Nailing that perfectly golden-brown, crispy, crusty sear on a gas grill can be tough—just like your meat if you don’t do it right! Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place. As well-seasoned grill masters, we’re always happy to share some tips and techniques.
Below are proven strategies for achieving a perfect sear on a gas grill.
1. Upgrade Your Grill With FlavrQ
First, let’s get one thing out of the way: Most stock gas grills aren’t capable of reaching the extremely high temperatures required to sear food properly. Gas grills are convenient, easy to use, and provide excellent control, but heat tends to be their most significant shortcoming.
The good news is that there’s an easy and effective solution that gives you the best of both worlds—cooking over live fire and charcoal with high heat but without sacrificing everything you love about gas grills. Meet FlavrQ!
Our proprietary grilling system makes it easy to sear food on a gas grill. The simple upgrade increases temperatures by over 100°F, so you can sear and seal your food 50% faster. Beyond the performance boost, FlavrQ infuses your food with authentic charcoal-grilled flavor!
Without FlavrQ, it’s going to be quite difficult (if not impossible) to achieve a beautiful sear and appetizing flash marks. That said, there are some methods that can help you get close and hopefully avoid overcooking. Read on.
2. Bring Your Food to Room Temperature
Prepping your food properly is a key factor to keep in mind as you learn how to get a good sear on a gas grill. While you should always let your food reach room temperature before tossing it on the grill, this step is a must if you plan to sear on a gas grill.
The reasoning behind it is simple—cold meat cooks slower. If you grill it cold, you typically end up with an overcooked outside and undercooked inside. Furthermore, the muscle fibers in cold meat contract when exposed to heat, which can cause toughness.
Let your food sit for 20-30 minutes after removing it from the fridge. If it’s frozen, you can put it in a sealed, water-tight bag and let it sit in or under cold water for an hour or two until it’s fully thawed.
3. Clean the Grates
Gunk and grime act as a barrier between your grill’s grates and your food. In order to sear on a gas grill, your meat needs to make direct contact with the hot metal. With stock gas grills, you really need to do everything possible to ramp up the heat.
You can use a wire brush or abrasive pad to scrub it down. For stubborn residue, you may need to use a grill cleaner. White vinegar can also work in a pinch.
4. Dry Your Food
Another important step to keep in mind as you learn how to get a good sear on a gas grill is the meat’s moisture content. You should pat down the outside of your food with a paper towel to remove moisture before you sear on a gas grill.
This helps with searing because moisture boils the meat, rather than cooking it as hot as possible. At higher temperatures, the moisture tends to evaporate rapidly enough that it won’t make a big difference. But with stock gas grills, you need to make every second count.
5. Season Beforehand
Seasoning the outside of your meat can help draw out moisture and give you a dry exterior to work with. The seasonings also help bind to the meat and form a crust. Salt and pepper on both sides should do the trick, but feel free to add other seasonings as desired.
6. Preheat the Grill
In order to sear on a gas grill, you need to maximize its heat output as much as possible. Preheat the grill to its highest setting, and keep the lid closed for 15 minutes or so until it reaches its peak temperature.
7. Designate Two Grilling Zones
Get familiar with the difference between direct vs. indirect grilling. In short, direct grilling uses high heat to grill fast, while indirect grilling uses low heat to cook slowly.
Now, not all foods require both direct and indirect grilling, but it’s something to keep in mind as you learn how to get a good sear on a gas grill.
The basic strategy is to sear on a gas grill as quickly as possible over direct heat and then move the food over to indirect heat to finish cooking all the way through.
Depending on the cut of meat, direct grilling may do the job without the need for indirect grilling. For example, searing the perfect steak usually only requires a few minutes over direct heat on each side. Thicker cuts may need to finish over indirect heat.
8. Make Sure Your Grill Is Functioning Properly
Are you sure your gas grill is reaching its full heat potential? If you used to be able to sear on a gas grill but are experiencing issues now, there could be a problem with the grill itself.
You can find common problems and solutions here: 10 Fixes if Your Gas Grill Is Not Getting Hot Enough.
Level Up Your Grilling Game With FlavrQ
These tips should improve your searing game somewhat, but even professional grill masters struggle to sear and seal food properly on stock gas grills. If you’re serious about grilling with gas, you need FlavrQ!
Here’s how it works. First, measure your grill to make sure it’s compatible with the FlavrQ Grid (most gas grills are). Installing the Grid is quick and easy with no special tools needed.
Next, the key to sear on a gas grill is our patented Charcoal Chips™. It’s our 100% natural fuel that’s derived from Canadian sugar maples. Not only does it let you grill over an open flame with high heat, but it gives your food bonafide charcoal-grilled flavor.
Now that you know how to get a good sear on a gas grill, it’s time to get your FlavrQ Starter Kit and start grilling like a pro. You can find more expert tips, gas grill recipes, and more on our BBQ blog. Taste the difference with FlavrQ’s gas grill accessories!