When you’re grilling, opening and closing the lid can sort of feel like not knowing what to do with your hands when someone is taking your photo. You know the lid is there for a reason, and it seems like everyone else knows what to do with it. But should it be open? Or closed?
Knowing when to keep it open and when to close it can make the difference between food that is beautifully browned and evenly cooked and food that is charred on the outside but still suspiciously raw in the middle.
Luckily, the basic rule is pretty simple: leave the lid open for quick-cooking foods and close it for thicker foods that need a little more time.
With the lid open, a grill acts more like a very hot stovetop. Most of the heat comes from below, making this setup ideal for burgers, hot dogs, shrimp and fish, thin steaks, sliced vegetables, and other foods that cook in just a few minutes. An open lid also lets you keep an eye on flare-ups and flip, turn, or move food as needed. If your food is nicely browned but not cooked through, you can close the lid to speed things up.
Close the lid, and your grill starts behaving more like an oven. Heat circulates around the food, helping thicker cuts cook more evenly. Keep the lid down for bone-in chicken, thick steaks and pork chops, roasts, whole vegetables, and anything cooked over indirect heat. It is also the way to go for barbecue-style cooking, where low, steady heat needs time to do its thing.
Gas and charcoal grills each have their own quirks. On a gas grill, closing the lid helps trap heat and keeps the temperature from dropping every time you add food, so many foods cook best with the lid down except when you are flipping or checking for doneness. On a charcoal grill, the lid also helps manage airflow. For quick grilling directly over hot coals, the lid can often stay open. For indirect cooking or smoking, close it and use the vents to help control the heat.
Still not sure? Think about thickness. If the food cooks in just a few minutes, leave the lid open. If the center needs time to cook before the outside turns into charcoal, put a lid on it.
