Gas grills can use propane as well as natural gas for fuel. Most gas grills are designed to cook on propane but can be converted to use natural gas with little or no effort. These are the most famous types of backyard grills. There are many benefits, including fast heating up, ease of use and maintenance.

That’s a huge question indeed. So many factors to consider, starting with your budget, convenience, maintenance, efficiency, grill type, unit size, food to grill, additional features, etc. There’s no such thing as a perfect grill for everyone. But you can find the one for you. If we are talking about high-quality gas grills designed for backyard summer BBQs that have great performance, capacity, convenience, and speed, I’d probably stick to the Broil King 958347 Regal S590 Pro Gas Grill which is simply a stainless steel monster. But the price can be too high for some. Various grills from Everdure, Weber, Char-Broil, Kenmore, Napoleon, Nexgrill, and Traeger are also worth considering. These brands offer all kinds of grills to fit everyone’s needs and budget.

When you barbecuing, it means you cook your food slow and low under your grill’s lid. Barbecuing is usually used for tough meat (ribs, pork shoulders, beef briskets, chickens, or turkeys). These meats need low and slow heat to make taste good and tender. Grilling, in turn, is done with an open grill’s lid, while cooking food over direct heat on a grill rack or grate. This type of cooking is great for hamburgers, hot dogs, steaks, pork chops, seafood, and vegetables.

No. However, it depends on the food and the way you want to cook it. If you want speed, go for grills. If you love smoky meat and have the time to enjoy the cooking process, go for smokers. Smoked meats tend to fall off the bone easier and are moister than grilled meat, plus, that smoky flavor is something many people appreciate a lot. In any case, you can always go for hybrids that combine both a grill and smoker, which may be a perfect solution in case you can’t decide on one or another.

No. Unless you grill meat 24/7. But you might want to get a pellet smoker. Pellet smokers are believed to be safer than regular charcoal smokers. High-quality hardwood pellets may be hard to find though, and some claim they do not provide enough heat or smoke. Some scientists claim that BBQ smokes can cause DNA mutations, respiratory disease, and even lung cancer. You know that breathing in that smoke coming from the fat burning in charcoals is a lot like smoking a pack of cigarettes, minus the tar and nicotine. But if we are talking about health risks, pellet smokers are still better because modern machines have a convection fan system that disperses the air and smoke as well as ensures an evenly heated cooking surface.

Yes. For that, you will have to convert your propane grill into a smoker using a few convection cooking tricks. Or you can simply get a gas grill with a smoker box (like in some Weber models). You can also purchase a steel smoker box or disposable smoke trays (to put directly on the cooking grates) separately. You will have to soak wood chips for like 30 minutes. Open the lid of your gas grill. Slowly open the valve on your propane tank (or natural gas line) all the way and wait a minute for the gas to travel through the gas line. Turn all the burners on high, including the smoker burner. Close the lid and pre-heat the grill for 10-15 minutes. When the temperature is 500 F use a long-handle grill brush to clean the cooking rates. Typically you’ll be smoking with indirect, usually low heat. Turn off your middle burners and turn down the outside burners to the suggested temperature in the recipe. Keep the burner under the smoker box turned to high. Take long-handled tongs and grill gloves. Open the grill lid and smoker box lid. Use tongs to take some of the soaked wood chips, let the excess water drain off, and drop the chips into the smoker box. Spread the all over the bottom of the box. Use as many chips as possible to expose them to the burner below (stick to the recipe). Close the lid of the smoker box and grill. Wait a few minutes for the smoke to pour out of the grill. When you see it, turn down the dedicated burner under the smoker box to a medium or low for the wood to smolder slowly. Now arrange the meat in the middle of the cooking grates (over unlit burners) and close the grill lid as soon as possible. To control the cooking temperature below 250 F, you can turn off all the main burners and use the dedicated burner under the smoker box for heat. Most of the smoke will accumulate around the smoker box so the closer your food is to the smoker box, the more smoke flavor it will absorb. Basically, you mimic the indirect low and slow heat of a traditional smoker and cook mouth-watering meat cuts. As you can see, gas grills aren’t just for burgers and steaks.