The outdoor kitchen is becoming an increasingly popular addition to many homes. And, because more and more people are wanting to enjoy cooking outdoors, there are more and more built in grill options on the market.
When shopping for these outdoor appliances you’ll find that many come with great features like lighted knobs, auto-ignitions, and rotisserie motors. Lion makes some of the best grills on the market today and we love their 32” L75623 built in grill. This beautiful grill features stainless steel construction, interior lighting and cast steel burners for outstanding heat distribution. If you are shopping for a built-in gas grill, we think you’ll love the Lion. Perfect for cooking meat, chicken, steak, hamburger, hot dog, corn, vegetable, potato and salad.
Our Top Choice
- It’s well built, heavy duty and holds the temperature very well
- Excellent outdoor grill and auto-light function is easy to use
- Easy to assemble, great for beginners and pro. It will take your grilling to another level.
- With proper care this will last a lifetime
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Lion Premium Grills L75623 32″
BEST CHOICE
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Napoleon Grills Prestige 500
RUNNER UP
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Weber Summit S-460
VALUE CHOICE
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How to choose the right built in grill for your outdoor kitchen
The great thing about built-in grills is they’re fairly simple to shop for. The only thing you really care about is the grill itself; everything else you might normally associate with a grill is going to be a part of the kitchen surface you’ve set aside instead. No need to take into account the wheels, added worktop, or worry about the weight and other appliances you have in your outdoor kitchen.
You just pay attention to the core elements:
Cooking Surface
Cooking surface is of course key. You want a good size, more than enough to cook whatever size meal you are planning. Keep in mind it’s much harder to upgrade a built-in grill, so you want to shop for something that may be a bit bigger than you initially think you need. Multiple, independent cooking surfaces are also a must, so you can cook different kinds of meals at different temperatures.
BTU (British Thermal Unit)
Another big consideration is how the pellets are fed into the grill and what different types of pellets can be used.
Many brands, like Traeger, recommend using only products made by them in their grills. While others may work, performance may not be the same.
Materials and Construction
Finally, keep in mind the materials and construction. You want something sturdy enough to survive outdoors over the long-term, where it’s going to stay together with your picnic table and lawn chair. In a way, built-in gas grills share a similarity with post mount gas grills and backyard pizza ovens in that they need to be made of sturdy stuff to survive the outdoor weather. It’s also good to look for a cooking surface that’s easy to clean, and other quality-of-life benefits, like a hinge that easily lifts.
Extras
Some grills might come with extras, but built-in grills typically focus on being good at their primary function as grills, instead of offering bells and whistles. Take any extra that comes with the grill of your choice as a nice bonus, but don’t compromise on your first choice just because some other grill offers some niche frill; almost anything of that nature is something you can get separately. Built-in grills are a great option because you can focus on the core elements without worrying about things like wheels or added worktops. You want a sturdy grill that can withstand the outdoor weather, just like your picnic table and lawn chair. And don’t forget to stock up on essentials like a cooler filled with ice to keep your drinks cold, whether you prefer soda, beer, or wine. And if you’re lucky enough to have a grill master in the family, make sure they’re outfitted with a trusty apron before they fire up the barbecue for your next picnic or outdoor gathering.
Top 10 Built-in Gas Grill Reviews on the Market 2024
1. Lion Premium Grills L75623 32″ Natural Gas Grill
Why you’ll love this:
This extraordinarily powerful grill provides a ton of utilities. Excellent for cooking large meals quickly, its powerful stainless steel construction ensures your grill can last a lifetime if well taken care of, and the added rotisserie attachment provides much-needed versatility to what could otherwise feel like a large and powerful but fairly standard grill.
What We Liked
- Size: 830 square inches of cooking space is quite good, and large enough to cook pretty much anything, or a variety of somethings. That surface is additionally broken up into four distinct cooking spaces plus an infrared back burner so you can cook whatever you like in any combination you like with no problem.
- Heat: Four separate 15, 000 BTU burners cover this 830-square-inch grill, fitting neatly into our ideal 75 to 100 BTU per square inch metric.
- Versatile: In addition to the already mentioned stellar cooking surface and heat distribution, this grill comes included with a griddle pan and a rotisserie attachment, letting you up your game right from the start. Getting these things included in the box is a big boon, since it means you won’t have to do any sizing or guesswork yourself on what kind and size is best for your grill.
- Construction: The entire box is constructed of durable, double-thick stainless steel. Besides the exterior, the rest of its construction is very well thought out too. The drip tray is properly placed for easy cleaning, and everything is easy to get to inside, without you needing to contort to get in there and clean it up, while the knobs are durable and easy to turn.
What We Didn’t Like
- Transparency: Some of the listed measurements are off (the description says the grill boasts a 32-inch cook space, but you really only have a 30-inch space to work with) and the rotisserie is aftermarket and needs an electrical outlet, none of which is mentioned. This can make the purchase more tedious than it needs to be.
2. Napoleon Grills Built-in Prestige 500
Why you’ll love this:
A beautiful, stainless-steel grill with wavy grill grating, providing a unique char pattern on your meat. Built to last, it comes with everything you need to up your grilling game, including a very nice rotisserie attachment to supplement its four powerful burners.
This is the grill for the grill chef that loves to experiment with different combinations of foods and make sampler platters like ribeye roasts, briskets, and many other recipes.
What We Liked
- Cooking Surface: 760 square inches is nothing to sneeze at, and especially so when it comes with 5 burners, plus an infrared backburner and rotisserie. You can cook pretty much anything on this grill, and do it all at once. Great for cooking a standard meal and keeping your current experiment on the 5th burner to try without compromising the rest of the food.
- Heat: Five 16,000 BTU burners is more than enough heat for a grill of this size, and makes searing a breeze. This is hitting the point where the heat output is actually somewhat of an overkill for a grill of this size, but as it doesn’t increase the price by a whole ton, so there’s no reason to knock it; just be careful when firing it up.
- Attachments: This one comes with a charcoal tray, perfect for smoking and grilling at the same time.
- Grids: Cast iron is one of the best cooking surfaces imaginable, and Napoleon makes good use of it here. The reversible “wave” grid is perfect for grilling, and channels grease excellently down to the grease trap and away from your food.
What We Didn’t Like
- Warranty: Either no warranty is offered for this product or information on it is difficult to find from this seller. Either way, as good as the grill is, this makes the purchase potentially dicey.
3. Weber Summit S-460 Built-in Natural Gas
Why you’ll love this:
The Summit is an odd duck, providing essentially a full-sized grill cart minus the wheels, designed to be built into your counter. This makes installation awkward, but does mean you don’t need to plan as much for further storage space if you choose this grill. Combined with its performance, this makes for an interesting and solid choice.
What We Liked
- Cooking Surface: 580 square inches of total cooking area is fairly solid, though a bit small for a built-in grill. Keep in mind 112 inches of that is designated as a “warming rack”, but it’s plenty fine for smoking if not grilling. It comes with a rotisserie, but perhaps more interestingly, comes with a “sear station” in the center, which is a burner much more intensely hot than the rest, specifically made for searing.
- Burners: This grill is lined with four primary burners, each with a 6800 BTU output. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s honestly plenty given the grill’s relatively small size, and the addition of the 10, 800 BTU sear station, which you’ll be using for all your searing (the only reason you really want the 15 to 16k BTUs on the larger grills)
- Stand: The grill comes equipped with its own cabinetry to set into the center of the island you have picked out, which is pretty solid.
What We Didn’t Like
- Awkward: On paper the stand is nice, but is hard to work into existing plans for most built-in grills. This is not the kind of grill you can decide to get halfway through planning your station; this needs to be planned for from the start, which can turn people off it.
4. Louisiana Grills Estate Series Built-In Pellet Grill
Why you’ll love it:
This grill looks good on the surface, but a host of quality control issues hold it back from any kind of recommendation.
What we liked
- Wood-fired: This grill accepts wood pellets for smoking and grilling, which is always an excellent touch.
- Cooking Surface: 860 square inches of cooking space is huge, and it has an excellent two-tiered space for smoking and warming sauces. Despite appearances, the cooking surface is cast iron, which has excellent heat retention.
What we didn’t like
- Temperature Range: The maximum temperature is only 600 degrees, making searing difficult.
- Quality Control: Users report numerous quality control issues, which is my main problem with this grill. The grill produces thick black smoke which billows out from the front and rear, choking the griller. It doesn’t do any favors to the flavor of the food either, giving it a gritty, charcoal-laden taste. The smoke is also a sign of a larger issue with heat dispersion, with the grill venting heat in strange directions. This is both inefficient (leaving the grill often colder than the setting, ruining the food) and dangerous; it has a tendency to swiftly destroy the mounting it’s set in.
5. American Outdoor
Why you’ll love it:
An extremely clean look and equally extremely powerful burners make up the centerpiece of this 3-burner grill. The 50, 000 BTU burners put most, if not all competitors on the market to shame, and are great for quickly searing meats of all kinds. Unfortunately, its extraordinarily high price point (three times the average grill on this list) makes it hard to recommend.
What we liked
- Burners: This comes with a pair of U-shaped, 32, 000 BTU burners that provide even heat to the two cooking surfaces, easily turned on by the knobs and center ignition.
- Vaporizers: The vaporizer panels or “flame tamers” provide excellent flavor and smell to any food grilled on it, and alone are a strong reason to consider this over a grill that lacks them.
- Construction: Heavy-duty steel construction lets it weather the elements, and the interior is also very well-designed, with grease tray that’s easy to clean, and proper channeling into it from any position on the grill as well.
What we didn’t like
- Size: While not necessarily a deal breaker, sometimes bigger IS better. 432 square inches plus a rotisserie is awfully small for the price of a built-in grill, even if the burners are excellent. Having only two cooking surfaces is quite a blow to versatility.
6. AOG American Outdoor 24NBT-00SP T-Series 24 inch
Why you’ll love it:
This is an excellent grill for the price, outshining a strangely more expensive but nearly identical model from the same brand. If you don’t mind a smaller sized grill, this is an excellent option.
What we liked
- Sturdy Construction: Hardy stainless-steel construction helps it weather the elements, and everything on this grill glides smoothly and easily. The interior is just as good, with proper channeling from the grill to the flame tamers to the grease trap, which is easy to remove and clean.
- Burners: While it only has two, these 16, 000 BTU, U-shaped burners are excellent and evenly distribute heat across the two cooking surfaces this grill provides.
- Ignition: Easy, single button, piezo ignition ensures that the grill starts up perfectly every time, and the grill is adjustable across all standard temperature ranges.
- Warranty: This grill is provided with a 15-year warranty on all parts. While not as good as a lifetime, it is also better than the warranties with fine prints amounting to it not covering the most important pieces after 3 to 5 years.
What we didn’t like
- Size: As with the other American Grills model, 432 square inches is absolutely tiny for a built-in grill. I expect on average 550 square inches or more on a grill like this, in large part because that is enough space to support at least 3 different cooking surfaces. You lose a lot of versatility with only 2 burners, even if both of them are excellent.
7. Memphis Grills Elite Wood Fire Pellet Smoker and Built-in Grill
Why you’ll love it:
This grill is definitely one of the best around…if you can get past the sticker shock. Even with the mindset that you’re coming to terms with this being a large purchase or a long term investment, this grill is exorbitantly pricey.
What we liked
- Wood-fired: This is a pellet smoker with all the bonuses that come with that. Wood-fired grilling is just so much more satisfying and versatile than electric or gas grilling, even if those are far easier. In particular, smoking is aided by the wood pellets infusing the meat with their specific flavors.
- Pellet Feeding: This grill comes with a proper pellet feeding system, and auger that pushes the pellets out of the hopper, as well as flaps to regulate temperature and keep the fire going with limited involvement on your part.
- Wi-Fi Control: This grill can be app controlled from your phone, which is a nice plus.
- Cooking Surface: A sizable, 658-square-inch cooking space makes this grill great for both smoking and grilling. No extra burners here since it’s wood-fired, but the interior is properly shaped to funnel the heat to evenly cook everything.
What we didn’t like
- Price: This grill is great, don’t get me wrong, but this thing costs over twice what an average grill does. It’s worth it, but may be out of the price range you’re willing to pay for a luxury item.
8. Alfresco ALXE-42-NG 42″
Why you’ll love it:
Another high-quality, particularly expensive model, this time in a gas variant. Still, it has a bit more to recommend itself for that cost than the Memphis Grills Elite does, making it a more palatable purchase.
What we liked
- Cooking Surface: More than just sizable at 770 square inches, this beast of a machine is top of the line in every regard. Durable stainless-steel grates are easy to clean and long lasting, with ceramic briquette inserts to more evenly distribute heat throughout the grill.
- Burners: A whopping five 6, 500 BTU burners make up this grill, giving you unparalleled versatility. This is in addition to the rotisserie, and it even has a unique sear station like another model on this list, with a twist. This one is high-quality infrared, which can flash sear the meat very easily and safely.
- Construction: This unit is impeccably constructed in every aspect. Durable stainless steel is a given, but inside and out this thing is excellently engineered to improve airflow and leave the interior of the grill the perfect temperature, while leaving the outside cool where it needs to be. The lid opens easily and the control panel is corrosion-resistant and stays cool to the touch at all times, while the rotisserie is whisper quiet and chain-fed.
What we didn’t like
- Price: There’s no denying the cost: it will run you well over $5000, even more than the Memphis Grills Elite above. Worth it? For the right person, absolutely. But in many ways the cost isn’t outweighed by the quality, which is frankly overkill for most people. Professional chefs might want to snap this up, but for most of us we’re not going to see much of a difference.
9. DCS Evolution Built-In Gas Grill
Why you’ll love it:
Another highly expensive model, but this one is more difficult to defend. While cheaper than both the Alfresco and Memphis Grills Elite, it is close enough to be compared to them…and it compares poorly.
What we liked
- Heat Distribution: Ceramic rods distribute the heat properly from its burners throughout the grill.
- Cooking Surface: An immense 1164 square inch cooking surface graces the inside of this grill, heated by 3 U burners, each burning at 25, 000 BTU. This is enormous, versatile, and hot.
- Construction: Construction is solid steel and nicely ventilated, with an easy to lift handle and just as easy ignition and temperature adjustment.
What we didn’t like
- Heat Range: 25, 000 BTU per burner is both underkill and overkill at the same time. It misses our 75 to 100 BTU per square inch margin by a fair bit, while providing all the downsides such a gas guzzler provides. The temperature range is 300 to 1100 degrees Fahrenheit. That means it is completely unusable for cold smoking (which looks for temperatures closer to 200 to 225 degrees Fahrenheit), and the benefit of being able to rise to temperatures largely unusable for cooking anything.
10. KitchenAid 740-0780 Built-in Propane Gas Grill
Why you’ll love this:
This KitchenAid grill is pretty solid overall, but pales in comparison to our winner and runner up. While similarly powerful, its grilling surface is a fair bit smaller, and it comes with no rotisserie setup (though it does have an infrared rotisserie burner ready to go). For its price (similar to our winner’s), it falls a bit short.
If you still want to search for grill products, don’t be displeased because we have more KitchenAid grills reviewed here.
What We Liked
- Burners: Four 15, 250 BTU burners provide heat to this grill. In addition to the solid burners themselves, they come equipped with “flame tamers”, angled pieces of metal that simultaneously spread the flames evenly across the grill and catch drippings. The former function means that heat is even distributed, with no hot or cold spots to be found, while the latter vaporizes drippings and adds a surprising amount of flavor to meat grilled on this grill.
What We Didn’t Like
- Design: Heat ventilation is flawed and flimsy, making it prone to warping. This means that over time, the grill can deform and start torching its own interior components (stuff that wasn’t meant to withstand direct flames), thus destroying it, and worse: making it a severe fire hazard.
- Warranty: Making the above worse, the warranty is actually handled by a third party that has a vested interest in ensuring that as few valid warranty claims go through as possible. This makes dealing with them a frustrating chore—better avoided at all costs.
- Cleaning: A minor complaint given the above, but while the “flame tamers” are quite nice at introducing a bit of extra flavor, they aren’t strictly necessary, and are a huge pain to clean up as grease blackens into a crust that is difficult to remove.
Read also: Best propane gas grills and outdoor gas griddles.
FINAL VERDICT
The Lion Premium Grill is still the best confluence of price and performance, but most other grills here are excellent purchases depending on your needs. The smaller American Outdoor models are good for the price, while the hugely expensive Memphis Grills Elite and Alfresco AXE models are perfect for high-end, serious grillers who want a machine to match their talents.
The only ones I’d say to avoid are Napoleon Grills’ model and the DCS Evolution. The former is horribly flawed and will cost you money in the long run for an inferior product, while the latter is simply vastly overpriced for what it offers when you really break it down.
Where to Install You Built-in Grill
The overall goal is to place your built-in grill at a safe distance from your house but close enough to be convenient without undue risk. A built-in grilling station shows you’re serious about enjoying the art of outdoor cooking. It also show you are serious about keeping the property and your loved ones safe by situating it at a responsible distance to prevent any flare-ups.
Designing Your Built-in BBQ Grill Space
A built-in barbecue grill is a durable, weather-resistant structure that contains a heating element and grill rack for cooking and smoking food outdoors. You can choose to construct your own enclosure for your built-in barbecue, or you can invest in high-quality outdoor kitchen units for this backyard cooking space.
If you want to create a modern, contemporary-style vibe with this outdoor area, invest in a sleek grill unit with stainless steel construction and a smooth, straight-edged design. You can also purchase modular outdoor kitchen cabinets that have a stylish, state-of-the-art metallic aesthetic.
