To light up a gas grill, all you need to do is to push the start up button or switch; a small hammer in the grill then hits an ignition crystal, producing a spark that ignites the gas. The burner then combines the gas with oxygen, heating the entire cooking surface.
Cleaning gas grills is also significantly less strenuous than cleaning smoker or charcoal grills. These grills need to be thoroughly cleaned after each use, and you must make sure to get rid of accumulated grease or burnt food particles each time you clean them. To clean up a gas grill, you only need to wipe it clean. Also, when using charcoal grills, you need to be careful about smoldering coals and wood chips that could cause fires - a problem that doesn't exist with gas grills.
Many gas barbecue grills feature various types of cooking surfaces (ribbed grill rack, flat grill rack and a barbecue rack, for instance). Some models even have a special 'wok' surface and / or a rotisserie attachment for grilling a whole chicken. This feature is not commonly available in other types of BBQ grills. Often, the various types of grill racks on a gas grill are non-stick surfaces, making it easy to cook all kinds of different foods. With organized planning, you can use this type of gas grill to cook your entire barbecue meal, side dishes and all.
Some portable gas barbecue grills that have more than one cooking surface are equipped with individual burners for each surface, allowing you to regulate the temperatures separately and cook various foods at the same time. Obviously, this great advantage makes cooking an entire meal much less time consuming. On some models, there's also a temperature setting to keep the food warm; when a dish is done on one of the surfaces, it will stay warm as the other dishes continue to cook.
While almost all gas barbecue grills have thermostats that allow you to adjust cooking temperatures, this is not always the case with charcoal or smoker grills. One of the disadvantages of these grills is that, if you don't want to rely on guesswork, you'll have to buy food thermometers and other equipment.
As you can see, there are many advantages to barbecuing with gas grills. Nevertheless, portable barbecue gas grills do have a drawback that you should be aware of; Propane is an extremely inflammable gas and it is essential that you follow the manufacturer's instruction to avoid the risk of fire. Using a charcoal or smoker grill however, presents an even higher potential risk of fire since the cooking is done over an open fire.
Finally, portable gas barbecue grills are, for the most part, sturdier than other grill types and they are the ideal type of grill to take along on a trip. This is because both grills and gas containers are available in compact, easily transportable sizes.
