Designing and building an outdoor grill island is an investment in getting the most out of your backyard, and adding a gas side burner is an excellent value add to any outdoor kitchen. Drop-in burners provide supplemental cooking space alongside your gas grill, maximizing the utility of your grill station and providing additional flexibility. If you're a serious grill master looking to build a new island or upgrade an existing one, adding an outdoor kitchen burner is something to consider.With their obvious value and utility, there are a wide array of side burners for gas grills on the market, which can make finding the best one a challenge. Fortunately, Kickass Grills has done most of the legwork for you, selecting only the best models and brands for our inventory. We've curated a collection of the top outdoor side burners in the industry, ensuring that any product you buy from us will be a reliable performer built to stand the test of time. To make your shopping experience even easier, we've collected some helpful tips and info below.

Why Buy an Side Burner

While having a large, powerful grill will cover most of your cooking needs, the added space and flexibility of a side burner can really elevate an outdoor grill station. They can provide the perfect space for whipping up sides and sauces alongside whatever you're grilling, and the ability to cook at higher or lower temperatures than your grill allows simultaneous preparation to cut down on overall cook time. Customers who buy a grill side burner from Kickass Grills generally do so for the following reasons:

Convenience - The primary selling point of upgrading BBQ grills with side burners is the ease they add to the cooking experience. No one wants to be running back and forth between the grill and the kitchen to monitor multiple dishes as they cook; it's a recipe for stress and burnt food. By placing an additional burner right next to your built-in grill, you can cut down on headaches while grilling.
Versatility - In addition to providing extra space for cooking, many burner types are specialized for cooking styles that are more difficult to achieve on a gas grill. In particular, range-style side burners are better equipped for cooking with pots and pans, just like a traditional indoor stovetop. Some models even feature a specialized grate designed to hold a round-bottom wok for perfect stir fry.
Power - The additional firepower that a side burner adds can't be understated, especially if you like cooking for large groups. In particular, our selection of infrared sear burners and power burners are able to put out significant heat, allowing for deep, dark crust on your steaks and quickly cooking up anything you can dream of.

What to Consider when Buying a Side Burner

With the variety of side burner options available, it will take a bit of research and comparison shopping to find the best side burner for your needs. While every product that Kickass Grills carries is a reliable, high performance item, each will have its own particular strengths and best potential use cases. In order to help you choose the best possible burner for your outdoor kitchen, we recommend considering the following factors:

Product Type - The first decision to make is which type of outdoor kitchen side burner you need. We carry the following categories of product:

Sear Burner - These burners are designed to mimic the type of direct heat that a grill burner puts out but in a more intense fashion, allowing for deep and delicious searing of steaks and other foods. Many of these burners use infrared design to achieve high radiant heating with reduced fuel consumption because the flame isn't exposed to open air.
Power Burner - Power burners are also quite powerful, but they're designed for use with cookware like pots and pans. When paired with a cast iron skillet or wok, they can provide an incredible amount of flexibility, allowing you to cook stir fry and similar dishes in the great outdoors. Most power burners are large enough to accommodate a full size stock pot, the perfect place for boiling up potatoes or corn on the cob.
Range Burner - This design closely resembles an indoor gas stovetop, providing a perfect platform for cooking with traditional cookware. Range burners are especially useful for cooking up sides and sauces to accompany whatever you've got going on the grill.

Size - When planning an outdoor kitchen island, it can be tempting to spring for the biggest and best of everything, but some attention must be paid to ensuring all of your components and accessories fit together without taking up all your counter space. Fortunately, we carry a huge variety of side burners in various sizes, from small single sear burners to double range burners that are nearly the size of a grill.
Fuel Type - All of the side burners in our inventory are gas powered, either liquid propane or natural gas. The two fuel types are not interchangeable, as propane contains nearly twice the energy that natural gas does. You'll want to be very careful to ensure that whichever side burner you order is configured correctly for your fuel type of choice. For questions about fuel type we recommend working with a license gas plumber.

Side Burner FAQs

Does my side burner need to be the same brand as my grill? Not necessarily. It's entirely possible to mix and match brands to find the features you're looking for. That said, some customers prefer a cohesive look for their outdoor kitchen, which is easier when you buy all your components from the same collection.
What are the best side burner brands? Kickass Grills has curated a collection of the best brands on the market, so every item you see on our site is built to last and provide exceptional performance. Some of our most popular side burner brands include: Bull, Blaze, Summerset, Napoleon and Lynx.