Cooking on gas grills should be illegal

[HeXen]

Charcoal and wood = flavor heaven > convenience.:thumbsup:

Yesterday, family and I went to friends, cooked us some gas grilled burgers. Tasted like it might as well have been cooked in a pan on the stove...who stole the flavor? But it was free so I kept my damn mouth shut even though I wanted to shove that propane tank up his ass. ....it's just insulting my taste buds and wasting my summer time fun.

So today I have to serve my family some justice and do it right.:whiste:

...and just so there is no backtalk in this thread, I have proof from Aboutfoods website and I quote

Answer: Though a few people might debate it, charcoal produces better tasting grilled foods most the time. Not to say that some things taste worse, just some things don't taste any different.

 

[waggy]

I agree.

 

[BUTCH1]

Yea, wood is better but it is MUCH more expensive and a pain to deal with. I took the shell of my last gas grill and mounted it on a steel pole in the backyard so on weekends I can have that awesome wood experience but on weekdays I use the Weber gas grill. Here in FL you want to cook outside whenever possible to save on the electric bill as heat from cooking discharged into the house has to be extracted by the AC running that much more to deal with it.

 

[Mixolydian]

Natural gas > *

 

[ImpulsE69]

Yea..sadly I haven't cooked on a charcoal or wood grill in years. Convenience > *. If you got that kinda time, either you don't grill much, or you are retired. I grill 3-4 times a week sometimes.

 

[Ns1]

By the time you're done waiting for the grill to be ready I'm already done eating

 

[waggy]

By the time you're done waiting for the grill to be ready I'm already done eating

You are doing it wrong.

1)start coals
2) open beer.
3) open beer 2.
4) coals ready to use.


it's a good time to sit outside and drink.

 

[lxskllr]

By the time you're done waiting for the grill to be ready I'm already done eating

Most people could do with a little restraint regarding food :^D

I've never used gas and never will. Charcoal forever.

 

[NetWareHead]

I make some pretty darn good burgers on my propane grill. The key is to turn up the flames as high as possible and use at least 80/20 ground beef. You get that fat to render off and catch fire. That is a good source of flavor there.

Otherwise, I'd agree that charcoal is the best way to go and tastes the best. But I wouldnt go as far as saying propane/gas is flavorless either.

 

[UglyCasanova]

Yeah I don't get the convenience thing. With a chimney starter I light a match, walk away, come back and cook. Not that much harder than turning a knob and clicking light.

 

[Bryf50]

Nope. Taste the meat not the heat.

 

[DrPizza]

OP had potential. But seriously, they're burgers. Not ribs, not barbequed chicken halves, not porterhouse steaks, not t-bones, not ribeyes. At least pick a food that really benefits from being cooked over charcoal, not a food that's eaten simply as something to get some quick food in your stomach so you can spend more time having fun. At least the OP wasn't about the improvement in flavor to some 3 packs for $2 hotdogs, along with, "and we use mustard. The 98 cents a bottle store brand mustard, because ketchup is for kids."

 

[PingviN]

Grilling burgers should send you to hell. You cook burgers on a flattop.

 

[BoomerD]

Meh...charcoal is just too much hassle. I prefer the convenience of propane and lack of mess that comes with charcoal.

A NEW gas grille isn't as flavorful...but a well-seasoned gas grille imparts plenty of flavor to the food being cooked.

 

[ponyo]

Yeah I don't get the convenience thing. With a chimney starter I light a match, walk away, come back and cook. Not that much harder than turning a knob and clicking light.

You have to grab the charcoal bag and pour out it on the grill and chimney starter. Then you have to grab some paper and light the chimney. It's far more involved process than turning couple of knobs on a gas grill. You save time with gas before and after the cook. If you cook with charcoal, you have to take a shower after because you smell like charcoal and smoke.

I prefer charcoal taste but the convenience of gas wins out for me most of the time. But I use both depending on my mood and time. It doesn't have to be one or the other. Why not use both? Grills are cheap.

 

[Jumpem]

I have never known anyone that uses charcoal instead of propane.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Sounds like your friends just don't know how to a cook a burger regardless of grill type. Let me guess, they flipped them several times and pushed down on them repeatedly. You know, because the fat drips and makes the fire roar which must be a good thing!

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Gas grills are fine.

The exact same shit can happen with charcoal grilled burgers.

 

[NetWareHead]

Yeah I don't get the convenience thing. With a chimney starter I light a match, walk away, come back and cook. Not that much harder than turning a knob and clicking light.

It kinda is an inconvenience to light up the charcoal for a small amount of food. It is not just time ahead of cooking where you need to give the coals ample time to get hot (usage of a chimney definitely speeds that up) but it is also the cleanup and disposal of ashes after. The grill stays hot for anywhere up to a few hours while the coals die down so you cant just turn it off and throw the cover back on like with propane. And I stink like smoke after cooking with charcoal while propane is cleaner and my hands get all black from handling charcoal.

Dont get me wrong, I like charcoal and the taste difference is there but IMO its more work that isnt always worth it to me.

 

[ponyo]

But when I eat out at BBQ restaurants, I only eat at places that cook the food on wood and charcoal. No gas for me if I'm paying.

 

[NetWareHead]

I prefer charcoal taste but the convenience of gas wins out for me most of the time. But I use both depending on my mood and time. It doesn't have to be one or the other. Why not use both? Grills are cheap.

Thats what we do. Charcoal when I want the recipe to have a little more of a taste edge, when Im cooking for a crowd or dont mind the extra time. When we grill in the winter and have to trudge through snow, its on propane. The charcoal grill gets put away for winter and comes out in spring.

 

[Ruptga]

OP, you know how I know you're conservative?

 

[thescreensavers]

I think the big issue with Charcoal is that you end up smelling like charcoal yourself while your cook in front of it.

Gas is defiantly a convenience thing.

 

[waggy]

I think the big issue with Charcoal is that you end up smelling like charcoal yourself while your cook in front of it.

Gas is defiantly a convenience thing.

You say that like it's a bad thing.

 

[TheSlamma]

If I want to grill over gas I'll just do this

When I want to get some real flavor going I get my charcoal smoker going, the gas and electric ones don't even come close to the flavor. Gotta remember though OP, most peoples taste buds have been trained to McDonalds so they simply don't have the palat to even notice.