Bulls Outdoor Products Renegade 32369 5 Burner Drop-in Gas Grill Review
A large outdoor kitchen or built-in grill station helps you take a big step toward being the house who hosts all the cool gatherings. There are a lot of modest-sized options to consider, but if you want a truly large stainless steel grill that runs on natural gas, you might want to give the Bull Grills Renegade a look.
It offers a whopping 1026 square inches of grill space, which is the sort of thing you find in professional restaurant kitchens. It’s intended to be installed into a heavy-duty counter or kitchen station. If any of the surrounding materials are combustible, you will need to also factor in an insulated stainless steel jack for safety and support.
It has five independently controlled burners with sophisticated flame tamers. This system was designed by California Polytechnic to create superior heat distribution. The grill grates are also made from porcelain coated cast iron, which helps with heat retention, while also making it easier to scrape down. Each of the burners is linked to the click start ignition system.
Construction & Ease of Assembly
The Renegade is made mostly from 304 stainless steel. One notable exception is the porcelain coated cast iron grill grates, which is arguably better than stainless steel grates. One potential knock on the Renegade is the lack of a back burner. Smaller natural gas grills in the Bull Grills line have a back burner and are engineered to use a rotisserie. The massive size of the Renegade just isn’t conducive to rotisserie cooking.
There are two phases to a grill like this. The first is the assembly. The second is the installation. When it comes to simply assembling the grill, you would be wise to recruit someone to help you with the large components. The instructions are relatively easy to read. With some general tools and a little patience, you should be able to fully assemble the Renegade in a little over two hours.
The installation phase of the process is going to be a little more labor, depending on how you have the counter or cook station set up. If any of the materials in the area are combustible or not fire rated you will need to also invest in an insulated stainless steel support jack. It’s not the sort of thing you want to tackle on your own. The wisest course of action is to hire a local contractor for the install.
Grilling Performance
Despite not having a rear burner rotisserie, the Renegade is still very versatile. The heat distribution system does an exceptional job of spreading out the heat to virtually eliminate hot and cold spots. If you are planning to use it for a grill station in a restaurant, the superior heat distribution and 75,000 BTUs will maximize the amount of food that can be cooked at one time.
The 1026 square inch grill grates are made from cast iron and coated with a durable layer of non-stick porcelain lets you grill up a staggering amount of food. It’s also easy to scrape down, making sure that a little burned on debris from one piece of meat doesn’t find its way to the next item being grilled.
The Renegade also has a double walled hood. This helps with heat retention and energy efficiency for times when you want to prepare something on low or indirect heat. The thermometer built into it is astonishingly accurate for a grill this size. Most likely this is attributed to the Polytechnic engineering of the heat distribution system.
The five independently controlled burner elements allow you to create different heat zones across the large grill grate. If necessary, you can dial down one or two of the burners to act as a warming zone.
One small bonus worth noting is that even with long cook sessions, the controls won’t get hot. Some other competitor grills in this category can’t say that!
Grilling Areas
The Bull Grills Renegade has 1026 square inches of grilling space, provided by grates made from porcelain coated cast iron.
It also has a 266 square inch warming rack, which is a little on the small side for a grill this large.
Special Features
The burner elements and flame tamers were engineered by California Polytechnic to provide consistent heat across the large grill grates.
Ease to Clean
The porcelain coating on the Renegades large grill grates makes them easy to scrape down. This is especially nice if you are planning to use it as a grill station in a restaurant or other type of institutional kitchen. With most things, a quick scrape down with a wire brush or an offset spatula is all you need to remove burned on bits.
Warranty
The Bull Grills Renegade comes with a 5-year warranty on the stainless steel burners as well as a lifetime warranty on the grates and the firebox. This is a little bit better than what you will find with most of the competitors in this class.
Conclusion
The Bull Grills Renegade isn’t necessarily a natural gas grill that’s meant for the casual backyard griller. It is meant more to be part of a premier outdoor kitchen or as part of a restaurant grill station. It’s also the sort of thing that you need to install with the help of a professional, preferably a contractor who is knowledgeable about all the local building codes.
The lack of a rotisserie and a rear burner is a little of an issue. Still, the Renegade is really meant to cook a lot of food all at once, and a rotisserie on its own tends to limit the cooking space for other things.
