Tips

Braaiing on gas

How to cook any Braai Life recipe on a gas grill: matching hot, medium and low coals to burner settings, two zones, lid-on cooking, potjies, smoke and safety.

Purists will tell you a braai needs wood or charcoal. Plenty of people have cooked on gas for years and eaten very well. Gas lights in seconds, holds a steady heat and is the norm on most US patios. Every recipe on this site works on it, and each one has a “Cooking on gas?” note under the method. Tap Gas at the top of any recipe and the page remembers it.

What you give up is some of the smoky flavour and the ritual of the fire. What you gain is control.

Matching coals to burner settings

Recipes on this site say hot, medium or low coals. On gas, go by the thermometer in the lid after the grill has preheated with the lid closed.

The lid thermometer reads the air inside the grill, not the grates, so treat it as a guide. A thermometer in the food is what tells you it is done. See using a meat thermometer and safe braai temperatures.

Preheat properly

Close the lid, light the burners on high and give the grill 10 to 15 minutes before any food goes on. Then turn the burners to the setting you need. A cold grate is the main reason food sticks. Brush the grates clean once they are hot, then wipe them with an oiled paper towel held in tongs.

Lid open or closed

Over coals most braaiing happens with the grid open. On gas:

• Quick cooks over high heat, such as steak, chops, prawns and sosaties, work best with the lid open, so the outside browns without the inside overcooking. The recipe times are a good guide.
• Longer cooks over medium heat, such as chicken pieces, drumsticks and thick sausages, go faster and more evenly with the lid closed between turns. Start checking about 5 minutes before the recipe says.

Two zones on gas

A two-zone fire is even easier on gas. Leave one burner off, or on low, and you have a cool side to move food to when fat flares up, when the outside is done before the inside, or to keep things warm while the rest cooks.

Kettle and lid-on recipes

Recipes that cook with the lid on and the coals pushed to the sides, such as leg of lamb, pork belly or beer-can chicken, use indirect heat. On gas, light the outside burners and leave the burner under the food off. Close the lid and adjust the lit burners until the lid thermometer reads the temperature the recipe gives. You can skip any step about adding fresh coals, because gas does not burn down.

Potjies on gas

A potjie is happy on gas, and the low simmer is easier to hold than over coals. Use a gas ring, your grill’s side burner, or stand the pot on the grates over one burner with the grill lid open. A full No. 3 potjie is heavy, so make sure the ring or grates can take the weight. See potjie basics.

Getting a smoky taste

Gas burns clean, so the smoke has to come from somewhere else. Put a handful of wood chips in a smoker box, or wrap them in foil and poke a few holes in the top, and set it over a lit burner while the grill preheats. Hardwoods such as oak, hickory or fruitwood all work. Use them with meat, chicken and fish; breads and desserts do not need them.

Flare-ups and safety

• Flare-ups: move the food to the cool zone and let the fat burn off. Never use water on a gas grill. If the grease itself catches fire, turn off the burners and the gas at the cylinder, and close the lid to starve it of air.
• Lighting: always open the lid before you light the burners. If a burner does not light, turn it off, wait five minutes for the gas to clear, then try again.
• Leaks: at the start of each season, and whenever you change the cylinder, brush soapy water over the hose and connections with the gas on. Bubbles mean a leak. Turn the gas off and tighten or replace the part before you cook.
• Cylinders: keep them upright, outdoors and away from the house, never in a garage or indoors.
• Grease tray: empty it regularly. A full tray is the most common cause of grease fires.
• Finishing: turn the gas off at the cylinder first, then the burners, so the line empties.