A backyard barbecue could be one of an essential part of your life’s landscape. Taking great caution in selecting and preparing the foods you serve may not ascertain the success of a barbecue. The success of your meal often begins and comes down to the quality of your gas grill i.e Best Portable & Natural Gas Grill.
Grills are becoming must-have equipment for any modern home. Note that random grills may not deliver this, but the best gas grills i.e Best Portable & Natural Gas Grill ascertain a successful barbecue.
Gas grills are much more advantageous over the well-known traditional charcoal grills. These grills offer three major benefits over their counterparts. They include:
- Control – adjusting heat with gas grills is as simple as turning the burner knobs. This prevents burning or undercooking. You can as well create some different heat zones by shutting down one or more burners, especially when undertaking indirect grilling. The same can be done with charcoal, only that it involves removal of coals and adjusting the vents.
- Convenience – is it really worth comparing how to turn on gas grills with charcoal grills? Gas models turn on with a press of a button. Consequently, they heat up faster. Charcoal requires at least 20 minutes to light and another 10 to heat up. Quite tedious!
- Cleanliness – gas grills do not generate much smoke or ashes compared to charcoal grills. Hygiene maintenance with these grills involves brushing and wiping the grates as well as emptying the grease tap after cooking. That simple!
Regardless of whether you are a first-time buyer or a seasoned master looking to replace your gas grill, gas grills can fit every cooking style and budget. From portable models perfect for camping expeditions to larger grills suitable for extended families.
The wide variety may make it difficult to choose the best of them all. Besides, modern gas grills have more bells and whistles to consider, with some even featuring an attached kitchen sink. Therefore, don’t purchase the first grill that catches your eye. Don’t be easily swayed towards appearance, cost or perhaps intriguing features.
Take your time and look around for the best grill. Comparing the products using these factors will help you make a prudent decision.
Gas Grills Buying Guide
Multiple Burners
For a successful cookout, you may want to ensure that the grill has at least two burners. Note that an even heat distribution can only be achieved by a grill with a minimum of two burners. The more burners you get, the better.
Grills are differently designed when it comes to placement of burners. Whereas some line them side by side, others line them front to back. Grills with burners lined up from side to side allows users to turn off one side and slow roast over the indirect zone as they crisp over the direct zone.
For grills, the bigger the cooking surface, the better the flexibility. Burners lined up side to side is best for cooking while front to back is the best for rotisserie cooking. You can always know the design by looking at where the knobs are placed. If they are on the front, the burners are lined up from side to side. If they are on the side, they are lined up front to back.
Take great caution as some of the new infrared grills come with multiple burners that deliver even heat. This makes it almost impossible to get a hot and cool zone. Avoid such grills. The best gas grills burners are made of stainless steel, brass or cast aluminum. These materials last longer.
Quality Materials
Just like the burner, gas grills ought to be made of high-quality materials, for an obvious reason, durability. High-end grills on the market are made of stainless steel, brass or cast aluminum. These materials are corrosion-resistant and last long. Poorly made gas grills will not last long, often spanning for a couple of years.
Lid
Though this may seem to be common sense, many grills, including expensive models may not come with lids. This may limit the type of cooking you intend to do. A grill will a lid allows for setting up in two zones. Without, you will be forced to cook with direct heat from one side.
This could be fine for burgers, dogs and some thin cuts of meat, but not fine for thick steaks, turkey, chicken, and ribs. Some gas grills feature double layered lids that help in retaining heat.
Fuel Types
This is the right time to consider and plan on fueling your gas grill. There are two major options, the propane, and natural gas. The main difference between the two is that propane gas grills are portable, as they only need a portable refillable tank.
On the contrary, natural gas gives an option of connecting your grill to your homes natural gas plumbing. This makes it advantageous, as you won’t have to refill the gas tank. Nonetheless, the fact that the grill will become stationary is a drawback.
The Ignition System
A starter is used to ignite gas grills. There are three primary ignition system types. They include:
- Electronic – uses batteries, often just a single AA battery. They occasionally fail, mostly due to a dead battery.
- Piezo electric ignition – it generates a spark by friction. The friction is generated by pressing a knob on the Piezo ignition system, where a springloaded hammer creating a voltage that creates a spark strikes a small quartz crystal.
- Hot surface ignition – which makes use of an igniter rod that instantaneously gets red hot to fire the burners.
Warranty
Home appliances, including gas grills, must have warranty periods. High-end gas grills often come with longer warranties. Most times, you will never need to use the warranty, as these products are reliable and refined. However, it is always good to know that the manufacturer of your grill stands behind their products and willing to reimburse for any malfunctions encountered.
If you find a gas grill matching any of the above features in your search, you are off to a great start. Of course, many other factors, such as grilling surface area, come into play but those mentioned above are the crucial aspects to look into. Don’t mind extra expenses if you are anticipating a large cookout. Outlined below are some of the best products on the market today.
Top 10 Best Gas Grills
Based on the buyer’s guide outlined above, you can consider the following grills for purchase.
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Weber 46110001 Spirit E210 Liquid Propane Gas Grill – Best Gas Grill on the Market
Over the years, manufacturers have realized that many people aren’t searching for luxury in gas grills. This is why most manufacturers have introduced small, 2-burner grills with fold-down side tables. This takes up less space whereas providing utmost grilling experience. This is a perfect description of the Weber 46110001 Spirit E210 Liquid Propane Gas Grill.
Following the popular Genesis line, the Weber Spirit line of grills has control valves on the front, perhaps clearing the right side table of knobs. The Spirit E-20 is the smallest and least expensive grill of all Weber full sized products. It is designed with fold tables, making it perfect for small spaces such as balconies.
Besides the small footprint, the basic 2-burner offers little bells and whistles. It generates 26,500 BTUs of heat under the 360 square inch porcelain coated cast iron cooking grates. Its design provides enough space for indirect cooking, but the capacity is limited.
Construction of the Weber 46110001 is good. However, Weber abandoned the high quality stainless steel for a similar quality enameled steel. This favors the price of this gas grill. Overall, it is a no-frills, 2-burner gas grill that provides full grill experience in a small space. Here is the update video review of the Weber gas grill.
PROS
- Fold down tables
- Affordable
- Quality construction
CONS
- Quite a small grilling surface
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Char-Broil Classic 4-Burner Gas Grill – Best for Larger Families and Cookouts
Larger families and extensive cookouts can be a memorable experience if the Char-Broil Classic 4-Burner Gas Grill takes charge. It is a powerful and overly affordable barbecue grill with several accompanying features that make it a good choice for patio and backyard grills.
Perhaps the highlight of this grill features being the four burners, which generate up to 38,000 BTU. It also features a 10,000 BTU flush mounted side burner with a convenient cover. This generates plenty of heat.
The grill heats up quickly, reaching 500 degrees in just three minutes. However, it doesn’t do well in retaining the heat. Nonetheless, you can make the best out of its space. The 480 square inch cooking area and a 180 square inch swing-away warming rack are enough space for all your grilling needs.
Furthermore, the grill’s control panel, lid, and knobs are stainless steel. Cooking grates are coated with porcelain. Stainless steel materials prevent rusting and wear on the outside part as the porcelain coat prevents food from sticking to the grates. This makes cleaning easy.
Stainless steel burners on the grill are covered with a five-year warranty as the parts enjoy a one-year warranty.
PROS
- High-quality materials
- Large cooking space
- Easy to clean grates
- Lid-mounted temperature gauge
- Electronic ignition system
CONS
- Doesn’t heat evenly
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Coleman Road Trip Propane Gas Grill – Best Portable Gas Grill
Are you looking to take your grilling experience on the road? Get the Coleman Road Trip Propane Gas Grill. It collapses down easily and comes on two wheels, making transportation easier. This grill packs tons of features, perhaps a starter version of the RoadTrip line of portable grills.
Its portable nature makes it ideal for picnicking, camping and tailgating. It delivers up to 20,000 BTUs of heat across its 285 square inches of grilling surface. A swaptop interchangeable cooktop allows you to switch grill grates for griddle and stove grates, which are sold separately.
Don’t worry about the ignition as the Instastart button ignites the grill without necessarily having a match or lighter. The grill is made of cast-iron, though not the best material in the market, but a good choice for portability purposes. Porcelain coated grate surfaces make it easy to clean it.
The Coleman Road Trip Propane Gas Grill is designed to work with the 16.4-ounce liquid propane gas. A disposable LP provides a maximum cooking time of 1.1 hours, considering both burners are set on high and 4.5 hours on low burner settings.
Coleman provides an extended 5 years of limited warranty to cover possible defects of their grills. This isn’t an exception. Therefore, hold on to your receipt as the warranty is provided at their discretion.
PROS
- Portable and easy to transport
- Large cooking surface area
- Easily cleaned
- Lots of heat
- Convenient
CONS
- Grease tap can be messy
- Doesn’t heat evenly
- Small lid handle
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Blackstone Outdoor 36-Inch Flat Top Gas Griddle Station – Best Outdoor Gas Grill
Are you looking for restaurant style cooking from your gas grill? If so, then replace your regular gas grill with the Blackstone Outdoor Flat Top Gas Griddle Station. With this station, you can cook anything. It is perfect for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as you can cook anything from eggs to pancakes and grilled cheese to steak. The large, 720 square inches of cooking space is something to awe about.
The grill is overly easy and simple to assemble. You will also eliminate the hassle of kerosene, matches and charcoal startup with an electronic ignition system. It involves a battery powered push button. With a gentle touch of the button, your griddle is ready to go.
Being an outdoor griddle, transporting it is a major factor. However, worry not as transporting the Blackstone Outdoor Flat Top Gas Griddle Station is easy. You can easily wheel around your yard or transport to campsites by removing the griddle’s top, folding the legs and caster wheels.
The Blackstone grill is built with high-quality materials for durability and longevity. It features a powder coated black steel frame and stainless steel burners for easy cleanup. Most importantly, the grill comes with controllable heat zones. The four independent 15,000 BTU burners provide for versatile cooking options.
PROS
- Wide cooking space
- Easy assembly
- Affordable
- Durable
- Easy to clean
CONS
- Grease drainage is frustrating
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Weber Spirit E-310 Gas Grill – Best Natural Gas Grill
The Weber Spirit E-310 Gas Grill, retailing at around USD 600 offers little more than just a cookout. It is a natural gas unit that utilizes the natural gas plumbed into your home. Therefore, don’t go for this if you don’t have natural gas at home. Find propane barbecues instead.
Perhaps the highlight of this grill’s feature being the cast iron and porcelain enameled cooking grates. Any cooking master will certainly vouch for cast iron equipment. However, you should understand that cast iron requires extra seasoning before it cooks smoothly. Nonetheless, coast iron that is porcelain enameled enables the grates to retain heat for longer durations and tend to be less sticky. This makes cleaning and maintenance easy.
An in-built thermometer is essential to keep an eye on the grill’s temperatures. Weber Spirit E-310 Gas Grill has a centrally mounted thermometer that only takes a glance to read the temperatures.
For effective cooking, this grill has 3 burners with a 529 square inches grilling capacity. This is the primary cooking area, but an additional 105 square inches is provided as the warming rack. The grill produces up to 32,000 BTU per hour, enough to effectively cook your food. The following video explains about the detailed review of Weber Spirit E-310 Gas Grill.
PROS
- Well built
- Easy to clean
- Plenty of space
- Easy to use
- Uses natural gas
CONS
- Lower grades of steel
- Basic grill for the price
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Camp Chef Flat Top Gas Grill – Best Professional Restaurant Grade Grill
Cooking can be made easy with the Camp Chef Flat Top Grill. The large surface of this flat top grill will enhance your cooking experience besides giving you plenty of working area. The grill’s 600 square inch surface area makes it possible to crank food for more than 50 people every hour.
Users attest that many of the propane gas grills have hot spots. However, this grill is quite different as it heats food evenly. This flat top grill i.e Best Portable & Natural Gas Grill can be used as a grill, griddle or water pot heat source. Besides, the included interchangeable flat top makes it easy to cook pancakes, eggs, sausage, hash browns and bacon all at once.
Four separate burners provide the much-needed heat in specific areas, creating heat zones that easily manages hot food. Igniting this system is easy with the matchless ignition knobs. Other features of this grill include:
- True seasoned finish, ready to cook
- Grease tray and catch bucket
- Adjustable leg levelers
- Roller wheels for transport
- Two large folding shelves
- Grease management system for easy cleanup
- Propane tank holder
PROS
- Cast iron grill
- Large flat, interchangeable top
- Easy assembly
- Quick ignition
- High heat emissions
- Large cooking area
- 48,000 combined BTUs
CONS
- Cleaning is quite difficult
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Cuisinart CGG-180T Petit Gourmet Gas Grill – Best Compact Portable Grill for Heavy Use
If you are looking for a small grill, enough to be carried along yet large enough to cook a meal for several people, consider the Cuisinart CGG-180T Petit Gourmet Gas Grill. While it may seem small in stature, the Cuisinart grill has enough area to handle up to six chicken breasts or eight hamburgers. Its small design efficiently utilizes every inch of the cooking space available without wasting gas.
There are many reasons why you shouldn’t expect less from this compact grill. It has been designed to provide plenty of heat in its 145 square inch cooking surface. Despite having one burner, it delivers 5,500 BTU. The porcelain coated grates heat up quickly.
From the outside, the grill presents in a durable painted steel box and lid with gas control knobs and inbuilt ignition. There is a drip tray that catches grease and another run-off. The grill works well with 14.1 or 16.4 oz. Liquid propane bottles. This can last for approximately 3 hours.
Manufacturers of Cuisinart CGG-180T Petit Gourmet Gas Grill provide a 3-year warranty on all workmanship and defects. However, this doesn’t cover enamel on the grate.
PROS
- Cooks evenly like a larger grill
- Perfect for small spaces
- Portable
- Convenient
CONS
- Has one burner only
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Char-Griller 3001 Pro Gas Grill – Best Low-Cost Gas Grill
The Char-Griller 3001 Pro Gas Grill is a perfect choice if you are searching for a compact gas grill with a kick when it comes to power. It is a budget-friendly grill, perfect for family get-togethers.
The Char-Griller is a convenient and portable gas grill – Best Portable & Natural Gas Grill. The lightweight yet sturdy construction makes it easy to relocate when the need arises. Its heavy-duty steel construction provides 630 square inches of cooking area. If you feel this isn’t enough, there easily convertible side burner can provide extra space for cooking and prepping.
The grill generates up to 48,000 BTUs sourced from the three primary burners. The side burner generates additional 12,000 BTUs on its own. Therefore, whereas it is comparably small, its level of heat generation stands par with other gas grill options. It certainly doesn’t sacrifice power compactness.
The electronic ignition system is the other additional measure of convenience. You will not at any time worry about the slow startup. Perhaps the selling point of this grill is its height and overall construction. It stands 50 inches tall, an ideal height for most grillers. It also weighs 90 pounds, making it among the lightest grills.
Char-griller provides a five-year warranty on the grill’s burner and one-year cover on all other parts.
PROS
- Feature packed
- Affordable
- Heavy construction for the price
CONS
- Weak plastic wheels
- Difficult assembly
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Weber Genesis II E-410 Liquid Propane Gas Grill – Best Modern Gas Grill
Weber is undoubtedly the best when it comes to gas grills. All products from this company perform best when it comes to grilling experience. The Weber Genesis II E-410 Liquid Propane Gas Grill adds to the list of the company’s best-performing gas grills – Best Portable & Natural Gas Grill.
The hallmark of this grill is the GS4 grilling system. The system includes four high-performance stainless steel burners made of porcelain enameled flavorizer bars. This sets a new standard in backyard cuisine. Each component of this system is properly designed for ease of use as well as provides unequaled satisfaction.
This system consists of the infinity ignition, grease management system, high-performance burners, and the flavorizer bars. All combined, they ensure that your grilling experience is made easy and reliable.
The new grease management system reduces risks of experiencing dangerous flare-ups and makes it easy to remove and clean grease. The grill’s infinity ignition ensures that the gas ignites and start each burner with ease by turning the knob.
Other intriguing features of this grill include the stainless steel side prep workspace with integrated hanging storage hooks. The porcelain enameled cast iron grates provide 646 square inches of cooking space and a 198 square inch warming rack overhead.
PROS
- Large working space
- Four high-performance burners
- Open cart design for easy access to storage
- Push button infinity ignition
CONS
- Long assembly time
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Blackstone 28-Inch Outdoor Gas Grill – Best Camping, Parties and Home Grill
As the name suggests, the Blackstone 28-Inch Outdoor Gas Grill is a perfect outdoor griddle that can cook for large families or groups. Compared to the predecessor Blackstone 36-inch, this model is seemingly smaller and more portable. Nonetheless, it doesn’t sacrifice its features for compatibility.
Like other Blackstone grills, this model features an electric ignition system, an in-built grease dripping pan, a shelf, folding stands and two-heavy castors. It also comes with a non-sticky plate that makes grilling efficient and cleaning easy.
The grill has two burners, producing a total output of 30,000 BTUs with a cooking area of 470 square inches. Its frame is made of black powder-coated steel and the cooking surface consisting of cold rolled steel. Now, here is the video review of blackstone 28-inch gas grill i.e Best Portable & Natural Gas Grill.
PROS
- Easy to clean
- Controllable heat output
- Electric ignition
- Restaurant grade cooking
- Portable
CONS
- Faults with the grease dripping system
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Final Verdict
Gas grills i.e Best Portable & Natural Gas Grill often come in handy for several reasons. They not only make friends and family gatherings memorable but also are great gifts that eliminate the dirt associated with charcoal. They also heat up faster than other grills.
The buyer’s guide and gas grills review outlined above will help you narrow down to the best and right choice for you. Happy grilling!