gas or charcoal grill?

[smackababy]

Reminds me, the BBQ Dragon is out now for $49 on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/BBQ-Dragon-BBQ.../dp/B00FPZY92A

Starts your charcoal grill in under 10 minutes! It's basically a grill-friendly focused fan to push air into the fire.

I just might buy that! That looks amazing.

I accidentally voted gas, but I meant charcoal. It takes a bit longer, but it is much better imo. Even for things you "don't care about the flavor".

 

[Chapbass]

Charcoal without question. I use a Weber Performer Platinum, which has a gas ignition..combined with a chimney starter, its incredibly easy to get a fire going. Besides, even with burgers (like I did last night), just start the grill, go form/season the burgers or whatever else you're doing, and by that time its basically started...

 

[sourceninja]

I use gas, but only because I frequently don't have time to wait for the grill to get up to temp. I bought a weber because I was sick of replacing my grill every other year.

My weber is going on 6 years old and it's still as nice as the day I bought it.

 

[Kaido]

I just might buy that! That looks amazing.

It's pricey, but the reviews are good - it basically just keeps breathing air into the fire to get it started quicker. If it can really do it in 10 minutes or less, that would pretty much negate my gas grill since I usually let that thing sit for 10 minutes or so to pre-heat anyway!

 

[smackababy]

It's pricey, but the reviews are good - it basically just keeps breathing air into the fire to get it started quicker. If it can really do it in 10 minutes or less, that would pretty much negate my gas grill since I usually let that thing sit for 10 minutes or so to pre-heat anyway!

Looking at google, it seems there are other fans that do the same thing and they all claim 8-10 minutes to get charcoal up to cooking temps.

http://www.fiair.net/store is cheaper, but requires you to stand there for 10 minutes.

 

[imported_Irse]

Gas would be more convenient but I prefer charcoal lit with a propane weed burner torch. The chimney took too long and the ashes from the paper would fly around everywhere.

 

[RagingBITCH]

For his specific situation, gas. Charcoal doesn't make sense for the quick grill items in an apartment, personally. Even one of the camper ones with the small tank tend to work well. Obviously, check with the apt to make sure the grills are even allowed.

This coming from a guy who was straight gas grill for 10 years, got into charcoal two years ago and haven't regretted it since. I'll use gas for things like pork chops or burgers that take all of 2-4 minutes a side, but everything else goes on charcoal. (The difference in flavor is worth it) I just think in his specific situation gas would be easiest and the most straight forward way to go.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Either propane or charcoal could do the job properly. The advantage of charcoal is that the grills are more portable than a gas grill of similar surface area. The fuel is easier to carry around as well. It reaches a higher temperature using lump charcoal. It is however messy and requires getting rid of ashes, requires more tending, and requires more effort for consistent results.

Propane would have the opposite properties. As for me I've used both and was a long time hold out for gas, but time is often an issue for me and not having to fuss means I grill more with what I have now. My particular grill can reach 650F which is as much as I need.

What I've learned is that charcoal does not produce a better flavor than propane. The difference is in the design and use of the grills.

Charcoal is inherently "smoky" but all smoke isn't equal. Any which is given off before food is laid on the grill grates is from incomplete combustion and as tasty as car exhaust. Once the coals are glowing hot however the juices dripping from the food produce smoke which is what people are really after. Years ago most gas grills didn't have a design that takes advantage of this and were virtually "smokeless" and that did leave them at a disadvantage. Nowadays there are "flavorizer bars" or some such terminologies, but they are simply burner shields or something similar which is heated by flame for the juices to fall and that produces the same smoke that charcoal does.

The end result is that properly constructed and used both provide good taste. It's the person who's doing the cooking which ultimately determines quality.

 

[Alienwho]

I'm a charcoal guy at heart, but I'm also a realist.

I have both a charcoal and propane grill. If I'm just firing something up and have real life to get back to I use the propane. If I am planning on making an entire evening and hang out on the back patio for several hours I'll use the charcoal.

 

[sactoking]

I do have a gas range, but if I were to get a cast iron grill pan up to the same temperature as an actual grill, I think I'd smoke out my entire house.

BROILER. It is essentially an upside-down gas grill.

 

[NetWareHead]

I'm a charcoal guy at heart, but I'm also a realist.

I have both a charcoal and propane grill. If I'm just firing something up and have real life to get back to I use the propane. If I am planning on making an entire evening and hang out on the back patio for several hours I'll use the charcoal.

Same here. Love my charcoal grill but the propane grill gets more use. In the winter, we button up the charcoal grill and store it under cover. The propane grill gets located near the back entrance of the house for easy access. When there is knee deep snow on the ground, building a charcoal fire, waiting and then ash disposal is too much of a pain.

 

[Kaido]

Gas would be more convenient but I prefer charcoal lit with a propane weed burner torch. The chimney took too long and the ashes from the paper would fly around everywhere.

Woooooooow you have just introduced me to a whole new level of awesome

 

[Kaido]

The end result is that properly constructed and used both provide good taste. It's the person who's doing the cooking which ultimately determines quality.

What's interesting is that my $130-ish Home Cheapo gas grill is the first gas grill I've ever had food off that didn't taste like propane. I'm very sensitive to the gas taste and that's a big reason why I never got one. Food off my charcoal still tastes better to me (I typically grill on direct heat, and use my pellet smoker for indirect stuff), but it's hard to beat the convenience of turning a knob & letting it preheat for a few minutes!

 

[imported_Irse]

Woooooooow you have just introduced me to a whole new level of awesome

It's great. Put the charcoal in a pile then blast it for about 2 min then let it sit and it will turn white after a while. Of course you can blast it for longer then you don't need to wait as long for it to turn white.

 

[smackababy]

It's great. Put the charcoal in a pile then blast it for about 2 min then let it sit and it will turn white after a while. Of course you can blast it for longer then you don't need to wait as long for it to turn white.

I have never once thought to myself "man, I wish I had some way to burn these weeds rather than any other method of ridding myself of them", but man do I want that now!

 

[EliteRetard]

Well I don't want to read the thread, so I'm just throwing this out there:

They sell these individual gas burners, all kinds of shapes and sizes. Go get a a charcoal kettle grill and modify it to fit this in the bottom. Then you have the best of both worlds.

My dad's grill has an adjustable rack for the charcoal, so you can set the height from the food. He also has a slot in the side that a gas burner can fit through so he can slide it in for a quick easy cook when/if he wants. With his design he can and does usually start the charcoal with the gas burner and then pulls it out and adjusts the coals to where they need to be.

Also if you do charcoal use some of this kind of stuff:

This "natural" stuff can be found most places, even walmart.

 

[drebo]

My thoughts, first the pellets are pricy, second, 500 max temp means this is much better suited for "low+slow" type of BBQ than grilling steaks, third, made in China, not necessarily a bad thing but I'd rather support US workers when possible. Their website goes on about supporting "foreign oil" but propane is a by-product of cracking crude oil, of the 10% we do import 70% comes from Canada. Then they go on about how clean it burns, I would guess a lot cleaner than charcoal briquettes but burning wood is burning wood, propane is much a cleaner burn. Then they mention the "bomb" in your car when you transport propane, first off propane tanks are rugged and I strap mine in the trunk close to the rear of the back seats, if I get into a collision so bad it gets to and ruptures the tank I'm already probably dead anyway LOL..

It certainly works great for low and slow, but I've had mine up to 600-degrees and it works perfectly for steaks and burgers. For every other meat, I prefer to know the temp that it's cooking at rather than to have to guestimate by the size of the flame/charcoal mound.

Also, pellets are not much more expensive than charcoal. I cooked for 10 hours yesterday and used about 1/5 of a 30 pound bag. 30 pound back was $25 (you can get them cheaper, but I like the brand I got.) That was $5 for 10 hours of cooking and there's still some pellets left in the hopper that I can use next time. Can't really reuse charcoal. No argument that gas is cheaper, but it also doesn't taste as good as either charcoal or wood.

For all the other shit, who fucking cares? It makes good meat. That's all that's important.

 

[trmiv]

I prefer gas just because of the convenience factor. I grill 3-4 nights a week, sometimes the main dish, sometimes just grilling veggies for a side. So much easier to just fire up the gas grill when I need it than bother with charcoal.

 

[MrSquished]

I'm having the same debate right now with myself. renting a ground floor condo where we have space in front of our unit to leave a grill and a table and some chairs.

i've cooked with both many times. on good quality gas grills that never imparted a gas flavor, mostly weber grills.

probably going to go with a weber kettle charcoal grill with a chimney and either a hair dryer or that dragon thing linked above. my brother-in-law has left his outside uncovered for 3 years and it's in fine shape, and we had a hell of a snowy winter and plenty of rain in all that time. he covers his weber propane grill of course.

and it's a hell of a lot cheaper than a nice propane grill. i think a cheap weber charcoal grill is a no brainer over a cheap propane grill, and if money is an object, over a pricier but nice propane grill. between a hair dryer and a chimney you can get those coals going pretty darn fast.

 

[Fern]

It's pretty simple. Charcoal tastes better; gas is much more convenient.

I've used gas for many years. I've gone through many grills, from the inexpensive to the expensive. I don't believe there's any safety issues like a tank exploding.

I use gas because I cook on the grill several times a week during the Summer and it's just so much easier than charcoal.

If you're going to with gas and use it often I suggest getting an extra tank. When one becomes empty I just swap it out etc.

Fern

 

[Pulsar]

It certainly works great for low and slow, but I've had mine up to 600-degrees and it works perfectly for steaks and burgers. For every other meat, I prefer to know the temp that it's cooking at rather than to have to guestimate by the size of the flame/charcoal mound.

I have found that the hotter your grill, the better your steak. In fact over the weekend I took a stainless steel plate and capped off a large part of the air channel on the back of my propane grill. In cold weather (30-40 degrees) it was letting out to much hot air to get much over 350 degrees, which is baking not grilling.

I like grills to get at LEAST to 500 degrees before I throw the steak on. I do a quick sear - usually around 2-3 minutes / side, then put it on the upper rack where grease-flare ups can't burn it and let it cook until medium.

The lower the temp, the longer you have to cook the meat, and the drier the meat will be. It's that simple.

 

[Pulsar]

If you're going to with gas and use it often I suggest getting an extra tank. When one becomes empty I just swap it out etc.

Fern

My grill has room underneath for twin tanks. Or you can get a tank twice the size. That's why I've done for my garage propane heater, and the same tank works for the grill in a pinch.

http://www.amazon.com/Flame-King-YSN...d+propane+tank

Fyi, this is my propane grill. Mine is 6 years old:
http://www.amazon.com/Broil-6-Burner...+propane+grill

This is my charcoal grill. Mine is 14 years old:
http://www.amazon.com/Weber-741001-S...charcoal+grill

This is my charcoal grill starter (I dislike lighter fluid):
http://www.amazon.com/Charcoal-Compa...arcoal+starter

When have no electricity, I use these. They are truly fantastic:
http://www.amazon.com/Weber-7417-Fir...+starter+cubes

 

[Fern]

My grill has room underneath for twin tanks. Or you can get a tank twice the size. That's why I've done for my garage propane heater, and the same tank works for the grill in a pinch.

http://www.amazon.com/Flame-King-YSN...d+propane+tank

I have two to avoid the problem of running out of gas in mid-cooking. There are devices you can buy that inform you of how much is left in the tank. But I just went with a spare (full) tank.

 

[MongGrel]

Also if you do charcoal use some of this kind of stuff:

This "natural" stuff can be found most places, even walmart.

I love my Kettle and Lumps.

Gas would be more convenient but I prefer charcoal lit with a propane weed burner torch. The chimney took too long and the ashes from the paper would fly around everywhere.

Just for grins and giggles, here's this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SS7n4kVL5kA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjPxDOEdsX8

Kinda hard on the grill though, yeah.

:biggrin:

 

[waggy]

It's great. Put the charcoal in a pile then blast it for about 2 min then let it sit and it will turn white after a while. Of course you can blast it for longer then you don't need to wait as long for it to turn white.

I have seen people use those propane torch's to light the charcoal. its good in like 5 minutes.