If you love BBQ as much as we do, the thought of a long winter with no grilling might be pretty sad. But you don't have to stop grilling just because old man winter has arrived. Before winter hits, you might be wondering, "How do I prepare my gas grill for winter?" Here are some tips for things you can do in the fall to make it easier to BBQ in the winter.
Get a grill cover.
Stock up on extra fuel and charcoal.
Invest in heat resistant grilling gloves.
Move your grill closer to the house, a minimum of 10 feet away.
Keep a broom or shovel near the door.
Once winter has settled in, here are a few tips to keep your winter grilling fun and tasty.
Bundle up with a coat, BBQ gloves (do not use ski gloves!), and warm shoes or slippers. You might think it will only take a second to run out and check your food, but it'll probably take longer than you think, and you're more likely to rush and make mistakes when you're cold. Keep yourself warm and safe when grilling in cold weather.
Move your BBQ closer to the house for the winter, but not too close. You don't want your siding melting, curling, and coming off your house because you were grilling too close. Your grill should be a minimum of 10 feet away from structures.
Check the fuel levels before you start your grill (this is one of the most important tips!), there's nothing worse than running out of fuel in the middle of cooking something. Since it takes longer for them to warm up, and they lose heat every time you open them, you'll use a little more fuel in winter than in summer. Keep an extra fuel tank close by so you can swap it easy.
Use a grill cover to keep the snow off. Having snow on your grill just makes it more difficult to deal with when it comes time for grilling. With a grill cover, you can brush the snow off, remove the cover, and you're ready to grill.
Give it time to warm up; it will take longer than usual. If your grill needs about 20 minutes to get up to temperature in the summer, it might need as much as 40 minutes in the winter; think ahead and get it started before you start food prepping.
Make sure you have light nearby; this is another one of the most important tips, whether it's your porch light, or you wear a headlamp, or you have a flashlight, make sure you can see what you're doing. The days are a lot shorter in winter, and it's easy to make mistakes when you're cold, and it's dark.
Choose low maintenance foods that cook relatively fast, so you don't have to spend much time out there. Things like steak and burgers that only need to be flipped once, or pizza or fish that don't need to be flipped at all, are great because you can just set a timer. Leave things that need basting for the summer or the oven indoors.
Keep your food warm with a cover. Taking your food off the grill, then exposing it to super cold air on the plate while you get everything off, and then carry it into the house can mean barely warm food when you're ready to eat. Even better, warm up an oven-safe dish with a lid, put your food in there, and get it all back in the house as quickly as possible.
Don't have a grill yet? There's never a bad time to add a grill to your yard and get cooking outside. Visit the garden center today to explore the line up of Weber grills we carry and find the perfect one for your outdoor space.