What Is Medium Heat On A Grill?

Medium heat on a grill is a range that spans from 300 degrees Fahrenheit (148 C) to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (205 C). Medium heat is not a single temperature. Cooking on a grill is different than on a stove or in an oven. Exact temperatures aren’t used as much as temperature ranges. The standard grilling temperature ranges are low (200F – 300F), Medium (300F – 400F) and high (400F – 500+F). Medium heat on a grill is the most popular temperature cooks use. It’s high enough heat to cook the inside of meat thoroughly but not high enough to burn or char the outside. Medium heat on a grill refers to the temperature inside the grill which is an indirect heat. If flames shoot up from the grill and touch the food this is called a direct heat. Direct heat is much hotter than indirect heat.

When cooking food on a grill that requires medium heat, make sure you watch out for flame ups. This is typically caused when fat drips off the meat and into the flames. Flame ups are much hotter than 300 – 400 degrees Fahrenheit and can burn the food.

To check the temperature inside a grill, use a thermometer or heat gun. Heat guns are great for checking the temperature of the metal surface you place the food on but not the overall temperature of the grill. Thermometers are better for taking the overall temperature inside the grill with the lid closed. But they don’t do as good a job at measuring the heat of surfaces.

I recommend using a grill with a thermometer built in. They make measuring the temperature of the grill much easier.

What Temperature Is Medium Heat?

Medium heat on a grill is not an exact temperature. It’s a range measured between 300 ° F to 400 ° F.

Many cooks who are new to grilling aren’t always aware of how temperature works on a grill. Most grill recipes will say cook on low heat, medium heat or high heat. These are referring to heat levels and not exact temperatures. This is why cooking on a grill is harder than on a stove or in an oven. There’s more feel to it and less exact science.

If you’ve been burning your steaks and burgers or have chicken that’s uncooked in the middle, it’s because you’re not managing the grill’s heat level correctly.

Most grill recipes call for medium heat which is between 300 ° F to 400 ° F. That’s hot enough to cook the inside of meat but not so hot that food will char. But it’s a pretty wide range. It’s up to you to know where in that range the food needs to be.

It’s important to understand the 3 most common heat ranges used when cooking on a grill. Low, medium and high.

Heat	Temperature/° F
Low	200-300
Medium	300-400
High	400-500+

Because grilling uses heat ranges and not exact temperatures, it takes some experience to get really good at it.

Each heat level also has sub classes within it’s heat range. For example, low medium heat is between 300 ° F to 330 ° F while high medium heat is between 370 ° F to 400 ° F.

Some recipes will just say medium heat while others will give a tighter range. If the recipe just says medium heat, it’s up to you to figure out where in the range is best for the food you’re grilling.

As a general rule, I cook beef higher in the medium heat range and vegetables at the low end. I cook chicken and fish right in the middle at 350 ° F.

Cooking With Medium Heat On A Grill

Cooking with medium heat on a grill means between 300 ° F to 400 ° F. As long as the grill’s temperature stays within that range, technically you’re cooking with medium heat. But that’s a fairly big range. 300 ° F cooks food a lot different than 400 ° F.

When it comes to grilling, you need to experiment with different temperature ranges. Certain foods, like vegetables, are best when slow cooked on a low-medium heat for a longer time. While others, like steak, are better when seared and then cooked at around 350 ° F. A high heat sear cooks the outside of the steak quickly and then a medium heat finishes the inside. This produces a well cooked, juicy steak.

Most grill recipes are cooked with medium heat. But you need to understand the various ranges within the 300 ° F to 400 ° F. This is the key to successful grilling.

There are three primary ranges for medium heat when cooking on a grill. Low-medium, medium and high-medium. Each range is used for different purposes and foods. Although they’re all technically within the overall medium heat range, knowing when and how to use each will improve you’re grilling.

Keep in mind that temperatures inside a grill can vary based on how far the food is from the heat source. The closer you are to the heat, the higher the temperature. So even within a grill that’s at medium heat, foods closer to the flames will cook faster than those further away. Need a sear, put the meat close to the flames. Need a slow cook, move the food to a part of the grill further away from the fire.

In the next section we’ll review the medium heat temperature ranges with some tips on when to use them.

Medium-Low Heat

The medium-low heat range is between 300 ° F to 330 ° F. It’s great for meats and foods that need to be slow cooked, baked or roasted. Medium-low is a cooler temperature so food takes longer to cook, but it provides time to develop flavors.

Medium-low is the lowest range within medium heat. It’s the lowest temperature most classic grilled foods are cooked at. Medium-low is still hot enough to cook the inside of thick meats but not hot enough to char the food. It’s also cool enough to cook breads, fish, chicken and vegetables.

At medium-low heat, it’s very hard to brown the outside of a steak. If you want to slow cook a steak, you should start by searing the outside first. Then let the inside cook on a low temperature.

Low temperatures are great for basting or cooking with butter and many delicate sauces.

After searing thick cuts of meat like steak or pork chops on high heat, slowly cook through the meat without burning by reducing the temperature to medium-low. A lower temperature helps preserve meats juices. But it only works if the outside has been properly seared.

Medium-low heat is great for warming up breads or wraps. it’s also used to cook foods that can burst with high heat. Things like brats, sausages, and hot dogs.

Slow cooking on medium-low heat provides time to develop a rich and smokey flavor. Many flavors can’t be achieved with higher heats because they need more time. Smoking is a good example.

Medium Heat

Medium heat has a temperature range of between 330 ° F to 365 ° F. The most common temperature food is grilled at is right in the middle of the range at 350 ° F.

Medium heat is hot enough to brown meat, but low enough to cook the insides of food without burning it. 350 ° F medium heat is just right for grilling foods like chicken, steaks, burgers, hot dogs, vegetable and pork.

In most cases, when a recipe calls for grilling with medium heat, they mean 350 ° F.

Grilling meat on medium heat leaves the inside tender and juicy but thoroughly cooked. Meat like steak should be seared first, but other meats, like burgers, fish and chicken can be cooked with the grill entirely on medium.

With medium heat, a whole chicken takes about 45 to 60 minutes to cook through, depending on its weight. This is slow enough to leave the inside juicy but hot enough to cook it all the way through.

Cooking at medium heat cooks the food faster but it’s not typically hot enough to burn. However you always have to watch out for flame ups.

Medium heat is a sweat spot for grilling most foods. The temperature is hot enough to thoroughly cook food without drying it out like high heat can. And it’s usually not hot enough to char. It’s a great temperature for meats, vegetables, fish and chicken.

One of my favorite foods to grill on medium heat is a whole chicken. I cook it bone-in. The temperature leaves the outside of the bird crisp while the inside stays juicy.

Medium-High Heat

The medium-high heat temperature range falls between 370 ° F to 400 ° F. This is the hottest you can set the grill while cooking at medium heat.

A lot of high-temperature grilling is done at this temperature because it leaves grill marks. Grilled classics like burgers, chicken, hot dogs and pork are great with some dark grill marks. And at this heat you can even cook tougher vegetables like carrots and potatoes.

Medium-high heat is enough to brown the outside of the food. However, the heat is still low enough to cook the center of meats without burning the outside. Although foods can occasionally develop a char.

Grilling times are faster with medium-high heat so there’s not as much room for error. Grilling at higher temperatures is more of a challenge. You have to cook the outside without burning it but the food has to be on the grill long enough to cook through. There’s a 10–20-minute window on an open grill for most foods.

It’s harder to cook the center of meat to well done on medium-high because you’d have to leave the meat on so long that the outside would burn. This is why most foods cooked at this level of heat are done medium to medium-rare.

When cooking with higher heats, watch for flame ups. They can really sear the outside of meat when they occur

Grilling at medium-high heat and above is all about managing grill space. Foods that need high heat can be kept right next to the fire. But items that need less heat, like vegetables and breads, can be kept on a rack away from the heat where temperatures are cooler.

Personally, I love grilling on high heat. The better and more experienced you are at grilling, the higher you can turn up the flames without burning the food.

Temperature Is The Key To Grilling

The key to successful grilling is regulating the heat. Too little heat and the inside of your meat will be hard to cook and you won’t get a good browning. Too much heat and you’ll burn the outside of your food before the inside has had time to cook.

Most meats benefits from a sear on the outside followed by a slower cook on the inside. This means you must learn to regulate the heat of your grill.

Grill recipes generally call for heat somewhere in the medium range. To achieve the right heat, you must adjust the gas or charcoal of your grill until the temperature is right and then keep it there. This is easy to do with gas but much harder with charcoal.

The higher you set the temperature on a grill, the harder it is to cook the food properly. Searing high heat cooks the outside so fast that the inside doesn’t have time to reach temperature. This can result in either burnt food or under-cooked meat.

The same is true of vegetables. If the heat is too high, you’ll char the outside and leave an under-cooked hard inside.

Staying within the medium heat range is usually best because it’s high enough the brown the outside without burning which gives the inside enough time to cook.

You can regulate between medium-high, medium and medium-low heat simply by moving the food.

A great way to adjust the heat of your grill without actually changing the temperature is by moving the food around. Remember, temperatures inside a grill can vary based on the distance the food is from the fire. Moving food closer to the flames raises the heat. And moving food away from the flames lowers the heat.

How To Check A Grill’s Temperature

Many grills have a built in thermometer on the lid that gives you the temperature of the grill when the lid’s closed. However, this is a reading of the overall air temperature inside the grill. It doesn’t give you an accurate temperature of the grates. When most recipes say cook on medium heat, they’re usually referring to the air temperature of the grill taken by a thermometer, not a grate reading.

A thermometer works a lot like setting the temperature inside an oven. It’s a measure of air temperature heat, not the heat of the grate.

If you’re following a recipe that needs a specific grate temperature, you’ll need a heat gun. Grate heat is similar to burner heat on a stove top. There’s a difference between burner heat and air temperature. Generally speaking, the closer you get to the flame, the hotter it gets.

Most grill thermometers are located about 12 inches off the grate. This means the grate is much hotter than the temperature reading on the thermometer because it’s right next to the flame. If a grill thermometer reads 370 ° F, the grate could easily be 500 ° F.

A heat gun or IR thermometer, shoots a laser at any surface to determine how hot it is. This will give you an accurate reading of the grates heat. This is helpful because you can check the temperature of different surfaces like pans or bread racks.

A meat probe thermometer is a great tool to have when grilling. It’ll check the internal temperature of meat. This helps ensure you don’t serve meat that’s under-cooked.

A grill surface thermometer is another way to check the temperature of the grates. They work the same way as a lid thermometer only they’re placed right on the grates. I prefer using a heat gun to take temperature reading because grill surface thermometers tend to get grimy from the smoke and grease really fast. Heat guns stay out of the grill so this isn’t an issue.

How To Check Medium Heat Without A Thermometer

Controlling the temperature of your grill is very important. And it’s not that easy to do even if you have tools that can help. So what do you do when you don’t have a thermometer or a heat gun? I like to camp and do most of my grilling with nothing but a simple metal grill and charcoal or wood.

No matter where your cooking or what type of grill or fuel you’re using, keeping the temperature at medium heat is still beneficial for most foods.

To keep a grill at medium heat without a thermometer or heat gun, you’ll need to use your hand.

Place your hand about 6 inches above the fire with your palm flat. If the heat is too hot to keep above the flame for even a second or two, your on high heat. With a medium heat, you should be able to tolerate the temperature for about 4 or 5 seconds.

If you can tolerate the heat for around 7 or 8 seconds, that’s a low-medium heat.

If you can keep your hand above the flame for long period of time, you’re in the low heat range and need to get the fire going.

Another way you can check medium heat without a thermometer is by checking the food. A steak, burger or piece of chicken will char in under a minute if the heat is on high, this won’t happen with medium heat. After a minute or so on medium, the meat should start to brown but not burn.

If your food is burning after less than a minute on the grill, lower the heat or raise the food higher off the flames. If it’s not cooking fast enough, raise the temperature or bring the food closer to the flames.

You can reach medium heat on a grill by either adjusting the temperature or the distance the food is from the flames.

How To Adjust The Heat Of A Grill

How you adjust the temperature of a grill and keep the heat steady is different depending on the type of grill you use.

Gas grills are much easier to control. They work just like a stove top. Simply turn the burner knob and the flame will get bigger which makes the grill hotter. Closing the lid will let the air temperature inside the grill increase. Opening the lid brings in fresh air and releases heat which cools the grill air temperature. However the grates will remain hot.

The temperature of a charcoal grill is much harder to control. If you want more, or less, heat you need to regulate the amount of charcoal you’re using. Add more charcoal if you want more heat and less if you want to cool the grill down. You can also break up and spread out the charcoal to even out and reduce the temperature inside the grill.

Just like a gas grill, close the lid on a charcoal grill to increase the air temperature. Opening the lid will lower the air temperature while keeping the grates hot.

Temperatures are harder to adjust with charcoal because you can’t just turn a knob to increase the flame. As a result, gas grills give you much better control over the temperature. However you lose the smell and flavor of charcoal.

Charcoal needs oxygen to burn. By controlling the level of oxygen you can regulate the temperature more effectively. Most charcoal grills have at least two air vents. One at the bottom of the grill and the other at the top. Adjusting the vents controls airflow which helps regulate the heat. Closing the vents starves the charcoal of fuel which puts out the fire.

I prefer grilling the old fashioned way on a charcoal grill, but gas is much more convenient and controllable. If you’re new to grilling or cooking a recipe that requires a very specific heat, I’d use gas. It’s much easier to regulate the heat with just the turn of a knob.

What Is Medium Heat On A Grill In Celsius

If you’re cooking outside the United States and using Celsius, the temperature ranges are exactly the same. We just have to change Fahrenheit to Celsius.

Medium heat on a grill is a range of temperatures from about 148 ° C to 205 ° C. If the grill is set anywhere in that range, you’re technically cooking at medium heat. However, within the medium heat range they’re are some sub-ranges.

Medium-low heat is anywhere from 148 ° C to 165 ° C.
True medium heat is between 165 ° C to 185 ° C.
Medium high heat on a grill is between 185 ° C to 205 ° C.

If your grill is below 148 ° C then you’re in the low heat range. If the grill is over 205 ° C, you’re in the high heat range. The low heat and high heat ranges have sub ranges just like medium heat.

What Is Medium Heat On A Weber Gas Grill?

Medium heat on a Weber gas grill is between 300 degrees Fahrenheit (148 C) to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (205 C). When cooking at medium heat, you need to understand that it’s a range of temperatures and not an exact temperature.

Within the temperature range of medium heat are sub ranges. These include:

Medium-low heat which is between 300 ° F to 330 ° F or 148 ° C to 165 ° C.
True medium heat is between 330 ° F to 365 ° F or 165 ° C to 185 ° C.
Medium-high is between 370 ° F to 400 ° F or 185 ° C to 205 ° C.

Medium heat is exactly the same temperature on a Weber grill and any other grill. The brand of the grill doesn’t matter. It’s also the same no matter the fuel source. If you’re using a gas, wood or charcoal grill, medium heat is still between 300 degrees Fahrenheit (148 C) to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (205 C).

What Is Medium Heat On A Charcoal Grill?

Medium heat on a charcoal grill is between 300 degrees Fahrenheit (148 C) to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (205 C). When cooking at medium heat, understand that medium is a range of temperatures and not an exact temperature.

Within the temperature range of medium heat are sub ranges. These include:

Medium-low heat which is between 300 ° F to 330 ° F or 148 ° C to 165 ° C.
True medium heat is between 330 ° F to 365 ° F or 165 ° C to 185 ° C.
Medium-high is between 370 ° F to 400 ° F or 185 ° C to 205 ° C.

Medium heat is exactly the same temperature on a charcoal grill and any other grill. The fuel source for the grill doesn’t matter. If you’re using a gas, wood or charcoal grill, medium heat is still between 300 degrees Fahrenheit (148 C) to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (205 C).

Summary: What Is Medium Heat On A Grill?

Medium heat on a grill is a range that spans from 300 degrees Fahrenheit (150 C) to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (205 C). Medium heat is not a single temperature. Cooking on a grill is different than on a stove or in an oven. Exact temperatures aren’t used as much as temperature ranges. The standard grilling temperature ranges are low (200F – 300F), Medium (300F – 400F) and high (400F – 500+F). Medium heat on a grill is the most popular temperature cooks use. It’s high enough heat to cook the inside of meat thoroughly but not high enough to burn or char the outside. Medium heat on a grill refers to the temperature inside the grill which is an indirect heat. If flames shoot up from the grill and touch the food this is called a direct heat. Direct heat is much hotter than indirect heat.

I recommend using a grill with a thermometer built in. They make measuring the temperature of the grill much easier.

If you have any questions or comments about grilling, email any time.