Transitioning to gas, need hamburger help.


 
Grant Cunningham

Grant Cunningham

TVWBB Pro
I recently picked up a Genesis 3000 off Craigslist; after a bit of minor refurbishing it’s running very nicely. The reason for the purchase is that we live in a forested area, and during fire season charcoal burning is prohibited — which means I can’t use the beloved kettle in the middle of summer. Liquid and gas are allowed, so if we want BBQ during the summer (and who doesn't?) I needed to find a gas grill. This one came along at the perfect time.

Here’s my big question (the first, I’m sure, of many): I’ve gotten reasonably good at making hamburgers on the kettle, but I don’t know how to translate my technique to the Genesis.

Here's my procedure: I put a chimney of lit briquets into the charcoal baskets, which I put in the middle of the kettle. I make 6oz patties; they go on the grill directly above the coals, and the lid is put on. The first side is cooked for 3 minutes; then I flip them and cook (lid on) for another 4 minutes. The result is perfectly cooked burgers, juicy and delicious. (BTW, I don’t pay any attention to the lid thermometer.)

To get somewhat the same results on the Genesis, what would you suggest?
 
Just heat the grill up to full temp, throw the burgers on, then lower the temp on all burners a bit to say medium or medium high. After a few minutes, check them and flip if ready. Then cook for a few more minutes. Times will vary and heat will vary but start there and adjust as needed until you find your sweet spot. If you use an instant read thermometer, you take away a lot of the guessing.

And don't forget the cheese.
 
Yep, what Bruce said! You really to remember that heat is heat, learning to translate the charcoal to gas theorem is not easy and, I speak from experience. They are different but, I’m getting more familiar with what a buddy refers to as “Satans flatulence” but, I still have a failure from time to time.
I prefer the briquettes for consistency on kettle cooks simply because it’s what I’ve been using most of my grilling life!
When I move in next to Rich Dahl, I will learn a lot!
My new bride booked a honeymoon trip (when I was adamant about not being able to afford it) when she was working at an office in Phoenix, and it was wonderful. I fell for Prescott like no place I have ever visited.
My biggest hurdle would be the charcoal cooking concern. I know Rich would guide me,
 
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Yeah gas is not much different than coal. Except for one thing. Gas grills stay the same (within reason) temp depending on where you set the valves. Coal burners gradually cool down as they ash over and burn down
 
Thanks for the advice!

Is the heat on the Genesis fairly even, to the point that a burger placed in any given place will cook at about the same rate as another in a different spot?
 
Maybe use a small smoker box that fits between the flavorizer bars. (Several on Amazon)

Put some hickory, oak, cherry or whatever wood chips you like in there. It probably won't make a big difference in taste, but you will enjoy the smell and maybe not miss your kettle quite as much!
 
Grant Cunningham said:
Thanks for the advice!

Is the heat on the Genesis fairly even, to the point that a burger placed in any given place will cook at about the same rate as another in a different spot?
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Can't speak to the Genesis since my gasser is a Lynx (sorry). I've had it for two and half decades and it is as good as the day I got it. it does have a hot spot which I learned after a number of cooks, and I use it to my advantage as a sear zone. As long as you keep the gasser clean and there are no compromises to the burners the temps should be pretty constant across the grate assuming the valves are set the same.
 
Grant Cunningham said:
Thanks for the advice!

Is the heat on the Genesis fairly even, to the point that a burger placed in any given place will cook at about the same rate as another in a different spot?
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My silver B had a hot spot and a cool spot on the righthand side due to a worn out center burner.

Temporarily remove the flavorizer bars and fire it up. If the flame looks pretty even, the heat should be pretty even. If not, you'll see your warm and cool spots.

If you have a crossover tube, it will be slightly hotter on the left side.

I'm getting hungry. Tonight is salmon burger night !!!
 
Some grills do have hot and cold spots. One other thing to learn as you use your grill. One way to test it is to lay slices of bread to cover the entire cooking surface. Put the grill with all three burners on high and then check them after they start to brown. You will see where the hot and cold spots are by how brown the bread is in any given spot.
 
Bruce said:
Some grills do have hot and cold spots. One other thing to learn as you use your grill. One way to test it is to lay slices of bread to cover the entire cooking surface. Put the grill with all three burners on high and then check them after they start to brown. You will see where the hot and cold spots are by how brown the bread is in any given spot.
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That's a great idea - thanks!
 
DanHoo said:
My silver B had a hot spot and a cool spot on the righthand side due to a worn out center burner.

Temporarily remove the flavorizer bars and fire it up. If the flame looks pretty even, the heat should be pretty even. If not, you'll see your warm and cool spots.

If you have a crossover tube, it will be slightly hotter on the left side.

I'm getting hungry. Tonight is salmon burger night !!!
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I've cleaned all the burner tubes and checked them - all working nicely, no dead spots. New flavorizer bars, so hopefully that will help the heat distribution as well.
 
Grant Cunningham said:
I've cleaned all the burner tubes and checked them - all working nicely, no dead spots. New flavorizer bars, so hopefully that will help the heat distribution as well.
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You should be good to go then. The gas grills cook fast, and I never consider opening the lid as catastrophic as when I am using coal, but I tend to grill pretty hot on the gas grill, and for charcoal the goal is slow and low. Anyway, I have no problem opening the gas grill lid to check the food, where with the charcoal one that can set me back by like fifteen or twenty minutes!
 
This is true. When I am doing low and slow like ribs, a roto chicken or brisket. If I open the lid for a minute, the temps will drop 40 or 50 degrees. But, then I close the lid and turn on the extra burners that I wasn't using during the regular cook and within a minute, my internal temp is right back to normal and then I can turn off the extra burner or two and let it stabilize back to where I had it before.
 
The idea of testing with toast is ok. BUT, bread behaves differently than meat placed on grates for much longer periods. Now add in slightly different ambient temps, a slight breeze or change of direction and the bread test goes out the window.
For the most part any well designed gas grill will be fairly even. Some do have a hotter zone by design. My Wolf for example is very large and designed to run hotter at the front. I too use this to my advantage. Moving things from front to back or vice' verse' Not drastic but it's there. If I am doing slabs of ribs for instance I keep the thinner part to the rear and the more meaty area to the front. Keeps things cooking perfectly.
So other than bein designed in such a way, it is very difficult to say xxx model grill has a warm/cool zone at such and such a spot. My dad's old Genesis has a warmer zone in the upper right area, unlike Bruce's warmer to the left. You'll figure out your personal grill as you use it
 
I agree with everything everybody is saying. I like to create my own hot zone in the back, for some reason I feel like heat escapes less readily by the hinge on the lid. So when I am making burgers, the medium rare ones are up front and my medium well one is in the back. If you use more fuel in the back or front or whatever then you control where your hot zones are, a lot like adding charcoal in a particular location. It's just fuel, and the gas grills are quick and hot. The downside is that they are quick and hot. Charcoal is hotter technically but it is not burning with a flame when you cook on it, so there is less of an air current like there is when you are using LP or NG. When the gas fuel burns, it consumes oxygen and creates an airflow from bottom up that is much more substantial than the airflow that happens with glowing ember charcoal. So I think about it like this: Gas is fast and hot and coal is slow and, as long as I don't dump half a bag in, low.
 
THyde said:
Charcoal is hotter technically but it is not burning with a flame when you cook on it, so there is less of an air current like there is when you are using LP or NG. When the gas fuel burns, it consumes oxygen and creates an airflow from bottom up that is much more substantial than the airflow that happens with glowing ember charcoal.
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So that air movement makes a gas grill operate more like a convection oven (if the lid is closed, of course)?
 
Timothy F. Lewis said:
Yep, what Bruce said! You really to remember that heat is heat, learning to translate the charcoal to gas theorem is not easy and, I speak from experience. They are different but, I’m getting more familiar with what a buddy refers to as “Satans flatulence” but, I still have a failure from time to time.
I prefer the briquettes for consistency on kettle cooks simply because it’s what I’ve been using most of my grilling life!
When I move in next to Rich Dahl, I will learn a lot!
My new bride booked a honeymoon trip (when I was adamant about not being able to afford it) when she was working at an office in Phoenix, and it was wonderful. I fell for Prescott like no place I have ever visited.
My biggest hurdle would be the charcoal cooking concern. I know Rich would guide me,
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Tim, My advice to you is if you truly like charcoal cooking like I do then this is not the place to live now. When and if this 20 year drought ever ends and we get back to normal with no restrictions it is a wonderful place to live. Right now I believe that there are 20+ active wildfires at this time. All the national and state forests are now closed to the public. Over 100,000 acres burned and most fires have zero containment. From our backyard we can see the smoke of a couple of fires on the other side of the mountains that separate us from Sedona.

I've learned you can almost and I did say almost cook anything on a gas grill that you can on a kettle. From peaches to pizza with good results , maybe not to the level of charcoal cooking, but very good.
I did a couple of strip steaks and just for giggles I put a smoke tube in the gas grill on the FB over the front burner which I had off (doing a reverse sear) the smoke flavor was very good seeing the short time it takes to cook a steak.
Going to try it with chicken next, so there are ways to make a gasser better, but it's still not going to be exactly the same as a charcoal grill.
 
My Genesis 1000 seems to have a temp gradient. It's hottest on the right side and coolest on the left for some reason. There's no major hot spots, you just have to kind of be aware of it. I cook my burgers the same way as others here. I preheat and then cook over medium direct heat probably 5 minutes each side lid down. If they are still need to be cooked through for some reason I turn off the burner underneath them and let the indirect heat bring them up to temp
.
 
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