Charcoal Grill v. Gas Grill

I prefer the flavour from a charcoal grill, but it's not as convenient and probably worse for you in terms of (smoke) toxins.

That's one fine looking charcoal grill Mwagner. I need to look into one of those.

I own both. I use the gas grill for everyday grilling and for grill projects which require long slow cooking at lower temperatures. I much prefer charcoal for steaks or anything else that would benefit from very hot temperatures. I can get the charcoal grill much hotter than my gas grill.

PH

quote:

Originally posted by steve8:
That's one fine looking charcoal grill Mwagner. I need to look into one of those.

Let me know Steve, I have those in stock !!
(PS END OF SEASON !!!!!!! )

I’ve always been under the impression that charcoal is superior. However, I prefer gas because of the ease of use and easier cleanup. Also, with a direct connection to my home’s natural gas source it is even easier because I don’t need to fill up any tanks.

Being in the business of selling BBQ's, these are my thoughts:

First: My personal preference is gas.

Charcoal: Is more for the purists, the one who have the patience to wait for the charcoal to come to the right temp, and prefer the "Taste" as it is a little more subtle.

Gas: Much more convenient, even better if you have natural gas as it is a direct hook up (You have to buy it that way).

Either way go for a good quality grill. Getting a good grill is that it will last you longer and will not vary the enjoyment as it gets old. My old Weber was still working almost like the day I got it, I changed mostly because I wanted a bigger grill with a side burner and rotisserie (Lots of fun !!).

Also with a good grill, the things work: The side burners actually work, the same for the rotisserie burners.
To often people get the stainless grill with side burner and rotisserie large surface all for a cheap price, it looks nice but the quality is questionable and if you need parts, even common stuff like grills, forget it. Even Webers you might need new grills after 5-6 years depending on you cooking style. I can get Weber parts for even the oldest of them.

I really like Weber, both charcoal and propane.
I have the top end Weber gas grill, it really gets hot and has a smoker box on the side so I can add some smoky taste to it. I always have several bags of wood chips handy: Apple, cherry, alder, mesquite and hickory.

If you go for charcoal, get the Weber Gold as linked. It has all the good features: Split grill to add charcoal during long cook times, charcoal boxes to do easy indirect cooking, easy to control the temperature and the quality is tops.

Both have a learning curve, charcoal a little more so because you have to learn how the charcoal burns to know when and where to add your steaks, to put the after you have turned them etc...

Hope this helps !!

I grill year round and around 3-4 times a week on charcoal only. I like the hardwood charcoal that you referenced, burns hotter but not as long as kingsford. Pick up some bourbon oak chips for yours steaks and you will never have another steak without it.

Charcoal... without a doubt

mwags - i have a variant of yours, the Weber Performer and i love it, pile the coals over the igniter, click, wait 3-4 minutes then turn the gas off and oila, the coals are simmer'n

you'll love the ash catcher... also, i've noticed a slight method to cooking with this grill... for high heat, i leave the vents open on the catcher, i think it gets hotter by letting oxygen in through the bottom... for lower heat cooking, like fish & veggies i leave them closed... obviously i also watch how monay coals i use with low & high heat, but the above seems to make a difference as well...

Weber Kettles ROCK!

I absolutely love the taste of food off of a charcoal grill, but living in New Jersey and grilling 5 days a week year round, gas is definitely more convenient for me. My wife and neighbors make fun of me, because when it snows, before I shovel our sidewalk out front or shovel our cars out of our parking spots on the street, I am making sure I can manuever my grill out from its parking space and have a clear path to it.

I was lucky enough to have a grill donated to us when my wife went to participate in the audience for a TV show on ABC that never aired, called "My Kind of Town." Everyone in the audience received one of these grills, and I wish I could have made it so we could have had 2 of them, but I was deployed at the time to the Persian Gulf. But thankfully she was home to go, and now we have a nice Vermont Castings 5 burner grill plus a rotisserie burner. I absolutely love it and it has some miles on it!

One of these days I'll get around to getting a nice Weber kettle again, but for now this work.

MWAG: we need to get a Jersey group together....I'd be more than happy to host an offline in our backyard with some good vino and some stuff off the grill!

-mJ

Woo Hoo, I love talkin' 'bout grillin'!

I use both, but my heart is with charcoal. I even use the same model Weber that MWagner mentioned, except it's the yellow Homer Simpson model.

About 1/2 of the regular/larger Kingsford charcoal bag makes for a mo fo flexible grilling set up.

I'm inordinately fond of tossing in some fresh rosemary twigs or even fresh mesquite (mmmmm) as well as other dry smoking woods, so the Weber makes for great control, top and bottom, to keep the burn just right.

We average about 1 to 2 times per week, all year round, so the routine doesn't strike me as too much work.

The gas grill is best when we have a large number of people to serve and need longer periods of time to handle a steady flow of materials with a larger surface area.

All in all, that Weber is the bomb.

Count me in as a charcoal man, but with some love for propane (we use stubbed NG) and propane accessories.

Sounds like I'm in good company. I use a gas grill, but I know in my heart of hearts, that charcoal tastes better. It's just that if you've got a couple of teenagers to feed, the ease and speed of gas really counts. I can grill some dogs or burgers in less time than it would take for the coals to be ready.

quote:

Originally posted by Altaholic:
I’ve always been under the impression that charcoal is superior. However, I prefer gas because of the ease of use and easier cleanup. Also, with a direct connection to my home’s natural gas source it is even easier because I don’t need to fill up any tanks.

Same here. Charcoal is far better, but only if you use real charcoal, not petroleum brickettes. Another alternative is to buy mesquite or hickory chunks and cook over their coals. It'll take longer than charcoal, but the wait is worth the results.

Gas is quick, but charcaol has the best flavor.

Gas is for pansies and posers.

I'm pretty much with the consensus. Gas is much more convenient but charcoal adds a touch you can't get with gas. Vinaigre was spot-on recommending the Weber line, across the board. I'm at 6 years on a Genesis Silver C and just replaced the grills after 4x/week use, but it works like brand new. It's got perfectly uniform heat out to the very edges.

Also, I don't think anyone's mentioned real barbeque (separate from grilling). You can't do that on gas - for example, to do pulled pork, the butt/shoulder needs about 12 hours of low temp wood smoke, where the temp in the q never gets much above 225 or so. I don't have anything fancy for that, I just use my 10 year old Weber kettle.

One grill I saw/tasted from recently that amazed me was the pellet grill, that burns pelletized wood chips using an auger to feed the burner. The guy at my hardware store was demoing it the other weekened and I had a piece of chicken that was OUTSTANDING. It had all the flavor of a wood or charcoal grill, with the perfection of doneness that is easier on a gas grill. Because the auger is electric and thermo-controlled, this grill seems like it would approach the convenience of gas. I almost bought one, but lady squirrel didn't think highly of a third grill around the ol' nest.

quote:

pellet grill

Are you talking about those Traeger Grills? My neighbor has one and it is absolutely awesome for smoking. I'd love to have one, but have to do some hardscaping in my yard first so I could make some room for one. They are awesome though!

MJ - that's the one. It was fantastic.

i still like my gas ,but i going to check that Trager out!
for smokeing !

I want a Traeger so bad for smoking! They are absolutely awesome! First things first though, and have to do some EP Henry in the backyard to build a nice hardscape! Once that's done, then I need about 4 bistro tables scattered around the new patio, and then I'll have room for the smoker! Nice stuff!

-mJ

Traegers are the sh!t!

I've owned one for the last 8 years, and have no desire to go back to gas or chacoal.

They smoke like a dream, and the indirect heat method insures moist succulent food every time. Also you get your choice of wood pellet types - I like my steak on Mesquite,and my Salmon on Alderwood.

Everbody that has one loves it. Not affiliated with the company blah blah blah.

For what it's worth, my thoughts on the subject....

Charcoal is great if you're really using charcoal, the lump hardwood kind and starting it in a chimney or with an electric starter. Otherwise the famous "charcoal taste" comes from paraffin and coal dust.

Charcoal does get hotter than gas, for a short time. The temperature curve on charcoal is quite steep. If you catch it at the right moment you get a very hot fire that is great for searing. However, 10 minutes later the temperature is significantly lower and will continue to fall. My gas grill (Weber Summit Platinum) gets almost as hot and can hold that temperature as long as I keep feeding it gas. I also have a Weber charcoal grill so I'm not a gas Koolaid-drinker.

I use lump charcoal in my smoker for baseline heat and add hickory chunks for flavor. However, I have learned to smoke ribs on my Weber using the smoker box attachment. Are they as good as those from my smoker, no, but they also don't require an hour to get the smoker up to temperature and I don't have to keep monitoring the firebox on a July afternoon.

In short, use what you like but don't fool yourself that throwing some Kingsford in a pile, soaking them in some petroleum distillate and coating some meat with the smudge that comes from the aforementioned coal dust and kerosene is a superior product. If you know what you're doing you can make great meals with either heat source.

PURPLE and I are the proud new owners of a Weber Summit S-650 LP grill. Here's a picture and specs on this bad boy.

Now that we've finally got a decent gas grill with which to work we're next going to buy a Weber Gold 22" One Touch like Matt posted about in the first post of this thread.

Nice! When's dinner?

PH

Working on it now. Just fried up some fresh bacon on the side burner in my cast iron skillet for the baked potatoes that are cooking on the warming rack and also to add into the Flubis Green Beans we just finished cooking. Now we're tossing the dead cow on there to sear it.

quote:

Originally posted by wineismylife:
Working on it now. Just fried up some fresh bacon on the side burner in my cast iron skillet for the baked potatoes that are cooking on the warming rack and also to add into the Flubis Green Beans we just finished cooking. Now we're tossing the dead cow on there to sear it.

Has the rain passed?

Not here...

Mmmmmmmm..... Cow.



PH

quote:

Originally posted by PurpleHaze:


Cow..BOYS!!!!!!!



PH

On the grill.....

PH

Did my pizzas on the grill on Thursday night. Used a Weber Kettle my brother left me when he went back to LA. Used a pizza stone and they tasted great! So, charcoal rules with flavor and gas is fast!

quote:

Originally posted by wine+art:

quote:

Originally posted by wineismylife:
Working on it now. Just fried up some fresh bacon on the side burner in my cast iron skillet for the baked potatoes that are cooking on the warming rack and also to add into the Flubis Green Beans we just finished cooking. Now we're tossing the dead cow on there to sear it.

Has the rain passed?

Not here...

This line seemed to run straight through Dallas from South the North. We got only a little in Arlington.

Nice grill Joe... I'm jealous.

OK, so we finally did the taste test on Saturday night.

Gas v. Charcoal... the Test

Set up
I went a little "nutty" with this experiment... maybe it's the engineer in me.

I got two prime porterhouses from the butcher Saturday morning. Threw them in the fridge until 30 minutes before grilling. Took them out and seasoned with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper ONLY.

Preheated my propane Weber Gold Glass B (similar to the new Genesis S320).

Preheated my Weber One-Touch Gold with Cowboy Charcoal in a charcoal chimney.

After steaks were cooked, they were removed from heat, placed on a carving board, covered with foil and sat for 5 minutes.

Steaks were then cut and placed on separate, labeled plates.

After each taste, I rinsed out my mouth with Poland Spring water to taste with a fresh palate.

Observations
The charcoal actually preheated quicker. Maybe because it's got a smaller cooking area (volume), maybe because hardwood lump burns quick and hot.

The gas grill actually got hotter, as that steak was cooked about 1 minute sooner. (This could be controlled by adding more charcoal. I filled my 6-quart Weber chimney about 3/4 way full).

No flare-ups on the charcoal, one small (and quickly extinguished) flare-up on the gas.

Results
There is a noticeable taste difference between the two. The charcoal steak definitely had a slight smoky taste from the hardwood lump. The gas grill had almost two flavors. If you ate a piece that had a grill mark (the grates on the Weber are rather thick... about 1/2") you got a (for lack of a better descriptor) burnt flavor... but not burnt in a bad way... burnt as in a seared-smoky flavor. If you got a piece with out the grill marks, it tasted just of steak. I should note, for comparison, the grill grates on the charcoal and much thinner... maybe 1/8".

Conclusions
Both steaks were delicious. And I wouldn't be upset if I was served either. I think it comes down to "what's your mood." If you want a little smokiness, use charcoal. If you want true flavor, use gas. Some things would be better on gas (delicate fish comes to mind) where you wouldn't want a smoke flavor. And conversely, some things would be better on the charcoal where you want that smoke-kissed flavor (burgers come to mind).

You are a geek, mwagner7700!

fwiw, I find I get the best results with my steaks when I bring them all the way to room temperature. I never let cold meat hit my grill!

PH

Same here. I take steaks out of the refrigerator maybe an hour and a half before grilling. Longer, if they're thick.

Easy one...

Gas = convenience & ease (i.e. laziness)
Charcoal = pure flavor & tradition (i.e. work)

Using a variety of wood 'chips' to impart various flavors is key. Just cannot get that flavor from gas. Although, I understand there are new grills that utilize the convenience of gas and allow charcoal to add as well...?

I was really happy with the searing done by the Weber Gas Grill and the smoke flavor that it added.

quote:

Originally posted by mwagner7700:
Conclusions
Both steaks were delicious. And I wouldn't be upset if I was served either. I think it comes down to "what's your mood." If you want a little smokiness, use charcoal. If you want true flavor, use gas. Some things would be better on gas (delicate fish comes to mind) where you wouldn't want a smoke flavor. And conversely, some things would be better on the charcoal where you want that smoke-kissed flavor (burgers come to mind).

I agree.

Not much more to add but;

Love my Weber Silver C!

I have a little weber on my balcony which is really small so when the cold whether comes I use the stove top or the oven.

Grill pans are good for inside and can cheat and use a little liquid smoke.

quote:

Originally posted by mpls wine guy:
I have a little weber on my balcony which is really small so when the cold whether comes I use the stove top or the oven.

quote:

Originally posted by PurpleHaze:
fwiw, I find I get the best results with my steaks when I bring them all the way to room temperature. I never let cold meat hit my grill!PH

Interesting PH. I do just the opposite. After a chef in Quebec highly recommended this some time ago, I began throwing my steaks on the grill straight from the freezer. No defrosting whatsoever. IMHO, It seems to effectively lock the juices in. The add-ons I do on the grill. I didn`t believe it either, until I tried it.