To determine the best gas grill and get a feel for how these grills perform in different cooking scenarios, we run three tests. Based on different types of meat, methods, and heat settings, these tests show us how efficiently and evenly a grill cooks (or doesn’t).
Ribs
Our first test is ribs. It’s an anecdotal round, so there’s no attached thermometer or software to capture specific data. We preheat each grill on high for 10 minutes before turning it down to low, indirect heat. Depending on the size of the grill, that means turning off one or two burners completely.
We remove the outer membrane from a rack of ribs and season it with an all-purpose seasoning blend that we use for ribs and chicken. Then we place the ribs on the grill for at least three hours with the lid closed the entire time.
The rib test takes three hours at low, indirect heat.
Rib lovers may not agree with this relatively short and smokeless cooking method, but it shows us how well a standard propane grill works at a low temperature and slow cooking time. If time allows, we continue cooking until the ribs are fully cooked and note the total cooking time.
Chicken
To test the grill with medium cooking time and medium heat setting, we grill a whole chicken. We preheat the grill on high for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium and turn off the burners to create an indirect heat environment.
After trimming and seasoning the bird, we place it in a roasting pan and insert a temperature probe into each chicken breast, for a total of two probes per chicken (this is an important step even if the grill has a built-in thermometer, because undercooked chicken is no good for anyone). To keep our results as fair as possible, all of the chickens weigh as close to 5.5 pounds as possible.
Whole chickens are cooked over indirect, medium heat until both breasts reach 165 °F (74 °C).
These temperature probes are connected to a data logger and a laptop whose software records the internal temperature of each chicken breast every two seconds. Each chicken is cooked until the temperature in both breasts reaches a food-safe 74 degrees Celsius.
Grilled chicken should have crispy skin and meat that is fully cooked through but not dry. We perform this test in three rounds, which gives us a solid average cooking time for each grill.
Citizens
Burgers are our last test for our grill tests. We measure out 140g of ground beef (80/20) and press it into even patties. These patties go into a grill basket and we insert a temperature probe at a 45 degree angle into the center of each patty.
After preheating the grill on high for 10 minutes, the basket goes on the grill. After six minutes of cooking, we flip the basket over and monitor the internal temperature. Once the last burger in the basket reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit, the batch is done. A good burger in this test is one that has both a nice crust on the outside and a slightly pink center.
Burgers are grilled over direct, high heat.
The burger test detects hot spots on the grill surface when one burger consistently reaches 63 °C (145 °F) before the others in each round.
In our tests, an average difference of 15 or 20 degrees between the fastest and slowest cooked patties in a batch was the norm. What is alarming is when we see differences in the 30 to 40 degree range.
