Gas or charcoal - advantages and disadvantages

I need a grill. I've always cooked on gas grills, and have been very happy with them. (I have it down nearly to a science, even with multiple steaks of multiple sizes and levels of doneness.) I was planning on getting a gas grill until I saw the Portable Kitchen grill and smoker. Besides being pretty, they're supposedly long-lasting and cook very evenly. And on sale at amazon with free shipping.

I love the way gas grills heat up quickly and cool relatively painlessly, and I've been pleased by the way they cook. Truthfully, I don't have too much experience with charcoal grilling, and my impression is that they take a long time (hour or so) to heat to temperature. As often as I tend to use a grill (2-3x a week cooking for one plus various parties for many), I want to be really happy with what I buy.

Thoughts? Gas or charcoal - which do you prefer and why? Which might suit my needs better? Any experiences here with the beautiful charcoal grill?

Thanks,
Catherine

(Sorry if the link doesn't work -- I had to type it in by hand, and forgot to link it through chowhound.)

Link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/...

[bworp]

I've used both and really enjoy the process and flavor of charcoal.

I purchased a Weber Performer last summer and it's almost as fast and definitely as easy to clean as a gas grill. It utilizes a small (camping) propane tank to light the charcoal and you're cooking in no time. The vent and ash catcher are also really well designed. After buying the performer, we're grilling out 50% more than we were before. You can check it out at:
http://www.3luxe.com/best_ofs/Grills/...

We bought ours from Amazon and there was free shipping an no tax.

[nickdanger]

I have been interested in this grill to finally migrate back to coals, but never knew anyone who had one. I'm interested in your experience, because others have said that I should just get a kettle and a chimney and stop complaining.

[bworp]

I have friends who use chimney's (coffee cans before that) and they think they're great, and they do heat the coals well. But in my opinion, they're still a hassle. Here is a good site explaining the steps involved with the chimney:
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/chi...

With the performer, you put the carcoal in the grill, hit the propane starter and you're good to go. No transferring goals, no paper to light, no lighter fluid... you push a button. And the tanks are easy to find and last for a few weeks depending on how often you grill. The work surface and charcoal holder are also added benefits.

[taketheunder]

Grill surface material is more important than heat source,
Cast iron is the only choice for those who have the skill and
experience to use proper, well seasoned cast iron cook ware.
Get gas, get cast iron, get a VERY heavy wire brush from the paint
dept. at Home Depot.

[taketheunder]

I am updating this reply. I just purchased a natural gas Weber Genesis that has grills made of heavy cast iron. If ease of use is one of your top priorities, you just can't beat hooking up to your
household natural gas. Webers are certainly not cheap, but they are worth every penny.
The side burner is like a kitchen stove large gas burner, very high BTU when needed, and solid as can be. It is a joy to use.

I ended up ordering the charcoal grill. If nothing else, I'll acquire a new skill. If I find that the improved taste doesn't outweigh the speed of a gas grill, I'll consider going back to (or adding) a gas grill.

Thanks again for all the advice!

Blue skies,
Catherine

[Romanmk]

Having expertise with charcoal and gas is handy when people need help.

Catherine, I think you pretty much answered the question yourself. If you are happy with the gas grill by all means stick with it. It means that the type of cooking you do and your taste match the capabilities of the gas grill. Despite what some of the other postings suggest you will not be expelled from Choworld for using gas. I would recommend that you consult this site http://www.barbecuen.com/ask.htm where Smoky Hale will answer all your questions and he is almost always right on the money with his advice. In my opinion, he has the most common sense among barbecuing experts. His book can also be warmly recommended for cutting right to the chase through the fog of myths and half truths about barbecuing and grilling (Compare his book to the so called Barbecue Bible). Check Smoky's discussion of various smokers and other grilling and barbecuing equipment. Just one small piece of advice, in my experience burning wet hickory chips on a gas grill does not come anywhere near where you are going to be if you are burning logs. I also feel that those who recommend charcoal (e.g Kingsford) have not really had much experience with hardwood logs; there is no comparison in my opinion.

To answer your question: you cannot barbecue (slow cook at 200-240F, indirect heat) on a gas grill so you must not be barbecueing right now; if you want to grill (high direct heat) you can do so successfully on many a gas grill. If your grill is good and can put out really high heat you will keep your burger or your steak for at most a few minutes, time in which no hickory taste can be imparted to the food, so you need not worry about missing the smoke flavoring from hardwood. The high heat will produce all the crust you want and more.

I have both. If I have time and I want to slow cook, I fire the logs. If I want something quick, the gas grill will beat handily any kind of stove-top grill option, including my best winter fall back, the all-clad grande grill.

Enjoy your food on the gas grill. You will know when and if you are ready for hickory logs; you must want them because for most people who cook with gas switching to logs is a pain.

Catherine This Octavian guy has it right. These charcoal people are such snobs!
Zappa

Never felt anyone was a "snob", just giving the opinions we felt you wanted.

Here Here! I'm a 3 night a week griller myself and I find my gas grill indespensible. I can go low and slow and do some ribs as mine has 4 burners. I've gotten some decent results playing around w/ wood chips. I've also got a pit on wheels that I do a whole hog on and that's when I bust out the logs, anything else would be heresey. But when I just want to roast some veggies, quick burgs/dogs/steaks etc, its the only way to go for me. Seems like you would waste a good bit of charcol if you grilled out that often. Its not like you can put it out and start it again later, over time that would add up....

If speed and neatness are your paramount values in barbecuing, then a gas barbecue is for you. But the natural gas or propane burners don’t produce any flavor. It’s true that as the fat, juices, or marinade of the food drips onto the volcanic rocks or other surface heated by the gas burners, a type of smoke will be produced that will impart a certain flavor to the food. But it is a different flavor from the flavor of real wood.

The best barbecue is produced by burning real hardwood down to embers, and then cooking your food over them. When real hardwood is burned in this fashion, its natural elements, molecules, and compounds are released into the smoke, which adds a real “wood smoke” flavor to the food being barbecued. Different types of wood have different flavor in their smoke. The smoke from commercial charcoal does not contain these same natural elements, primarily because commercial charcoal is produced by heating wood in the absence of oxygen resulting in a product that is almost all carbon.

If the time and effort of burning down real hardwood is too much for you, then I recommend using “lump charcoal” rather than supermarket brands of charcoal briquettes (e.g., Kingsford). Most briquettes are crushed charcoal mixed with a variety of additives like anthracite coal for long burning, limestone to create white ash, clays or starches as binders, and sawdust and sodium nitrate for quick lighting. “Lump charcoal” is commercially produced charcoal without the additives. A good compromise between supermarket brand briquettes and lump charcoal is briquettes that are made by Hickory Specialties in Tennessee in which corn starch is the only additive. The brands of briquettes produced by Hickory Specialties include “Nature Glo,” “Wildfire,” “Holland,” and “Kroger.”

Those who argue that there's no flavor difference between cooking over wood embers or a good quality charcoal and cooking over gas are simply wrong. The issue is whether the extra time and effort it takes to cook over embers or charcoal is worth it. Each person will have his or her own answer on this score. There's no "right" answer.

I've been a charcoal devotee my whole life, and I feel the trueness of cooking over coals. I don't consider it messy, but I find that I don't cook on the grill as often as I'd like because it takes too long to get things going.

I'm at a stage of life (2 small kids) when there is something to be said for a little convenience and I am seriously considering getting a gas grill to supplement my weber kettle. But I'm not getting rid of the real thing, believe me.

Right there with you, two kids (one 2 months old), and little time. And, my wife brought a gas grill to the marriage, so the temptation's there. But, before you succomb (and I haven't), here's an intermediate step. Try the Kingsford Matchlight briquettes. Soaked in lighter fluid, not what you'd pick if you really wanted to do grilling right. But the coals are ready in amazingly short time, and it still beats gas.

I use the chimney starter and it is quite fast, maybe I should soak the charcoal in fluid as well

But sometimes I just want a burger or the kids want a hot dog, and it just isn't worth the effort to fire up the coals.

Then again who the heck am I to spend a couple of hundred bucks to be able to quickly burn a hot dog?

Put simply, gas is about efficiency; natural fire is about soul.

Like everyone else says, gas is clean, quick and easy (like moving your stove outside). Cooking over charcoal (don't use briquettes) or wood can be messy and it will take a few years to really get the hang of it, but if taste is important it is the only way to go. About the mess, throw the ash in your garden and watch it grow and grow and grow.

Gas is easy, clean, and fast. That said, I would never have one. I grew up with gas but went to charcoal years ago and could never go back. After using charcoal I find that grilling on gas is not much different than those little electric grills you can put on your kitchen counter. Taste is everything. Hickory on charcoal is unbeatable. Just last night Wagyu New York Strips with grilled new potatoes. Can't imagine anyway but charcoal for that.
If you have little experience with charcoal, you will find it a hassle, and sometimes a bit dirty. I think of it as part of the grilling experience. I would suggest you buy a cheap charcoal grill, use it a few times and see if you like it enough to fully commit.

Opinions vary widely, but I am 100% in the charcoal camp. I feel that gas cooking can not approach the flavors of charcoal cooking, although gas is a little more convenient until the tank runs out in the middle of preparing dinner). Get yourself a nice Weber-- go for the model with the ash-catcher and the hinged cooking grid (for easy access for adding charcoal). Also get a charcoal chimney--it is an esy way to start your fire, without lighter fluid, plus it is fast, and you'll be ready to cook in 10-15 minutes. In addition to grilling, you can also do a pretty mean BBQ (low temp smoking) on the Weber.
There are some great books on grilling available. I'd recommend one of Chris Schlessinger's books-- I have License to Grill, and Thrill of the Grill. They are awesome books with great recipes and lots of tips on technique.

When propane burns it produces water, and this explains the inability of gas to put a tasty crust on grilled things. Gas also doesn't get hot enough, so you have to close the lid, and all that water ends up steaming your food. Also: NEVER use the lid on an older grill, gas or otherwise (I have a problem even calling cooking over gas grilling: it should be called "gassing")as it has all sorts of foul flavors built up in that residue on the inside! Clean it thouroughly or use a disposable aluminum baking pan to cover. And don't use gas. Really. It's disrespectful to the animal your grilling!

"When propane burns it produces water, and this explains the inability of gas to put a tasty crust on grilled things. Gas also doesn't get hot enough, so you have to close the lid, and all that water ends up steaming your food....."

inability of gas to put a tasty crust...

What sort of gas grill are you referring to? I've grilled with both methods for many years on many different grills and never had a problem with crust or heat when using gas.

I completely understand the preference and loyalty of charcoal folks, but come on man....

We will be done eating(by using Propane) by the time our Charcoal friends have the Coals properly lit. One of my die-hard Charcoal using friends even managed to burn down his garage by placing HOT coals in the trash next to it. Recently on a trip to Maui I had to cook for 8 days using Charcoal, what a nightmare, the delay, the mess, the loss of time, no known benifit of flavor, I missed my Gas and Propane BBQ's even more after that.

tsk,tsk,tsk.

I would have expected better from you.

Charcoal all the way for two reasons. Flavor and HEAT!
I haven't found a gas grill yet that can sear a steak anywhere near as good as a chargoal grill. As always, flavor is a subjective thing, but I do find food tasking better off a charcoal grill.

I do, however, see and recognize the benefits of a gas grill and don't have a strong distaste for them as I once did. They're very convenient. But then, when I have friends over for a BBQ, I ENJOY the preparation that goes into setting up the BBQ. It gives times for chit-chat, a little booze and the growing sense of anticipation waiting for the briquets to reach ripeness. Grilling with charcoal is an EXPERIENCE...it's an event. If I wanted to cook with gas, I'd just do it indoors on my other "gas grill". Having said all that, if you want a quick bbq for two on a tuesday night, then a gas grill would be preferred.

[melloski]

lz, wow! Check my response.

[Kelli2006]

I am throughly in the charcoal camp. I tend to use briquettes but I prefer hardwood charcoal lit with a start can when I want to make a important dinner.

Ive used gas grills at work and at friends homes, and while very convenient it just doesn't not produce the heat or the flavor of cooking over a hardwood fire. I can deal with the time by planning the meal, so I do my prep work while the grill comes up to temp(500°+/-)

If I am going to make the extra effort to cook outside I want to cook over the real thing. IMVHO

[chazzerking]

I don't know what kind of charcoal or cooker you were using, but I have never had a fire take anywhere close to an hour to be ready. There is no comparison as to the flavor or the flexibility of charcoal. any but the highest end gas grills do not have the burner capacity to get hot enough to do a proper job on good steaks. They are more convenient and that is all I can say for them. I'm a sworn believer in my Great big green Egg that will keep a grill temp of 850 or 200 for as long as I want and can smoke or bake like a high end smokeer or wood oven.

[bagofwater]

A charcoal grill can be ready for cooking in 20 minutes. It's not that difficult.

It would be very difficult to find any fuel that did not produce water upon burning. That is one of the products of oxidation(burning).