How do you achieve the best grill result on your gas barbecue?
Direct versus indirect grilling
What is direct grilling?
What is direct grilling? Using high temperatures to grill dishes fast and furious. You distribute meat or fish dishes over the entire grill rack of the barbecue. You put the burners on high and the dishes directly above the burners, and thus the fire. This means that the dishes are done very quickly. Direct grilling is useful when you want to:
- Grill with a temperature between 175 and 230 degrees.
- Eat meat, fish, or vegetables from the grill within 10 minutes.
- Prepare hamburgers, sausages, shrimp, or vegetable skewers.
- Sear or finish large pieces of meat.
- Use your 1-burner gas BBQ.
What is indirect grilling?
Indirect grilling is actually a hot air oven making the gas bbq. You do this when you want to cook dishes slowly. By turning on the individual burners on the barbecue or not, you create heat zones. You put the dishes on the part of the grill grid where the fire is low or even off. Indirect grilling is done when you:
- Grilling at temperatures of 120 to 175 degrees.
- Longer than 30 minutes for your preparation.
- Want to prepare roulades, poultry or other large pieces of meat.
- Do not want blackened pieces of meat.
- Have a gas bbq with 2 or more burners.
How do you grill directly on a gas BBQ?
Direct grilling is actually very simple on a gas BBQ or outdoor kitchen. You turn on the main burners in the barbecue on high, close the lid ,and ensure the correct grill temperature. The entire grill rack is above the fire, creating 1 large heat zone. Next, it's a matter of putting your dishes directly over the fire on the grill and the barbecue will do the rest. Keep the lid closed as much as possible: this keeps the temperature in the gas BBQ constant. Don't leave the dishes on the grill rack for too long. Of course, the preparation time differs per dish, most dishes won't last longer than 20 minutes.
How do you grill indirectly on a gas BBQ?
Indirect grilling on a gas barbecue is done by creating different heat zones. In other words: you set the desired number of burners on high (direct grilling) and the other burner(s) burn on low(er) heat. Every place on the grill rack has a different kind of heat (direct or indirect) or heat zone. The way you create the heat zones depends on how many burners you have. Below, you can read the best situation per type of gas barbecue or outdoor kitchen.
| Number of burners | Stand burners for indirect grilling |
|---|---|
| Gas barbecue with 2 burners | burner 1 on + burner 2 off |
| Gas barbecue with 3 burners | burner 1 on high + burner 2 on less high + burner 3 off |
| Gas barbecue with 4 burners | burner 1 on high + burner 2 on less high + burners 3 and 4 off |
| Gas barbecue with 5 burners | burner 1 on high + burner 2 on high + burner 3 on less high, burners 4 and 5 off |
| Gas barbecue with 6 burners | burner 1 on high + burner 2 on high + burner 3 on less high, burner 4 on less high, burners 5 and 6 off |
Conclusion
The best grill result on your gas barbecue or outdoor kitchen has everything to do with the right grilling technique. You create the right heat zones, ensure the right heat in the right place, and few things can go wrong. Please make sure not to leave your dishes on the grill to long. A dish that's grilled for too long, never comes out just right.
