BBQ Grills : Gas vs Charcoal [Archive]

fraga

04-11-2010, 04:41 PM

So I'm in the market for a new grill...previously I've only cooked on Charcoal Grills...but I've seen some good prices on some Weber Gas Grills...and I know I'm always seeing the pros use charcoal or wood burning grills...so which would you choose...Gas...or Charcoal...

The Reckoning

04-11-2010, 04:50 PM

Hank Hill troll in 3...2...1

JoeChalupa

04-11-2010, 04:55 PM

Cosmic Cowboy in 3.......2.........1.........

I like them both and I'm one grilln' mofo.

1369

04-11-2010, 05:21 PM

I have one of these (http://www.biggreenegg.com/). Pricey, but worth the investment.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2458/4003030462_bc24e2ef14_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2624/3806234378_cce7a16413_b.jpg

fraga

04-11-2010, 05:24 PM

Holy hell...is that bacon wrapped asperagus...

1369

04-11-2010, 06:51 PM

Asparagus wrapped in proscuitto. The proscuitto is thin enough that it gets real crispy as the asparagus cooks.

xellos88330

04-11-2010, 07:49 PM

The way I see it is cooking with a gas grill is easier. I call it cheating. Great barbeque is made with charcoal and wood.

Besides, everything tastes better with wood or charcoal.

Chomag

04-11-2010, 07:53 PM

Charcoal all the way. You just can't duplicated that flavor.

Twisted_Dawg

04-11-2010, 08:53 PM

Gas for convenience charcoal for flavor and beer drinking.

You need both. Especially as cheap as they are these days,

You need gas for the during the week when you don't have much time and gas for the weekends when you want to smoke a brisket, ribs or a chicken.

balli

04-11-2010, 08:59 PM

You need both. Especially as cheap as they are these days,

You need gas for the during the week when you don't have much time and gas for the weekends when you want to smoke a brisket, ribs or a chicken.

Basically this.

But I have to say. I more or less ditched propane last year for one of them nu-wave infrared ovens they sell on TV- and it is AWESOME. You don't get any char, but man, for a fast alternative to charcoal, that shit makes delicious food. I can't help but recommend it.

http://www.kettleandtoasterman.co.uk/ekmps/shops/wbennett/images/nuwave.jpg

IronMaxipad

04-11-2010, 09:17 PM

I sell propane and propane accessories

baseline bum

04-11-2010, 09:22 PM

mesquite

marini martini

04-11-2010, 10:17 PM

Holy hell...is that bacon wrapped asperagus...

Asparagus wrapped in proscuitto. The proscuitto is thin enough that it gets real crispy as the asparagus cooks.

How fucking long does it take to cook an asparagus stalk???:wtf

balli

04-11-2010, 10:50 PM

How fucking long does it take to cook an asparagus stalk???:wtf
I grill mine about 8-10 minutes. Depending on the um... girth.

lebomb

04-12-2010, 06:45 AM

Charcoal................ anything else is a joke. If you are going to BBQ, then BBQ. Gas is for those who dont know WTF they are doing. :toast

Bukefal

04-12-2010, 08:12 AM

Charcoal................ anything else is a joke. If you are going to BBQ, then BBQ. Gas is for those who dont know WTF they are doing. :toast

I agree, charcoal! Gas maybe easier for some, but yeah a bbq just needs to be a real bbq if you really want it to be good.

fraga

04-12-2010, 08:36 AM

Nice...thanks everyone for confirming what my gut was telling me...

Drachen

04-12-2010, 09:06 AM

The proof is right here. It's all about the charcoal. Almost everyone who I have met who claims to prefer gas gives this reason: "It so much easier." EVERYONE who claims to prefer charcoal/wood gives this reason: "It tastes so much better." Look, get the one that will taste good, and if you don't have time to properly BBQ, then you weren't going to get a great tasting dinner anyway, just bake that shit. I mean, I have only heard of 2 people prefering the taste of a gas grill over that of a charcoal grill, and one of them is a cartoon. If someone gave me a gas grill and I HAD to keep it (like someone important gave it to me). I would set it up next to my charcoal grill and use it to warm up the beans, or keep the finished meat warm, while I finish cooking the rest. (or you know, hot dogs, because, who cares).

Whisky Dog

04-12-2010, 09:45 AM

Depends on how serious a grilled you are. If you're a once or twice a month on weekend during summer guy then definitely go charcoal/wood smoker.

If you're like me and like to grill during the week for dinner because you prefer that way of cooking then get both. The gas grill is a lot cheaper if you're doing it often than having to buy a shit ton of charcoal all the time. I also made a hand made smoke tray out of aluminum for the gas grill where I put wet mesquite/pecan/other woods chips in and smoke my meat for flavor off the gas grill. Works quite well.

Also, pay attention to your rubs. A master griller can make bad ass meats no matter the heat source.

mrsmaalox

04-12-2010, 10:00 AM

How fucking long does it take to cook an asparagus stalk???:wtf

Depends on the size. I never buy any thicker than a pencil and I would never put anything on them but a light brushing of olive oil. I grilled a pound in about 5 minutes the other night.

admiralsnackbar

04-12-2010, 10:04 AM

If you cook something on a gas grill, you may as well just sear your protein in a pan and finish it in an oven. Charcoal is the only legitimate fuel for grilling, IMO.

Hank Hill

04-12-2010, 10:04 AM

"Taste the meat, not the heat"

"The only woman I'm pimping is sweet lady propane! And I'm tricking her out all over this town"

"GAY! I'm not gay! I sell propane and propane accessories!"

fraga

04-12-2010, 10:14 AM

Stay outta this Hank...

Mixability

04-12-2010, 11:02 AM

I prefer both, gas for speed, charcoal for socializing.

Whisky Dog

04-12-2010, 11:25 AM

If you cook something on a gas grill, you may as well just sear your protein in a pan and finish it in an oven. Charcoal is the only legitimate fuel for grilling, IMO.

??? How are you going to get a flame char on the outside in a pan? That's just ignorant.

Mark in Austin

04-12-2010, 11:41 AM

My Recommendation (http://www.biggreenegg.com/index.html)

edit: Just saw 1369's post - made the same recommendation.

I don't own one right now but plan on buying one in the next couple months after I move. Love the compact shape and the ability to smoke and grill.

It's not the huge smoker some enthusiasts here have, but if you have limited space, it's hard to beat.

Duff McCartney

04-12-2010, 11:48 AM

Grilling and BBQ are two different things. You can grill anywhere with any heat source. BBQ requires smoke.

"In US English usage, however, grilling refers to a fast process over high heat, while barbecuing refers to a slow process using indirect heat and/or hot smoke (very similar to some forms of roasting)."

admiralsnackbar

04-12-2010, 12:09 PM

??? How are you going to get a flame char on the outside in a pan? That's just ignorant.

How is a flame char going to be significantly different than anything that can be achieved with passing knowledge of the proper application of pan searing and/or the broiler? Do you need the grill marks to know your shit is charred? Please.

Wild Cobra

04-12-2010, 01:00 PM

Don't you know?

Gas from Chili farts gives the flavor.

Jimcs50

04-12-2010, 01:52 PM

Gas for sure.

Gas fireplaces too.

Too much hassle the old fashioned way

JoeChalupa

04-12-2010, 02:01 PM

I remember awhile back B2B and CC had a long discussion on this very topic. I use both.

Whisky Dog

04-12-2010, 05:27 PM

How is a flame char going to be significantly different than anything that can be achieved with passing knowledge of the proper application of pan searing and/or the broiler? Do you need the grill marks to know your shit is charred? Please.

It makes a big difference when you're trying to carmelize the exterior fat of a ribeye into the meat to get a wonderfully flavorful char crust. You can't get the same with a pan, you need a flame for that. That's a big part of my process to get the char and still have it medium rare.

admiralsnackbar

04-12-2010, 08:03 PM

It makes a big difference when you're trying to carmelize the exterior fat of a ribeye into the meat to get a wonderfully flavorful char crust. You can't get the same with a pan, you need a flame for that. That's a big part of my process to get the char and still have it medium rare.

If that works for you, that's cool, man -- I shouldn't have spoken in absolutes like I did earlier.

DMX7

04-12-2010, 10:47 PM

"Taste the meat, not the heat"

"The only woman I'm pimping is sweet lady propane! And I'm tricking her out all over this town"

"GAY! I'm not gay! I sell propane and propane accessories!"

I'm disappointed how long that took... I tell you what.

FuzzyLumpkins

04-12-2010, 10:48 PM

Wild Cobra

04-13-2010, 04:49 AM

Sorry but throwing kingsford or any other basic carbon charcoal into a metal container and grilling over it doesn't add any flavor over gas.

You can add hickory, mesquite, etc chips to a gas grill as well. Get better temperature control etc.
This is probably true. I don't BBQ much, but I use charcoal when I do.

If there is a major difference, I think it's the difference between using radiative heat for charcoal vs. convection heat of gas.

lebomb

04-13-2010, 06:57 AM

Sorry but throwing kingsford or any other basic carbon charcoal into a metal container and grilling over it doesn't add any flavor over gas.

You can add hickory, mesquite, etc chips to a gas grill as well. Get better temperature control etc.

That is why ALL of the great BBQ and smoke houses in the United States use gas right???? :rolleyes

:lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao

TheManFromAcme

04-13-2010, 08:51 AM

A well marbled ribeye on a gas grill is illegal!
Tube steaks and burgers are fine on a gas grill but if your going to invest your hard earned $$ on some cow flesh, go with charcoal/wood.

Wild Cobra

04-13-2010, 08:55 AM

A well marbled ribeye on a gas grill is illegal!
Tube steaks and burgers are fine on a gas grill but if your going to invest your hard earned $$ on some cow flesh, go with charcoal/wood.
The more I think about it from a spectral science viewpoint, gas and charcoal cannot do an equal job at cooking. The searing of meat by charcoal cannot be replicated by gas convective heating. Even using IR radiators, it's not the same thing.

TheManFromAcme

04-13-2010, 08:59 AM

fraga

04-13-2010, 09:13 AM

So now that the consensus has agreed to Charcoal/Wood burning grills...which brand would you recommend...in the past I've had a New Braunfels Smoker...any other good ones you might recommend...

lebomb

04-13-2010, 09:34 AM

So now that the consensus has agreed to Charcoal/Wood burning grills...which brand would you recommend...in the past I've had a New Braunfels Smoker...any other good ones you might recommend...

Get yourself a nice sized barrel grill. You can move the meat around..........leave it over the coals to sear. Move the meat to the outside for smoking. I have a custom grill that my cousin welded for me. Mine had a fire box to the side. I can move the meat around. I also have a smoke stack with a door that you can put meat or sausage on two levels for slow smoking. :hat

TheManFromAcme

04-13-2010, 09:37 AM

So now that the consensus has agreed to Charcoal/Wood burning grills...which brand would you recommend...in the past I've had a New Braunfels Smoker...any other good ones you might recommend...

:tu

That's what I have. I actually bought it at a garage sale. They man had left the heat bricks at the bottom. She's a wonderful grill.

FuzzyLumpkins

04-13-2010, 03:35 PM

That is why ALL of the great BBQ and smoke houses in the United States use gas right???? :rolleyes

:lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao

All the top restaurants in the world use gas. Using smokehouses as an example is just stupid. Propane burns clean dimwit.

Sure if you want to smoke a brisket for 8 hours then you use a smoker.

With gas you can sear then lower the temperature which even with a flue is just about impossible with charcoal.

FuzzyLumpkins

04-13-2010, 03:39 PM

The more I think about it from a spectral science viewpoint, gas and charcoal cannot do an equal job at cooking. The searing of meat by charcoal cannot be replicated by gas convective heating. Even using IR radiators, it's not the same thing.

Umm they both have convective and radiant properties. And saying you cannot sear extremely well with gas heating is just plain wrong.

Again you have very little control of heat transfer with charcoal. About the only benefit is the smoke which you can get with a gas grill with one of these jobbers.

http://www.firepit-and-grilling-guru.com/smoker-box.html

lebomb

04-13-2010, 03:48 PM

All the top restaurants in the world use gas. Using smokehouses as an example is just stupid. Propane burns clean dimwit.

Bullshit..............I travel 100,000 mi. a year all over the planet, and have had some of the most amazing BBQ'd and Grilled food you can imagine.........NON of them even knew what a gas grill was. :rolleyes

Whatever, use your gas grill that is fine. :toast

FuzzyLumpkins

04-13-2010, 04:27 PM

Bullshit..............I travel 100,000 mi. a year all over the planet, and have had some of the most amazing BBQ'd and Grilled food you can imagine.........NON of them even knew what a gas grill was. :rolleyes

Whatever, use your gas grill that is fine. :toast

I said restaurants, not a particular type of restaurant.

The Reckoning

04-13-2010, 04:32 PM

Bullshit..............I travel 100,000 mi. a year all over the planet.

damnnn they should call you the space shuttle

Wild Cobra

04-13-2010, 05:54 PM

Umm they both have convective and radiant properties. And saying you cannot sear extremely well with gas heating is just plain wrong.

Again you have very little control of heat transfer with charcoal. About the only benefit is the smoke which you can get with a gas grill with one of these jobbers.

http://www.firepit-and-grilling-guru.com/smoker-box.html
The spectral signatures are different. It will matter with some meats and sauces as to how they respond to the different blackbody spectra.

Mixability

04-14-2010, 10:05 AM

is it wrong to want to make a pizza on the grill? hmmmmm

balli

04-14-2010, 10:56 AM

All the top restaurants in the world use gas. Using smokehouses as an example is just stupid. Propane burns clean dimwit.

Sure if you want to smoke a brisket for 8 hours then you use a smoker.

With gas you can sear then lower the temperature which even with a flue is just about impossible with charcoal.
Hardly. Burger King uses gas. If a good restaurant isn't using charcoal, they're most likely cooking over an infrared grill- which might use gas as a heat source for the ceramic, but is a far different animal than an open propane flame. I don't think there are many/any 'top' restaurants cooking directly over propane burners. Unless Chili's and BK make it onto your 'top restaurants' list.

leemajors

04-14-2010, 02:16 PM

balli

04-14-2010, 02:48 PM

I think all infareds use propane. Since it's not wood/charcoal, shouldn't it elicit your scorn?

Yeah, they use propane, but only to heat up a ceramic plate that in turn emits infrared radiation. In other words, it's propane heat under the hood, but what actually cooks your food is a super heated, solid substance, made to simulate charcoal.

In terms of how it grills, infrared is much closer to glowing coals, than an open propane flame.

http://s2.hubimg.com/u/1518453_f260.jpg

leemajors

04-14-2010, 03:44 PM

Yeah, they use propane, but only to heat up a ceramic plate that in turn emits infrared radiation. In other words, it's propane heat under the hood, but what actually cooks your food is a super heated, solid substance, made to simulate charcoal.

In terms of how it grills, infrared is much closer to glowing coals, than an open propane flame.

http://s2.hubimg.com/u/1518453_f260.jpg

They're ceramic because they can hold higher temperatures longer and more evenly. None of the wood smoke that sets charcoal apart. Thus, the scorn. Most good propane grills have heat deflectors over the flames to spread the heat evenly. Both propane and charcoal heat the air, infrared heats the food. Not closer at all.

balli

04-14-2010, 03:50 PM

None of the wood smoke that sets charcoal apart. Thus, the scorn.
None of the imparted, gas flame licked taste either though. And I don't really scorn anything, I'm not a master smoker and up until last summer I was using propane 5 nights out of 7. I'm just saying, giving my druthers (and that of most steakhouses) I'll take infrared over an open gas flame.

leemajors

04-14-2010, 03:56 PM

None of the imparted, gas flame licked taste either though. And I don't really scorn anything, I'm not a master smoker and up until last summer I was using propane 5 nights out of 7. I'm just saying, giving my druthers (and that of most steakhouses) I'll take infrared over an open gas flame.

Ahh I'd take infrared over both I believe. I have a chimea I can smoke stuff on if I needed. A nice quick hot sear is where it's at for grilling imo.

leemajors

04-14-2010, 04:07 PM

errp

FuzzyLumpkins

04-14-2010, 06:17 PM

Hardly. Burger King uses gas. If a good restaurant isn't using charcoal, they're most likely cooking over an infrared grill- which might use gas as a heat source for the ceramic, but is a far different animal than an open propane flame. I don't think there are many/any 'top' restaurants cooking directly over propane burners. Unless Chili's and BK make it onto your 'top restaurants' list.

What a weakass argument and a strawman to boot. I never said anything about an open propane flame. As has been mentioned, they use the ceramic shields to distribute the heat evenly which is a HUGE advantage gas has and has nothing to do with emulating charcoal.

Boudro's downtown SA, Chop's in Nappa CA and Shula's in Miami all use gas grills and ranges. These restaurants do make my top restaurants list. Its nonsequitor to say that because some restaurants that use gas are bad that all that use gas are. By that logic, my stepfather using charcoal and making the worst bbq I have ever tasted means that charcoal leads to the worst BBQ.

CosmicCowboy

04-14-2010, 08:30 PM

I use both and I can cook a steak on my Weber that you would swear just came off a hot bed of mesquite coals. It heats evenly, can get to 700 degrees, and it's super easy to add smoke flavor by wrapping wet chips in foil like a giant doobie and poking a couple holes and throwing it on the flavorizer bars.

CosmicCowboy

04-14-2010, 08:42 PM

That being said I rarely cook steaks anymore. If I want "steak" I will buy the big uncut version...standing rib roast (uncut ribeyes better known as prime rib) or whole beef tenderloins and slow smoke them to medium rare. I will sometimes slice them after they are smoked and flash sear them on a super hot cast iron griddle on my Weber with cajun blackening seasoning and serve with a serrano/horseradish sauce.

BAM!

And no, I don't smoke with gas or charcoal. I use several different kinds of wood depending on what I'm cooking.

lebomb

04-15-2010, 07:33 AM

And no, I don't smoke with gas or charcoal. I use several different kinds of wood depending on what I'm cooking.

My cousin is one of the top 3 BBQrs Ive ever known. He uses wood to smoke his meats as well. He also places some onions down in the firebox to get a bit of that flavor into the meat also. His BBQ is always very tender with amazing flavor. :hungry: