Technique question: Do You Grill with your top on?

[WillTravelForFood]

When grilling, do you do most cooking with the grill lid closed or the grill lid open?

When do you choose to do which?

Obviously if smoke is involved, you want lid down as much as possible. But what about the other grill opportunities?

[WillTravelForFood]

We ask as we are temping tonight's pork tenderloin, waiting for it to get to 145 or so on the medium degree grill, and wondering if we should have been cooking the tenderloin with the lid open (let's heat escape, but might feed more flame up flavor) or closed, like an oven to keep the heat in

[Bogy]

Even with the Weber Genesis I mostly cook with the lid down. Usually indirect heat even when grilling. Fewer flareups.

[tbob4]

This is why I lasted only four months with a Weber gasser. I HAD to grill with the lid up. I would lose all my heat. Others here tried to walk me through it but I’m an old dog so I sold it and traded it in for a Blackstone

[Richard Chrz]

Sounds like a great trade. I had. Weber q gasser, I bought it from a neighbor for 25, cleaned it up and made a 100when I turned it. It was. Win. Lol

[tbob4]

Richard Chrz - winner for me, too. You know my situation. Wife’s orders - one has to go if one is coming in. Our OSH went under and ACE came in. They sold me a $1,200 Weber for $500 during their Grand Opening. My buddy kicked himself for not buying one. I failed to learn on mine and then his went kaput. He bought mine for just a wee bit under what I paid. Win-win!!!!

[Richard Chrz]

I dont even wear pants when I cook.

[Steve R.]

Please tell me you at least wear an apron when dumping hot coals out of the chimney lighter!

[wu7y]

TMI, TMI. Oh my God, TMI!

But thanks for sharing 😀

[DavidNorcross]

I may not ever be the same...

[Mosca]

Usually down, sometimes up.

[Richard Chrz]

Pants, shirt. Or grill lid?

[GolfGeezer]

Dilemma - I wear a mumu when I grill. Now what? Oh, yeh, i put the grill hood down for almost all grilling except burgers.

[rlozinak]

Usually down.

[jfmorris]

Lid down, unless checking temps or flipping food. The exception is my flat top griddle.

With about any grill, lid open is a sure fire way to get flareups and grease fires when direct grilling. And you cannot get indirect with the lid open.

The old adage - if you're looking, you ain't cooking, holds true, most especially for gas grills. When the lid is open, most of the heat will go straight up from the burners, and it evens out when the lid is down.

[ssandy_561]

I grill on my Weber 22”

Steaks are always open top. Medium rare is how I cook them.
Hamburgers are always open top. I do not like thick hamburgers.
Hot Dogs are lid on. Without the lid the outside gets done before the inside is hot.
1” or thinner pork chops are always open top.
Thick pork chops I’ll use the lid to get a bit more heat into the chop.
Italian Sausages or any other type of ground pork link I use the lid. It helps keep flare ups at a minimum.
Bone in chicken pieces I’ll use the lid to prevent flare ups and get the chicken cooked through before the outside gets too charred.

[MBMorgan]

Lid down.

[Attjack]

Lid closed mostly on all grills except for the Santa Maria and flat top. Sometimes I leave my Kamado open to get it up to high temp and sometimes if I'm searing or cooking fast cooking vegetables I might leave it open while I flip things and move stuff around.

[bbqLuv]

Lid down, closed, but I have a Traeger.
I defer this to Panhead John I think he grills topless.

[rickd972]

Shirt on....always

[Steve R.]

Always down when grilling on my Masterbuilt Gravity. Otherwise, no hard and fast rule, it just depends on what I'm cooking.