Basics of BBQ | Gas Grill Setups & Cooking Techniques
Your gas grill isn’t just for burgers and dogs; it’s a full-on outdoor kitchen with endless possibilities. From high-heat searing to low-and-slow smoky BBQ, knowing how to use your grill the right way can take your backyard meals to the next level. In this guide, we’ll break down the basics of direct and indirect grilling, show you techniques like baking, smoking, plank grilling, and rotisserie, and introduce tools like the Napoleon SIZZLE ZONE® and charcoal tray that make your meals stand out. Whether you want a perfect sear, tender slow-cooked meats, or bold smoky flavors, this is your go-to guide for grilling like a PRO.
Direct Grilling
When most people think grilling, they imagine direct heat and placing food right over the flames. On a gas BBQ, that means putting your steaks, burgers, chicken, or salmon straight over lit burners on preheated grids. Direct grilling uses high heat for fast cooking. It’s perfect for foods under 1.5 inches thick, or for giving larger cuts a crisp, flavourful sear.
How to Direct Grill on a Gas BBQ:
- Ignite one, some, or all of the burners on your gas grill and set them to high.
- Preheat until the lid thermometer reads 450 – 600°F (232 – 316°C).
- Place food directly on the cooking grids over the lit burners. Cook lid open to avoid flare-ups with greasy or very quick cooking foods.
- Flip food when it releases easily from the grids, usually after 1 to 3 minutes per side.
- Check doneness with a meat thermometer or move larger cuts to another cooking method after searing.
Caribbean Catfish
Try this recipe for Caribbean Style Catfish and the Direct Grilling Setup today!
Pro Tip:
A smart move is to keep the warming rack clear or leave one burner off as a safety zone. If flare-ups happen, slide food away from the flames until things settle, then keep grilling.
The Infrared Sizzle Zone® Sear Station
Napoleon brought the previously expensive and unattainable infrared cooking to the masses when they made our Sizzle Zone® burner. A ceramic brick filled with little ports; gas is forced through these ports and pools on the surface. Ignited by a spark, our side burner glows bright orange with short-wave infrared light energy which is excellent at transferring heat. That energy superheats the cooking grids and air around the burner providing superb sear marks and a restaurant quality seared crust on foods. Using this burner to its full potential can take your meal from basic to brilliant in no time.
How to Direct Grill on the Infrared Sizzle Zone® Sear Station Side Burner:
- Ignite the burner and preheat your Sizzle Zone® for at least 5 minutes. On some grill models, you may need to raise the cooking grids during preheating.
- Place food directly on the cooking grid over the burner once the surface is hot.
- Sear until the food releases easily from the grids, this usually takes 60 seconds to a few minutes, depending on what you’re cooking.
- Flip and repeat to build that bold, flavourful crust.
- Check doneness with a meat thermometer or move larger cuts to the next cooking step after searing.
Direct grilling can also finish meals off with delicious sear marks, using the efficiency of the Sizzle Zone® or your main grill burners to achieve a delicious crust. You would do this when using other cooking techniques that gently cook your food without giving it a sear in the process. Sous Vide and the Reverse Sear are two such techniques that come to mind. Sous vide cooks foods gently in a water bath and only to the finished temperature set. The result is the most tender food ever, but it has no colour or flavour from caramelization. Reverse sear is a similar cooking method that uses dry heat like in a low temperature BBQ or oven to cook foods until nearly done, again leaving the meal without any caramelization on the outside. These are great examples of when you would finish foods with a fast and hot sear using direct grilling methods.
Pro Tip:
To get the best hatch/grill marks, grill your food over direct heat for 60 seconds, or until the food releases easily from the cooking grids, then turn the food 45-degrees and place it back on the grids, a little up or down from its original spot, continue cooking for another 1 to 2 minutes, flip and repeat. This can be done using the main cooking grids on the BBQ or using the Infrared Sizzle Zone® Side Burner.
Indirect Grilling
Indirect grilling can take many forms like baking, roasting, smoking, plank grilling, and rotisserie. All of these techniques place the food over unlit burners and use the convective heat from the burners that are lit to cook the food. Indirect heat offers even more cooking options than direct grilling.
Baking & Roasting
Baking and/or roasting on your BBQ is all about using indirect heat to cook. It’s perfect for longer cooks, especially meats, that run 60 minutes or more. Baking generally uses lower, steady temperatures, typically between 200°F - 400°F (93°C - 200°C), though breads usually get baked much hotter. With the right setup and a few handy accessories, your grill becomes a powerful outdoor oven. The same accessories you use in your oven work perfectly on the BBQ. Baking sheets, cast iron cookware, Dutch ovens, and roasting pans. Baking stones are an optional extra that can also be used in your oven. They absorb and evenly distribute heat, aiding in the baking process by wicking away moisture.
How to Bake & Roast on your BBQ:
- Set up your grill for indirect grilling. If using a baking stone or cast iron, place it on the grill to preheat as well. The ideal setup is two outside burners on and two middle burners off and can also apply to roasting with or without the accessory.
- Preheat your BBQ to the target baking temperature, then place the food on the grill and cook for the recommended time.
- For meats, use a reliable thermometer, like the Napoleon Accuprobe™ Pro X, to ensure that your cook reaches the perfect internal temperature.
Amber Ale Roasted Chicken
Roasting is easy on your BBQ. Try this delicious Amber Ale Roast Chicken now!
Miso Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Baking stones help with baking on and off the BBQ, so try this easy cookie recipe.
Plank Grilling
Plank grilling is an easy way to add smoky, wood-fired flavour to your food, especially on a gas grill. Cooking directly on a soaked wood plank gently infuses meals with aroma while protecting food from intense heat. Most plank grilling happens between 300°F - 400°F (149°C - 200°C), with cook times ranging from a quick 15 minutes to a slow, flavourful couple of hours, depending on what’s on the plank.
How to Plank Grill:
- Soak the plank for at least 30 minutes before cooking. Water works great, but you can also use wine, juice, beer, or other flavourful liquids.
- Preheat the grill, and depending on the recipe, preheat the plank as well.
- Follow the recipe to choose direct or indirect heat, just remember direct heat will burn through the plank faster.
- Once preheated, place the food directly on the plank and grill for the required time, using a meat thermometer to monitor doneness.
Rotisserie Grilling
Rotisserie cooking is a form of indirect grilling, meaning food cooks beside the heat source rather than directly over flames. It’s ideal for juicy, crowd-pleasing feasts and opens the door to tons of creative options, especially when you add accessories. Most rotisserie cooks happen between 275°F - 400°F (135°C - 200°C), delivering crispy exteriors and tender, evenly cooked interiors.
How to Rotisserie on your BBQ:
- Know how tall your BBQ is and ensure that your food will spin freely. Some models need the cooking grids removed. This is also a great opportunity to place a drip pan so that you can catch drippings.
- Preheat the grill using the rear burner or the two outside bottom burners of your BBQ.
- Load the food onto the rotisserie spit rod, making sure it’s evenly balanced.
- Install the rotisserie on the grill and turn on the motor, confirming everything spins smoothly.
- Cook until the target internal temperature is reached, using the Accuprobe™ Pro X to monitor doneness.
Lemon Thyme Rotisserie Chicken
This Lemon Thyme Rotisserie Chicken is an easy meal and delicious too. Try it now.
Rotisserie Variations
Rotisserie accessories unlock even more ways to cook. Use a rotisserie basket for wings, fries, and roasted vegetables, or a shish kebab skewer set for fully customizable kebabs that cook evenly as they spin. A stainless steel rotisserie basket or rack is perfect for securing smaller or more delicate foods, making it easy to get creative while keeping everything turning smoothly.
Rotisserie Shish-Kebab Skewer Set
Customize dinner easily with a kebab for everyone using this Rotisserie Shish-Kebab Skewer Set
Upgrade With a Charcoal Tray
The Charcoal Tray is a game-changer[TS5.1] that instantly turns your gas grill into a charcoal BBQ. It lets you cook with real charcoal flavour while still using your gas grill for ignition. You can grill direct or indirect, hot smoke or cold smoke, and even run the rotisserie over live charcoal, all without firing up a separate grill.
How to Use the Charcoal Tray on Your BBQ:
- Remove the cooking grids and sear plates on one side of the grill.
- Place the Charcoal Tray directly on top of the gas burners.
- Add charcoal. Use more charcoal for higher heat and longer burn time, and less for lower temperatures and shorter cooks.
- Ignite the burners beneath the tray until the charcoal lights, then turn the burners off. Allow the charcoal to ash over, just like a traditional charcoal grill.
- Replace the cooking grids and cook over direct heat, use the unlit side for indirect grilling and smoking (when you add wood chips), and finish foods over the charcoal.
- For extra versatility, use the rotisserie and cook directly over the Charcoal Tray.
Smoking on Your Gas Grill
Smoking is one of the best ways to add deep, layered flavour to food on your BBQ. It can be done hot or cold, fast or slow, using accessories like a stainless steel smoker box, an integrated smoker system, or the cast iron charcoal tray. For best results, smoke foods that cook for at least 20 minutes so that it can achieve the best flavour.
How to Hot Smoke on Your Gas BBQ:
- Preheat your grill, setting it up to use indirect heat. For this you can use a charcoal tray or smoker box, or even an integrated smoker set-up depending on the model of your BBQ.
- Maintain temperatures between 200°F (93°C) for low-and-slow cooks and up to 325°F (163°C) for quicker cuts.
- Add wood chips or chunks to the charcoal once hot or smoker box before igniting the grill.
- Place food away from the heat source and cook until done, maintaining steady temperature and clean smoke.
How to Cold Smoke on Your Gas BBQ:
- Set up your BBQ for using indirect cooking methods by installing the charcoal tray.
- Place a small pile of charcoal into the charcoal tray over a burner – this will ensure that the charcoal lights. Ignite the burner below the charcoal.
- Add a handful of wood chips or a single chunk of wood for smoking to the charcoal.
- Place a water pan filled with ice water inside the grill, then add the cooking grids and close the lid.
- Preheat the grill between 68°F and 86°F (20°C - 30°C) the goal is to achieve smoke flavour without cooking the food.
- Place food as far from the heat source as possible and smoke for 10 minutes up to 2 hours. Cheese, butter, cream, honey, coffee, chocolate, and fish all work beautifully.
- If temperatures rise, or on hot sunny days, move the grill into the shade to help control heat.
Helpful Tips for Gas Grill Owners
- Avoid running the rear burner and bottom burners at the same time for maximum grill efficiency. Running both can reduce airflow and lead to inefficient combustion.
- In special cases, like when using the smoker burner alongside the rear burner, it’s okay to bend the rules about using rear and bottom burners together, just know why and when.
- On extremely cold days, if your grill struggles to reach temperature, igniting the rear burner can boost the heat in the BBQ and keep you cooking.
- Always remove the warming rack before running the rear burner to ensure the warming rack is not damaged.
Upgraded Pot Roast
Braising on the grill is easy too. Try this delicious and simple pot roast recipe for your next family dinner.
People Also Asked:
What are the different ways to grill?
Your Napoleon grill isn’t just a BBQ; it’s a one-stop outdoor cooking powerhouse! For quick-cooking foods like burgers or veggies, use direct grilling right over a lit burner. For slow, flavourful meals, cook over unlit burners with indirect heat. Using an indirect setup, you can smoke, slow roast, run the rotisserie, or even bake everything from meats to pastries. The possibilities are endless!
What are the basic rules of barbecuing?
BBQ success starts with a few simple rules: always start with a clean grill and check your propane or natural gas supply and turn it on). Preheat the burners for direct or indirect cooking, place your food on the grill, and close the lid for anything that needs more than five minutes per side. Simple steps, delicious results!
What is the Rule of 3 in grilling?
The Rule of 3 is a simple way to grill 1-inch-thick (2.54 cm) foods perfectly. Sear one side over direct heat for 3 minutes, flip and sear the other side for 3 minutes, then move the food off direct heat and cook both sides for 3 more minutes. For foods that are thicker, thinner, or irregularly shaped, you may need to adjust, but this is a great starting point. Always use a meat thermometer to ensure the ideal internal temperature for a perfectly cooked meal!
Do I leave the lid open or closed when barbecuing?
Wondering whether to keep the lid open or closed? It depends on what you’re cooking. For fast, direct grilling, leaving the lid open keeps food moving and prevents burning, unless it’s a freezing winter day and you need every ounce of heat you can get. For indirect cooking, always close the lid to trap heat and smoke, turning your BBQ into an oven or smoker for perfectly cooked meals.
Master Your Gas Grill Today
Now that you’ve got the basics down, your gas grill is ready to do way more than just cook a steak. Use indirect heat for slow-cooked flavor, fire up the Sizzle Zone® for that unbeatable sear, or add the charcoal tray for smoky perfection. Experiment, have fun, and get creative, because with your gas grill, every backyard cookout is your chance to impress family and friends. What is your favourite technique to use on your Napoleon? What do you cook? Share your techniques, recipes, stories, and photos with us on Facebook and Instagram. Use the hashtags #NapoleonEats and #NapoleonGrills for a chance to be featured.
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