So, you’ve decided that you want a gas grill. Gas grills do have several advantages over charcoal grills. A gas grill can be preheated and ready to go in just a little while. Charcoal may take an hour before it’s ready to use. A gas grill is also easier to clean than a charcoal grill. You don’t have to clean ash out of a gas grill. There are some things that you’ll need to consider, however, when you choose your gas grill. A gas grill is fairly simple. You have a fuel source, which can be either a propane tank, or for some larger grills, a connection to a natural gas line. The burners create the heat to cook the food. Above the burners is some kind of system to disperse the heat over a larger area. Above the heat dispersal system is a grate on which the food will be cooked. Some small gas grills have only one burner. If you can afford it, you’ll want a gas grill with two or more burners. That way, you have better control over your heat. You can have one burner set to the desired cooking temperature, and the other burners on lower heat, so you’ll have a place to move the food if it starts to cook to quickly. On some gas grills, you’ll also find something below the grate to catch the drippings from the food, and convert them to smoke, to enhance the flavor of the food. Consider your budget. You can find gas grills in prices ranging from $150 on up. On the low end, you’ll find simple gas grills with one or maybe two burners. If you’re only cooking for 2-4 people, these grills may suit your needs just fine. If you’re doing a lot of grilling, or grilling for a larger number of people, you’ll want to buy something a little bigger. From about $350 and up, you’ll find grills with not only multiple burners, but other features, like smokeboxes for smoking foods, and a side burner for heating pots and pans if necessary. Some of the higher end grills also have a rotisserie attachment. Look for a solid, stable grill. A cheaply made grill will be wobbly, and possibly collapse while you’re cooking. Check the grill to make sure that it is well built with solid construction. The cooking grates should be stainless steel or aluminum, or cast iron, or porcelain coated cast iron. The grates will need to be able to stand up to the high heat of the grill without warping. Look for a grill that is easy to maintain. You’ll want to be able to easily remove the grates and other parts of the grill for cleaning. You’ll want to find a good grill made of stainless steel to withstand the weather conditions out on your deck. You will want to get a grill cover, but some dust and moisture will still be able to get to the grill, so you’ll want one that can handle the weather. If the grill has a paint coating, make sure that it is a quality coating that will stand up to the heat and the weather. You don’t want a paint coating that will peel away and expose the grill to the weather. You’re investing your hard earned money in a gas grill. You don’t want a grill that will fall apart after one season, you’ll want something that will last. Take your time to do some research, and look around. Your patience will be rewarded with a quality grill that will last you for years.

As the name suggests, direct grilling involves cooking food directly over a fire, usually three to six inches above the flame. This method is used to cook relatively small, thin, tender pieces of food – steaks, chops, chicken breasts, fish fillets, vegetables, tofu, sliced pineapple – foods that cook quickly, benefiting from the searing heat of the fire. To grill using the direct method, all you do is place the food on the grate over your heat source. The challenge of direct grilling – especially when using charcoal – is to control the heat. One way to do this is to build a three-zone fire. A three-zone charcoal fire:To build a three-zone fire in a charcoal grill, rake half of the lit coals into a double layer on one side of the grill, so that they cover about a third of the bottom grate (you can use a garden hoe to rake out the coals). The rest of the coals go in a single layer in the center of the bottom grate. Leave the remaining third bare. This gives you three heat zones – a hot zone for searing, a medium zone for cooking, and a cool or safety zone where you can move what you are grilling if it starts to bum or keep cooked food warm. A three-zone gas fire:To control the heat on a gas grill, you could adjust the burner controls, but I prefer to set up a three-zone fire here, too. Turn one burner on to high heat, then turn one or two burners on to medium. Leave the remaining burner turned off. If your grill has only two burners, use the warming rack as your safety zone. A two-zone fire (charcoal and gas):When you are grilling only a couple of steaks or chicken breasts, you can use a two-zone fire. Depending upon what you are cooking, if you are using a charcoal grill, spread the coals out in an even layer, leaving a quarter of the grill bare, or make a double layer of coals in half of the grill and a single layer in the other half. If you are using a gas grill, preheat half or two out of three of the burners to the desired temperature; leave the rest turned off. This gives you a hot zone for grilling and a cooler zone for dodging the flames or resting the meat.