Cooking on gas grills should be illegal

[Blanky]

Screw that. I put up with that crap growing up. Huge mess, and massive wait. It's crap. Now the gas is on and that's that. Do you use an oven or an open pit to cook your meat? Charcoal does add a nice taste to it but not worth it.

 

[BUTCH1]

You clean your grill ???

No, but with charcoal the ashes have to be emptied after every use.

 

[dabuddha]

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.

Takes me less than 30 seconds to do all that princess 😉

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Takes me less than 30 seconds to do all that princess 😉

Massively overstating capabilities to fulfill arbitrary notions of manliness/superiority has always been funny to me because its such a stupid thing to feel smug about.

Does it also take 30 seconds for those coals to warm up? Do you keep all your equipment in a spot where you never have to go actually looking for things? You keep your charcoal outside right next to the grill along the chimney starter and the lighting materials and the paper?

You know whats faster? Turning the gas on and having it fire up immediately.

 

[vi edit]

I've never cleaned my gas grill. I'll scrape off the grates after it warms up the next time, but other than that. Nope. That's flavor the next time 😛

The "flavorizer" bars on my Weber do a nice job of catching dripping juices and goodness and turning that into smoke and added flavor that travels back up to the meat above. I've got a natural gas line run to my grill and never have to worry about running out mid-cook.

It really is about convenience. I can have my grill up to about 400 degrees in about 5 minutes from hitting the door when I get home from work. When I'm getting home at 6:00PM and the kids are screaming they want dinner I'll take that speed and convenience any day. I've got a charcoal smoker. I use it a couple times a year just because it's a pain and it's messy to operate.

 

[NetWareHead]

Just the lightest of taps to see if it's medium rare yet. There is no such thing as medium, medium well nor well done. Only rare and medium rare exist. Enclosed please find the 5 states of burgers this company recognizes the existence of:

Rare
Medium rare
ruined
ruined
ruined

Yours truly,
Altered States Brown,
CEO Good Eats

P.S. Use of unitaskers are grounds for termination.

When using store bought ground beef, I tend to cook to at least medium. Cant trust the source and bacterial condition. When grinding my own beef and following food safety guidelines, hamburgers can be dripping bloody rare. Or even raw ala steak tartare

All meat(aside from fish) gets cooked to well+. Burnt ends from the pit beef stand are a special treat.

Burnt ends and actually all bbq meats (not grilled) that are done low and slow are cooked all the way through. Really a different category from grilling since properly done bbq is moist and tender despite being well done.

 

[waggy]

I've never cleaned my gas grill. I'll scrape off the grates after it warms up the next time, but other than that. Nope. That's flavor the next time 😛

The "flavorizer" bars on my Weber do a nice job of catching dripping juices and goodness and turning that into smoke and added flavor that travels back up to the meat above. I've got a natural gas line run to my grill and never have to worry about running out mid-cook.

It really is about convenience. I can have my grill up to about 400 degrees in about 5 minutes from hitting the door when I get home from work. When I'm getting home at 6:00PM and the kids are screaming they want dinner I'll take that speed and convenience any day. I've got a charcoal smoker. I use it a couple times a year just because it's a pain and it's messy to operate.

shrug. my kids are used to the routine of getting the grill going. They help prepare everything inside. My daughter (12) is starting to help me on the grill itself. she pours the charcoal into the chimney and gets it going. I just sit back and drink a beer.

once they know its going they get out of the "i'm starving!" mode.

 

[vi edit]

My kids are 4 and 7. The younger is at the "I Helping!" but not really helpful stage. Besides, faster dinner is done, longer we have for time at the pool.

😎

 

[Fritzo]

Gas and charcoal are two different tools. Gas is better for grilling (high heat, short cooking time), and charcoal is better for barbecuing (low heat, long cooking time). You can use hardwood charcoal for grilling though- it burns hot and fast. I can get charcoal going in the same time it takes to heat up a gas grill, but most people either don't know how to handle coals or don't want to go through the hassle, so...to each their own.

 

[child of wonder]

When using store bought ground beef, I tend to cook to at least medium. Cant trust the source and bacterial condition. When grinding my own beef and following food safety guidelines, hamburgers can be dripping bloody rare. Or even raw ala steak tartare

This, this, holy shit this.

Store bought ground beef can contain all kinds of nasties inside of it and I would never trust a grocery chain enough to cook their ground beef anything less than even medium well. I want any parasites inside killed off.

Grinding your own hamburger in your own kitchen on clean equipment? Cook medium, medium rare all day.

 

[NetWareHead]

Gas and charcoal are two different tools. Gas is better for grilling (high heat, short cooking time), and charcoal is better for barbecuing (low heat, long cooking time). You can use hardwood charcoal for grilling though- it burns hot and fast. I can get charcoal going in the same time it takes to heat up a gas grill, but most people either don't know how to handle coals or don't want to go through the hassle, so...to each their own.

I'd like to disagree with this. Good gas performance is highly dependant on grill design and a well engineered flame. A cheapo walmart gas grill (at least the ones I have used in the past) will never reach great searing temps. Sure you can cook on them but you wont get the steak house crust on yor t-bones. I always hated using them. Gas surely can perform well and be capable of high temperatures/performance but now you are talking about a grill that costs a few hundred dollars. I have a weber grill and it has no problems leaving grill marks or cooking good food. Charcoal, even a cheapo grill can reach searing temps. The cheap charcoal grills will have worse air circulation, need more fuel and have shorter cooking times that more expensive ones though. It is entirely possible for someone to pay for a < $100 charcoal grill, fire the charcoal correctly and have searing bbq temps

 

[Pacfanweb]

Gas grills are fine.

The exact same shit can happen with charcoal grilled burgers.

Except that burgers (and anything else you might grill) over charcoal taste better.

A gas grill is just baking outside. You might as well just put the food on a bakers rack in a pan and stick it in the oven.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Gas and charcoal are two different tools. Gas is better for grilling (high heat, short cooking time), and charcoal is better for barbecuing (low heat, long cooking time). You can use hardwood charcoal for grilling though- it burns hot and fast. I can get charcoal going in the same time it takes to heat up a gas grill, but most people either don't know how to handle coals or don't want to go through the hassle, so...to each their own.

Nope. Charcoal is better for everything other than a very minor bit of convenience.

 

[NetWareHead]

And how many here grind their own hamburger meat at home? Hardly any I bet. Not cooking supermarket ground beef to well done at home is playing with fire.

Meh, it is not as daunting of a task as some make it seem. Even with a cheap $10 hand crank grinder you might find on craigslist, you could grind a few pounds of meat in 10 minutes. Sure you can get an electric grinder but I see cheap hand cranks for sale all the time. The hand grinders easily break down into pieces that are easily washable. You save alot of money if you buy whole (or partial) beef chuck, cube it with a knife and then grind the pieces. Fresh ground beef = better burger, meatloaf, meatballs, taco meat etc... etc...

 

[vi edit]

I've got a kitchen aid stand mixer with a grinder attachment. I've made my own ground chuck roast burgers from that and they are fantastic. I used to go in on a 1/4 of a cow with coworkers and wound up with about 20 pounds worth of roasts that I trouble using up each year (my kids hate roast beef/italian beef...booo) so I'd grind up one or two of them and make some bad ass burgers from them.

 

[YBS1]

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.

Yep, this is almost exactly the way I go. I do burgers on the gas grill, about anything else providing I'm not in a huge rush goes on the charcoal grill. I've never really been able to master burgers on charcoal for some reason.

 

[Squeetard]

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.

This. Fat smoked meat. yum.

 

[VtPC83]

Yummmm.... charcoal cooked meat, gotta get those extra carcinogens so I can get cancer faster.

 

[dullard]

Stop cleaning the propane grill racks. Then you get convenience + flavor.

I'm honest about that. Just stop scraping off everything between grilling sessions. Those wire grill brushes are flavor destroyers.

 

[Leyawiin]

Propane doesn't smoke out the neighborhood.

Exactly. Hate having my windows open for a little fresh air on a nice day and suddenly a barrage of charcoal/wood smoke and burnt lighter fluid comes rolling in my windows. One of the many reasons living in town sucks.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Screw that. I put up with that crap growing up. Huge mess, and massive wait. It's crap. Now the gas is on and that's that. Do you use an oven or an open pit to cook your meat? Charcoal does add a nice taste to it but not worth it.

:thumbsup: Agreed. No way am I lighting a charcoal fire to grill some burgers, hotdogs, fish or steaks. Only thing worth that hassle is smoking ribs or a pork shoulder.

Gas grill all the way.

 

[Fritzo]

Nope. Charcoal is better for everything other than a very minor bit of convenience.

I'm a charcoal purist, but a decent gas grill does have its uses. I can get the burners on mine to 600F and it makes damn fine steaks without smoking up the house.

 

[gorcorps]

And how many here grind their own hamburger meat at home? Hardly any I bet. Not cooking supermarket ground beef to well done at home is playing with fire.

lol

tell your digestive system to quit being a pussy

 

[waggy]

I've got a kitchen aid stand mixer with a grinder attachment. I've made my own ground chuck roast burgers from that and they are fantastic. I used to go in on a 1/4 of a cow with coworkers and wound up with about 20 pounds worth of roasts that I trouble using up each year (my kids hate roast beef/italian beef...booo) so I'd grind up one or two of them and make some bad ass burgers from them.

I been debating getting a kitchen aid stand mixer. $400 is a big investment.

But i have been getting into baking more and would love the grinder attachment.

 

[NetWareHead]

Stop cleaning the propane grill racks. Then you get convenience + flavor.

I'm honest about that. Just stop scraping off everything between grilling sessions. Those wire grill brushes are flavor destroyers.

Disagree. I dont like burnt on crusty bits on my food. You cook a cheeseburger for instance and any cheese that lands on the grates will turn to crunchy carbon. It needs to be scraped off for the sake of any future food. I keep the tops of the grates clean and by that I give them a quick scrub with the brush. No soap, no brillo pad after nothing like that. Any food in between the grates, leave it. Any grease/food on the flavorizer bars, leave it. Any food/grease that puddles at the bottom of the grill, also leave it. I also regularly apply lard to the grates to keep them seasoned and non stick.