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304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
To determine the best gas grill and understand how these grills perform in various cooking situations, we conduct three tests. Based on different meats, methods and temperatures, these tests show us how well the grill cooks (or undercooks) properly and efficiently.
Ribs
Our first test is the ribs. It’s a regular cycle, so there’s no temperature sensor or software that captures specific data. We turn each grill on high for 10 minutes before starting the heat, indirect heat. Depending on the size of the grill, this means removing one or two burners completely.
We remove the outer skin from the pork back ribs and rub them with all the ribs we use for ribs and chicken. Then, the ribs are placed on glass for at least three hours with the lid closed the whole time.
Rib roasting takes three hours at low, indirect heat.
Rib lovers may not agree with the low and no smoke cooking method, but it helps us see how a regular propane grill can cook low and slow. If time allows we continue to cook until the ribs are done and note the entire cooking time.
Chicken
To test the grill with a midrange cooking time and medium heat, we grill a whole chicken. We turn the grill on high for 10 minutes, then turn the heat down to medium and turn off the burners to create an indirect hot spot.
When we prepare the bird and season it, we put it in a roasting pan and put another temperature probe in each breast of the chicken, to get two probes on the chicken (this is a necessary step even if the grill has fasteners. thermometer because uncooked chicken is not good for everyone). For our results to be fair, all chickens are closer to 5.5 pounds.
All chickens are cooked over indirect, medium heat until both breasts reach 165 degrees F.
The thermometers are connected to a data logger and a laptop with software that 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 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Roasted chicken should have crispy skin and meat that is fully cooked but not dry. We test this in three rounds, giving us enough cooking time on each grill.
Burgers
Burgers are our final test for our grill reviews. We measure 5.3 ounces of 80/20 beef and place them in equal portions. Those patties go into the grill basket and we place a temperature probe between each patty at a 45 degree angle.
With the grill preheated for 10 minutes on high, the basket goes on the grill. After six minutes of cooking, we turn the basket and check the internal temperature. When the last burger in the basket reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit, the batch is done. The best burger for this test is the one with a good outer texture and a pink center.
Burgers go on the grill at a hot, high temperature.
The Burger Gauge indicates the hot spot on the cooking surface if one burger reaches 145 F before the others around.
A 15- or 20-degree difference between the fast and slow patties in the batch was the norm in our testing. Red flags are raised when we start to see a 30- to 40-degree difference.
