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A built-in gas grill is a staple of any outdoor kitchen. These luxury items of backyard barbecuing drop into an outdoor kitchen’s counters, creating a seamless look. Since outdoor kitchens are high-end luxury items, built-in grills are designed to fit that look with commercial-grade stainless steel finishes. Built-in BBQs also offer better performance than a standard gas grill with powerful burners that allow them to reach extreme temperatures, along with useful extra features such as built-in rotisseries and smoker boxes.
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Since these grills also come with a steep price tag, knowing what to look for is crucial to ensuring you get what you pay for when investing in one. Ahead, learn what factors and features to consider when shopping for one of these luxury outdoor cooking appliances, and find out why the models below are some of the best built-in grills on the market.
- BEST OVERALL: Blaze Professional LUX 34-Inch Built-In Grill
- RUNNER-UP: Summerset TRL Series Built-In Gas Grill
- BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK: Bull Outdoor Products Outlaw Drop-In Grill
- UPGRADE PICK: DCS Series 9 36-Inch Built-In Natural Gas Grill
- BEST PROPANE: Weber Summit S-460 Built-In Propane Gas Grill
- BEST INFRARED: TEC Sterling Patio FR Infrared Built-In Grill
- BEST DUAL GRILL: Napoleon Prestige Pro 825 Built-In Grill
- BEST COMPACT: Coyote C-Series 28-Inch Built-In Natural Gas Grill
- BEST FOR BEGINNERS: Blaze Prelude LBM 32-Inch Built-In Grill
- ALSO CONSIDER: American Outdoor Grill T-Series Built-In Grill
How We Chose the Best Built-In Grills
We considered a variety of factors to make our selections for this type of grill, including performance, build quality, and additional cooking features. We chose outdoor kitchen grills that produce enough BTUs to evenly heat the entire grill surface and reach the temperatures necessary for searing meat.
Build quality was also paramount. A built-in BBQ is an investment and therefore should last a long time. We only chose models with commercial-grade 304 stainless steel construction in the body, burners, and grates, ensuring they can resist rust and warping at high temperatures.
Keeping performance and build quality in mind, we stuck with brands that have a reputation for manufacturing quality built-in grills, including Blaze, Bull, DCS, and Weber, to name a few. A good outdoor built-in grill should give users the ability to cook a variety of foods in multiple ways, so we leaned toward models that offer such features as infrared burners, rotisseries kits, and lighting for nighttime barbecuing.
Our Top Picks
Below we’ve compiled the best of the best when it comes to built-in gas grills. The lineup includes outdoor grill inserts with top-notch build quality, excellent performance, and useful additional features.
Jump to Our Top Picks
What to Consider When Choosing a Built-In Grill
While finding a built-in grill that suits the size of the backyard kitchen is crucial, there are other considerations that are also important, including heat output, fuel type and materials. Ahead, learn more about these and other characteristics of built-in grills.
Fuel Type
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The vast majority of built-in grills run on natural gas, but there are some models that use propane. Propane grills use a 5-gallon tank, which lasts for between 18 and 20 hours of grilling. Once the tank is empty, one must visit a gas station, grocery store, or home improvement store to refill or swap out the tank, which can be inconvenient.
Natural gas grills hook into the home’s natural gas line, offering a never-ending source of fuel and eliminating the chances the grill may run out of gas mid-barbecue. While this makes natural gas more convenient, adding a direct grill line can be expensive for those who don’t already have one. Expect to pay between $200 and $400 to add a gas connection, according to HomeAdvisor.
Size and Grilling Area
Size is crucial when choosing a built-in grill as it should fit snugly and seamlessly into the outdoor kitchen’s counter space. Grill sizes for built-in grills range from 24 to 42 inches wide. Smaller 24-inch grills offer around 430 square inches of cooking surface, which is enough to cook for about six people. Larger 42-inch models offer around 800 square inches of cooking surface, which can accommodate a larger backyard barbecue. In addition to width, it’s also important to pay attention to the depth and total height of the grill to ensure a good fit in the outdoor kitchen.
Burners and Heating Power
The number of burners and amount of heat output are key to cooking performance and versatility with any gas grill. The heat output of gas grills is measured in BTUs, which stands for British thermal units. A gas grill should have between 80 and 100 BTUs per square inch of cooking surface. The more BTUs, the more evenly the grill can cook, and the better able it is to reach the high temperatures necessary to sear meat.
Built-in grills come with two to six burners. The number of burners determines the number of cooking zones you can create with the grill. The more zones, the more food the chef can cook simultaneously at different temperatures.
Materials
Built-in grills are the cream of the crop when it comes to gas grills in terms of both performance and build quality. The best built-in grills are made of commercial-grade 304 stainless steel from top to bottom, including the grill body, heat plates, burners, hood, and cooking grates. The key here is thickness. A high-quality built-in grill will use thicker metal that better withstands warping in the face of extreme temperatures. Grill-grate quality is also important. The best built-in grills have cooking grates that consist of searing rods that are 8 millimeters thick or thicker.
Additional Features
Built-in grills come with useful additional features that allow the chef to cook food in multiple ways. Common extras on built-in grills include rotisserie kits with dedicated infrared burners, sear burners, and trays for smoking meat. Many built-in grills also include removable heat-zone separators that make it easier to create different temperatures on the cooking surface to facilitate cooking different types of foods at once.
Most built-in grills also come with halogen lights that are built into the grill hood to illuminate the cooking surface as well as LED lighting on the control panel for visibility while grilling at night
Tips for Installing a Built-In Grill
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While installing a built-in grill isn’t difficult, there are few things to keep in mind to ensure installation goes smoothly. Add the gas connection prior to installing the grill as it will be difficult to add once the grill is in place. Before selecting a built-in grill, decide on the design of the outdoor kitchen and determine what size grill the kitchen can support. Take precise measurements to ensure a good fit. Before beginning the installation, check the instructions to see what tools are necessary for the install.
- Make sure the gas hookup is ready prior to installation
- Measure carefully to ensure the grill fits snugly into the outdoor kitchen
- Review the instructions to make sure all necessary tools are available
FAQs
That’s a lot of information on built-in grills, and now that you are armed with some basics, there may be a few questions on your mind. Read on for some frequently asked questions and their answers.
Q. Is it hard to install a built-in grill?
As long as you have the right size grill and the gas hookup in place, installing a built-in grill isn’t difficult. You’ll typically need to install mounting brackets that come with the built-in grill kit into the cavity that will hold the unit, then attach the grill to the mounting brackets before making the gas connection.
Q. Is there a standard size for a built-in grill?
While there is no standard size for a built-in grill, most range from 34 to 40 inches wide. This size is similar to the standard size of a freestanding gas grill.
Q. Are built-in grills energy efficient?
Propane grills produce more than twice the heat output of natural gas per cubic foot of fuel, making propane grills more efficient. That said, since natural gas is much cheaper than propane, it’s actually more affordable to run a natural gas grill than it is to run a propane grill.
Q. How do you clean a built-in grill?
When cleaning a built-in gas grill, avoid using cleaning products, as they can end up in your food the next time you cook. Begin by turning all burners to high and closing the lid for about 15 minutes. This will cause any food particles to burn off. Allow the grill to cool to a moderate level, then use a grill brush to scrape the grates clean. Once the grill is cool, remove the grates. Remove the heat plates below and scrub them with a stainless steel wire brush. Continue on by cleaning the burners with a brush. With the grill box empty, scrub the grill-box walls.
Q. Are built-in grills safe?
Since built-in grills are designed to go inside an outdoor kitchen, they are generally safe. You should make sure the outdoor kitchen is made of stone or some other material that won’t burn and therefore doesn’t create a fire hazard. Don’t attempt to turn a freestanding grill into a built-in grill as it may be unsafe to do so.
Why Trust Bob Vila
BobVila.com has been a trusted source for DIYers since its launch in 1996. Our product reviews are based on many hours of research by experts in their fields. Tony Carrick is a writer with extensive grilling experience, having tested and written about dozens of gas, pellet, and charcoal grills and smokers. He strives to help his readers choose quality products with his honest and thorough reviews.
Source: https://gardencourte.com
Categories: Outdoor