After my grill of many years completely gave out on me, I decided it was time to treat myself to a new grilling toy. So one day I left the house with a budget and an idea of what I wanted, but when I arrived at my favorite home improvement store I was completely overwhelmed by what I saw. It has been many years since I set out to buy a new grill, and I don’t remember the selections being as vast as they are today. It seems that many more manufacturers have entered the market with their own versions of grills. You have charcoal, gas grills, grills combining both charcoal and gas, cast iron, stainless steel, and porcelain. And the list of variations goes on and on. Understanding what makes a good grill and what extras you need is key to being successful in your hunt, if you just venture out you will probably be overwhelmed like I was. Good luck and happy hunting!
20 Minute Marinade
Here is a quick and easy marinade recipe for your steaks. Makes a classic and delicious tasting steak.
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
3 tabelspoons minced garlic, fresh or from a jar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Mix all the ingredients together and put over steaks for 20 minutes. The longer you marinade the stronger the garlic will taste. Don’t be afraid to use garlic, it’s flavor is great with steak. This marinade can turn any regular grocery store steak into a flavorful piece of meat. Enjoy!
Proper Maintenance
Properly maintaining you grill is not a task that should be ignored. Like many of your other toys, if you don’t properly maintain, you don’t play. It is important to know the maintenance steps for your respected grill material. All materials are not maintained in the same manner. For example, it is ok to use a metal wire brush on cast iron while it is not recommended on porcelain coated steel. Proper maintenance will help you avoid the headache of having to spend more of your hard earned money on replacement parts. Your grill needs lovin too.
All Grids are NOT Created Equal
When it comes to you grill, one of the most important parts is your cooking grid or grate. The material you choose for your grid to be made of can have a direct impact on how well your foods are grilled. Stainless steel and cast iron are among the most popular with bare steel and aluminum falling in behind them far back. Cast iron offers great heat retention and great searing ability. Cast Iron can have high maintenance requirements. This may push you to the side of stainless steel. Stainless requires much less maintenance, but does require some. If properly taken care of stainless steel can last a long time. Aluminum and steel wire are on the lower end of the spectrum. They tend to “burn out” quicker than their competition and need replacing sooner. If you want something of higher quality and performance you should go with stainless steel or cast iron, but if you are looking for affordability you should consider steel.
New Gas Grill Burners
If there’s one item that is essential to any gas grill, it’s the burner. Different types of grills take different sizes and styles of burners and it’s important to find the right burner to fit your grill. A new burner in place of an old rusted one can make all the difference in your foods. Old worn out burners may not burn as well and in turn may leave your food a little undercooked. This can lead to unhappy guest or even worse, the dangers of undercooked food. So don’t take a chance on making your guests sick if you have an old burner. Look into a new burner for your gas grill.
When Buying a Grill……
When you are in the market for a gas grill, there are a few grill basics that you want to consider when you start to shop. The first thing you need to plan is your budget and think about what your needs are. A basic model grill will handle most of your grilling needs pretty decently. Size is the first thing you need to consider when your start shopping for a new grill. Make sure you look at the primary cooking space, some manufactures will include the warming rack in their description of cooking area. Next you want to think about the console or cart that the grill is mounted to. Some of the basic models will provide a shelf for preparation and a few hooks while the higher end models have more bells and whistles. Storage space is something you can never have enough of and should be paid for when available. Gas grills come in a huge range of variations and there is surely a model to fit your needs, it will take just a little shopping.
Gas Grill Repairs
With temperatures reaching into the 80′s, I think it’s safe to say grilling season is upon us. Before you get to cooking though, you should have your grill prepared and check the condition of your grill parts. If you find your grid to be rusted or your pipes just aren’t burning as well as they used to, it may be time to consider replacing them. Even check for minor things such as a broken lid handle or gas control knobs. Before long your grill will look brand new again and you’ll be ready for all the cooking to come.
Replacement Cooking Grids
It is pretty important to start getting your gas grill ready for the warmer weather and one thing you will need to make sure is in grilling shape is your cooking grid. If your grid is worn out or rusted then it is time for a replacement, the good thing about cooking grids for a gas grill is that they aren’t hard to come by. There are many different types of cooking grids ranging from just a regular rectangular cooking grid to a waterfall cooking grid. Finding the perfect replacement cooking grid for your gas grill won’t be hard because even if you don’t know the model number of your grill you can simply measure your old grid and find a grid with the same dimensions as your old one.
The Hardest Part of Grilling Shouldn’t Be Assembly
Most of the people that I know who have put together a gas grill have all told me the same thing. They all had problems with putting it together. When they see my hand built grill, they all assume I purchased it that way or had someone assemble it for me. None of them can seem to grasp the fact that the instructions come with it for a reason. Even a friend of mine with the same type of grill asked how I put mine together so effortlessly. I explained how I took it a step at a time and had patience with my project. When he told me he went by the assembly instructions and still had problems, I told him sometimes the issue can simply be a “user error”.
Gearing Up for Warmer Weather
The winter has been pretty mild this year with a lot of 60 degree warm spells that have been getting everybody outside enjoying the nice weather. And with summer just around the corner it is about that time to start getting your gas grill ready to go. Getting the gas grill fired up is a good way to get all your friends and family together to enjoy a cookout in the nice warm weather, the grilling food options are endless and always delicious so it won’t be hard finding something everybody will enjoy.