuck to the grill, but it will also allow you to get the grill temperature to the correct setting before you start cooking.
3) Wipe the grill with a bit of oil – This is one of the cooking tips for gas grills that everyone seems to miss. Before cooking, always wipe the grilling area will a small amount of oil. This will keep the food from sticking down. Using tongs, take a small piece of paper towel and dip it in oil. Rub this along the grill. You don’t need a lot, just enough to keep the food from sticking down.
4) Keep the cover closed – It’s hard not to peek at whats cooking, especially when it starts to smell. But, it’s very important to fight this urge. Everytime you open the grill cover you are releasing the hot air that’s helping to cook the food. This will extend the time it takes to finish cooking. The longer the food is on the grill, the more likely it is to burn on the outside.
5) Use tongs for meat, not forks – While this one doesn’t just fall under cooking tips for gas grills, it’s still a very important and deserves to be mentioned here. Using a fork with meat is going to poke holes. This is going to allow the juices building up inside the meat to drain from it. Not only will this make the meat dry, you are also in danger of causing grease fires as the juices fall into the flames.
6) Let it cool down before cleaning – This is the last of my cooking tips for gas grills. It’s far easier, and safer, to let the grill cool down before trying to clean off the mess. It’s recommended to leave it for a few hours or overnight and to clean it once it’s completely cool.