Gas or Charcoal?
 

I think I'm done with gas grills.

Throughout college and up until I got married my grilling was done on a little Weber Jr., and I looked forward to grilling out 2-3 times per week, even during harsh Wisconsin winters.

When I got married in Fall '04, one of our gifts was a very nice gas grill, which the wife and I were very happy to receive. It kind of felt like we were moving on up in the grilling hierarchy.

Since then we've been grilling about twice a month or so and, although the gas grill is more than adequate and very convenient, it just isn't the same. I actually enjoy the process of getting the coals going, and love the flavor of charcoal-grilled meat. Sure, Hank Hill's Taste the meat, not the heat endorsement of propane does prove true when grilling with gas, but to me, grilling out should be something that is an enjoyable way of temporarily escaping the conveniences of the modern day life, and something that should require a bit of effort. And again, I like the taste way better.

The tank ran out of gas sometime on February, right in the middle of grilling some burgers (although the meter said there was plenty of gas left). I haven't replaced it since.

In March we had a few days of very very nice weather, and I was going to go get a new tank so we could do some grilling; however, one evening I went out onto our back deck and three of our neighbors were outside grilling with charcoal. The air that night smelled fantastic, I didn't go get a tank, and we haven't grilled since.

In about an hour, I'm heading to Wal-Mart to pick up one of the big boy Webers and some Kingsford, and when I get home I'm gonna throw some burgers on.

I can't wait.

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

I prefer the ease of gas.

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

gas wins in convenience.

but charcoal wins in taste. Chunk charcoal is the true way to grill.

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

Check teh BBq thread in eld's forum, lots of cool stuff there fi you like to bbq. I personally have a gas grill, a weber, and a smoker, I use them all depending on what I feel like. I love the convenience of a gas grill, ecspecially since its less than 10 feet from my bed. I can fire it up, throw a burger on, once or twice a day adn not waste any time really. the weber is nice when I have some time to relax, and ya, a lot of stuff tastes better on the weber. the smoker though is great for pure taste, I suggest you purchase a smoker instead of a weber, becuae you can use it like a weber, and also smoke.

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

excellent post OP. i totally agree...charcoal FTW

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

Charcoal definitely has a better flavor, but the ease of gas...

In the summer, my Weber Genesis with side burner becomes the kitchen. We grill daily. The temp is so accurate on that thing, you could bake cake in it.

Those tank meter dealies are very unreliable, just have two tanks. When one empties, switch them up quick. You always have a full tank on hand, problem solved.

But yeah, for real serious BBQ flavor, charcoal wins.

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

get some hot water, pour it on your propane tank, feel where you poured it, you can tell how full it is by feeling the tank, when you get to a spot where the metal is cooler than the rest of the tank thats where the propane is filled too.

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

have a grill that is hard wired to the natural gas of the house. Never running out of propane FTW.

I love the smell and flavor of charcol, but I have the patience of a squirrel with ADD so I can't wait to get it ready and such. Gas is great for me, however if I go to someone's house and they are grilling on charcol I always have an extra burger because I love the extra flavor (as much as I try by putting spices and such on my burgers/steaks it just isn't quite the same).

I picked gas for ease of use, but I do love me some charcol on occasion.

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

Ps- never use lighter fluid, the best invention ever is the charcoal chimney, dump charcoal, light some newspaper, go and get your meat ready, it save so so much time.

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

both if you have the space.

if i'm cooking oysters, i don't need charcoal. if i'm making a ribeye, i want it of course.

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

Gas is just so much easier, I would never bother using charcoal around the house.

Our gas grill recently broke (read: lines eaten by a raccoon), so we've been temporarily using a backup charcoal grill.

It's just SO much more work to get going, you have to clean it out everytime, and constantly picking up new bags of charcoal.

How long does a bag usually last you guys? I think we got 3 or 4 uses out of a bag.

A tank of propane is usually good for probably 15 bbq's.

I'm also not sure if I could taste any worthwhile difference between charcoal and gas grills with any kind of seasoned meat.

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

Ive been doing a lot of smoking, and the smokers go through some charcoal, Ive been going to sam's club, and getting the super huge bags of charcoal, I think its 40 or 50lbs, it lasts awhile.

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

charcoal, and this is one of those times "and its not close" actually applies.

If you are gunna cook with gas you might as well just use a george forman grill.

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

My dad has a bigass charcoal grill that we use all the time. My buddy uses gas. When I eat at my buddies house I sometimes come back to my place at night and fire up the charcoal to have a REAL burger.

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

voted charcoal, next vote breaks the tie

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

Wood > charcoal > gas > oven > raw meat > no meat at all

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

I didn't read through all the replies.

Two things about gas grilling though:

1) Have two tanks. When one runs out, switch to the new one and then sometime soon fill your empty one. That way you always have gas on hand.

2) Buy some ceramic brickets. Don't buy the cheapest ones. Break them in as the instructions say, it doesn't take long. Over a short amount of time your drippings will season the brickets and your grill flavor will shoot through the roof. Also, if you use a pan on the grill, like in a roasting capacity for a turkey breast, whole chicken, or fish ... pour all the drippings over the brickets when you finish for the night. This will accelerate the seasoning of your grill. Add a few brickets from time to time as some degrade so they season along with the more mature brickets.

I fire up my gas grill and my neighbors ask what the heck I'm grilling that smells so good ... and that's before I put any meat on the grill.

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

I just broke the 18-18 tie with my vote for charcoal. I love the speed and ease of gas, but nothing, nothing, has ever beaten charcoal in my book.

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

Easily charcoal, you pretty much nailed the 'why'.

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

While I'll admit gas grills are more convenient, charcoal, for me, is the only way to go.

Better taste on the food, plus you get the 'smell' of the charcoal, which, when mixed with beer, makes you hungrier and the food taste that much better.

And if you're going to use charcoal, might I suggest an electric charcoal starter, so you don't have to use any lighter fluid - again, making the food taste better.

http://www.homedepot.com/cmc_upload/...s/161933_3.jpg

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

[ QUOTE ]
charcoal and wood chips > Wood > charcoal > gas > oven > raw meat > no meat at all

[/ QUOTE ]

just because of ease of use and temp control

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

I bbqed some pork shoulder on my Weber kettle today with a blend of oak logs and Cowboy lump hickory charcoal. It is wood/charcoal, and it isn't close.

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

Speaking of grills I was thinking about getting this one for my apartment next year...
http://www.appliancist.com/charcoal-grill-weber.jpg

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

Wood coals > charcoal >>> gas

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

[ QUOTE ]
Speaking of grills I was thinking about getting this one for my apartment next year...
http://www.appliancist.com/charcoal-grill-weber.jpg

[/ QUOTE ]
What is that, a charcoal/gas combo grill?

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

[ QUOTE ]
Ps- never use lighter fluid, the best invention ever is the charcoal chimney, dump charcoal, light some newspaper, go and get your meat ready, it save so so much time.

[/ QUOTE ]

Guids,

Newspaper is too messy, try paper towels with a touch of vegetable oil (for inflamation).

J

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

Charcoal. No need for newspaper or paper towels either...we have a little electric lighter thingie that gets the fire going fast. It's kind of like this one but I think we got our's at a Home Depot.

We've been grilling a lot lately. Mmm, mmm...

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Speaking of grills I was thinking about getting this one for my apartment next year...
http://www.appliancist.com/charcoal-grill-weber.jpg

[/ QUOTE ]
What is that, a charcoal/gas combo grill?

[/ QUOTE ]

looks like charcoal kettle with gas side burner

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

Charcoal grilled meat is definitely way better than gas grilled but obviously gas is way easier.
I CHOOSE CHARCOAL!

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

There is no reason not to have both

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

the ease that gas grills bring to grilling imo makes it the best choice for me. having to wait on charcoal is something I dont want to do.

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

Both is clearly the right answer.

The great thing about having gas is that you're happy to fire it up even if it's just for a side dish. Lots of vegetables come out fantastic on a gas grill, and I make them all the time even when main dish isn't being grilled. Would never do that without the gas grill.

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

[ QUOTE ]
Charcoal. No need for newspaper or paper towels either...we have a little electric lighter thingie that gets the fire going fast. It's kind of like this one but I think we got our's at a Home Depot.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was at my brother-in-law's a few years ago.

We were just getting the grill going, standing around it while drinking a few beers and waiting for the nifty electric lighter thingie to do it's job.

Suddenly, the thing exploded, sending pieces of the electric lighter thingie's coil flying at a high rate of speed.

Neither of us were injured, but I'll never get near one of those things again.

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

[ QUOTE ]
I prefer the ease of gas.

[/ QUOTE ]

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

Call me lazy, but getting an extension cord, running it to the pit, etc, is so much more of a hassle than just balling up some paper and lighting it. Hell, even jaydubs suggestion is to time intensive for me

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Speaking of grills I was thinking about getting this one for my apartment next year...
http://www.appliancist.com/charcoal-grill-weber.jpg

[/ QUOTE ]
What is that, a charcoal/gas combo grill?

[/ QUOTE ]

looks like charcoal kettle with gas side burner

[/ QUOTE ]

Gas ignited charcoal grill.

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

http://www.biggreenegg.com/

Best grill out there.

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

[ QUOTE ]
I suggest you purchase a smoker instead of a weber, becuae you can use it like a weber, and also smoke.

[/ QUOTE ]

On guids' advice, I decided to purchase a charcoal grill/smoker.

After doing some quick research, the wife and I set out to buy the Charbroil American Gourmet Smoker, Barbeque and Grill .

Upon arrival, however, the only one available was the beat-up floor model. It didn't really matter though, because once we saw it, the wife and I agreed that the grilling surface was pretty small (244 sq. in.). So, we were looking around at our other options, and happened upon something that Wal-Mart doesn't even list as a stocked item. They only had one left:

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/...6L._SS400_.jpg

The Brinkmann Smoke 'N Pit XL4000 Eddie Bauer Edition with DVD Navigation Package.

The one I got is a different model number than the one pictured, but I couldn't find anything similar online and, like I said, Wal-Mart supposedly doesn't carry it. The only difference from what I can tell is that mine has a metal screen-like front shelf (instead of wood).

Anyway, we finally got it home at about 7:30. As my wife fed our 1 1/2 year-old son a late dinner, I got crackin'. With no assistance and working mostly in the dark, I finally had it put together at around 10:30. Time to cure this byatch.

I also picked up a charcoal chimney and some Royal Oak Natural Wood Charcoal. After 2 hours at about 300 degrees (supposed to be 250, but as a n00b I had a hard time regulating things) and an hour at 400 degrees, it was grilling time.

So, at about 2am I threw some brats on. I realize in the OP I said that the plan was to grill some burgers, but my wife thinks that two in the morning is a little late to be eating dinner, so I was on my own. I saved the ground sirloin for tonight and had a couple brats last night.

Overall I'm satisfied, and looking forward to getting into smoking. I smoke everything else, so why not some meat, poultry and fish? I think I'm going to start with salmon.

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

my buddy got something pretty similar to that one, with the offset firebox, he actually rigged his own mini propane tank, I think it was a camping one, and he can light the charcoal with the propane, works great. From what Chicagotroy said, those are a little harder to regulate temperatures than a lot of smokers, but will still do the job.


Ive been using the Weber Smoky mountain smoker, and this thing is amazing, depending on how you light the charcoal, this thing will keep a constant temp at whatever you want for an unbelievably long time. when I did my brisket a week or two ago, it stuck at 225 for a little over eight hours, and it has 2 racks so you can smoke about he same amount of meat, but if you want to grill you cant get as much on theri as yours..

Re: Gas or Charcoal?
 

This poll is way too close.

Shame on you that chose gas!! [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]