A gas grill is simply a grill used to cook food but instead of coals, it lights fire by using gas, mostly propane gas. If you are planning a picnic somewhere, your gas grill will prove to be your best companion. But you also need to know how to use a gas grill to enjoy its perks to the fullest. Grilling is considered an art and has a certain style to it. It has some basic rules you need to follow. Given below is a step-by-step procedure on how to use a gas grill, for people who do not have any experience with it before.
Turn On the Gas Supply
You have to find out your grill’s gas supply type, whether it’s natural gas or propane cylinders. If it is a propane cylinder, then you need to adjust the regulator into the propane tank’s top. Also, make sure you have a spare cylinder so that you do not run out of gas. Most importantly, do not forget to keep a fire extinguisher with you.
Light the Grill
You have to make sure you are lighting the grill when it is in a well-ventilated area. If your grill has an igniter button, then press it down and slowly turn the knob. If the burner tube does not light within a few seconds you should release the knob. Then wait for a while for the gas to disperse then try again. Keep doing it until a line of blue flames appears on the burner rod. While cooking, keep the flame medium because the sauces on the meat may burn quickly while the meat is still uncooked, ruining the taste of the sauce.
- Working with manual or automatic gas grills
- If it is your first time using a gas grill, it will be a good idea to first learn the procedure on how to start a gas grill and how to light a gas grill, because it includes some important steps. If you mess up even one of them, it might end up in an accident.
- Using an automatically starting propane grill
- Before you light anything, you have to make sure that the lid is open. It is because if you turn the supply on, with the lid closed, the fumes start building up, being a high explosion risk.
- Provide the bad connection to the gas grill, which can be either propane gas cylinder or natural gas connection. Make sure that the gas connection is safe and there is not any leakage. Then turn the knobs on, which are usually placed at the front of the grill, and wait for at least 15 seconds before pressing the ignition button.
- Using a manually starting propane grill
- The first thing you need to do while ignoring a manual gas grill is finding the lighter hole from where you will ignite the turners. This would be a small hole, located on the side of the grill
- After sporting the lighter hole, fix the matchstick on the holder. The holder helps to easily insert the matchstick inside the lighter hole. After turning the closest burner’s knob on, ignite the matchstick and insert it in the lighter hole.
- After the first burner is ignited, turn on the knobs for the other burners for them to cross light from the already lit burner.
Clean the Grill
While using a gas grill, one of the first things you should learn is how to clean a weber gas grill. You have to keep it clean regularly if you want to avoid any chances of flare-ups or your meat sticking to the grill. A good reason why you should avoid flare-ups is that it burns the food from the outside, which does not taste good either. You can clean the grill before using it by heating it for almost 15 minutes and then try to clean the grease off the grill. To avoid getting your food stuck to the grill, you need to clean the grill thoroughly, using a wire brush. Then season the grills by rubbing some oil on the grates as another protection from food sticking to them.
Start Cooking Food
Here are some tips you should be aware of while cooking meat on the grill. Firstly, place the meat pieces at least an inch away from each other. Secondly do not flip the meat too much. Wait patiently for one side of meat to cook properly, on medium heat and then if you think the side is brown enough only then flip it and let the other side cook. Keep checking the firmness of meat pieces by pressing them down with the spatula, as cooked meat is more firm than raw meat. Also, you need to watch out for flare-ups as they occur quite often, to avoid the meat getting burnt due to these, you should leave some space on the grill so you can quickly move meat pieces on the other side if a flare-up occurs.
Finish Cooking
As the back of the grill is hotter than the front, so you should check for the faster cooking pieces and swap them with the slower cooking ones. When you think the meat is fully cooked, use the cooking scissors to cut open one piece. If it is cooked, then all the others are also fully cooked. Remove them from the grill using thongs. Now turn off all the burners and then clean the grill. Now close the fuel valve by turning it clockwise this time. When the grill cools down, cover it with a waterproof cover.
Grilling your food is a healthier way to cook food for both you and the planet. Cooking outside using gas grills is a fun activity to do with friends and family. You just need to learn the basic steps on how to use a gas grill, take the precautionary measures and you will be good to go!
