LIGHTING THE GRILL

The first thing is to check to make sure you have enough gas - seems obvious we know but we'll all had the fun experience of hearing that wonderful pffffffftttttt sound as the propane tank is sucked dry right in the middle of cooking steaks for your in-laws. You should have at least a third of a tank before you launch into full grilling mode.

Many new gas grills come with gas gauges. You can also get gauges that fit right onto the nozzle of your tank. If you don't have one and you're not sure how much gas you have left, you can buy one of these magnetic strips that stick onto the side of the propane tank. Pour hot water over the strip and it changes color up to the level of the gas in the tank.

To light your grill, open the lid and set one burner on high and press the ignition switch. Make sure it's lit then turn the other burners to high in sequence - waiting to see that each one is lit before turning on the next. After all the burners are lit and chugging away, close the lid. Now if the first burner doesn't light, for god's sake don't keep the gas flowing while you go into the house to grab a beer and look for that bag of chips your wife hid on you. Turn the gas off, wait 30 seconds then repeat the process.

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