when grilling, charcoal or gas?

Answer 1

My eagle scout fincee is saying charcoal, I think gas is eaiser but I like that smokey flavor...yum!

Answer 2

Well I used to be a strict charcoal man and I can tell you once you go gas you will never go back they make a small steel box that you can put wood chips in to get that wood flavor I cook whole roasts of beef, pork and whole chickens along with the usual ribs steaks etc... there is nothing that you cant cook on a gas grill

Answer 3

Charcoal takes a lot longer and the coals have to be just right, but it gives a real bar-b-que flavor, however, gas is much more convenient.

Answer 4

Hi, My name's Hank Hill and I sell propane and propane accessories... hehe

Actually, I've been grilling for about 20 years off and on and my personal preference is the coals. Depending on the type you buy you can get some really great flavoring into whatever you're cooking. So you have to go at it with a planned approach. "Thrown Together" barbecues usually don't go over well as far as taste.

First, Choose your coals. Get a good brand of charcoal. (I prefer Kingsford.) DON'T get the cheap $1.99 20 pound bag of Wal-Mart charcoal. Most cheap coals like this are a pain to get lit and to stay lit. And they usually make the food taste funny to me.

Second, Lighter fluid or no lighter fluid? I generally prefer no lighter fluid. Most of the good charcoals are designed to be easy to light. The cheap ones practically require you to dump a half gallon of gasoline on them to get anything resembling a fire. And the result is coals that burn up in ten minutes and food that tastes like gasoline. Use a good brand of charcoal and very little fluid if needed.

Third, Position your coals properly. Don't spread them around in the bottom of the grill and expect to get them all lit and evenly burning. Stack them in the center of the grill pyramid style and light them from the bottom. Once they have a decent amount of burn on them (greyish around all edges, not just the corners) carefully spread them out.

And finally... You're ready to grill.

Some tips I can tell from experience...

- Get an old coffee can and cut the bottom out of it to form a tube, drill several holes in the sides to allow ventilation. Drill an extra large hole near the bottom (about the size of a nickel) Put this in the center of your grill and stack your charcoal in it. Smaller grills will use a smaller can and bigger grills a larger one. Layer the charcoals with pieces of corrugated cardboard with no printing on it. (The inks in some printing can alter the taste of food.) So you stack one or two layers of coals and put in a piece of cardboard, another stack of coals, another piece of cardboard, etc. Now, Use one of those long barreled fireplace lighters to stick through the large hole near the bottom of the can and light the cardboard. The cardboard burns pretty cleanly and because of the thickness, burns longer than paper ensuring a good light on the coals. When the coals are burning well, remove the can using a pair of pliers/tongs or a thick cooking glove and spread the coals out.

- Charcoal additives: Try using a natural additive to help get the coals burning... like wood! You can get this in the same aisle as the charcoal. You should be able to find bags of it around there and these will help get the fire going and add a good flavor to your food. I like using some hickory chips and start them burning first and then adding charcoal gradually over the burning hickory.

- Lighter Fluid: If you MUST use lighter fluid, use it VERY sparingly. This stuff has ruined many barbecues. And NEVER use it on a grill with food already cooking!

Sorry about the long winded reply, but if you're gonna do something you want to do it right and sometimes it takes a little rambling. :)

And finally, The way I see it is... If you're gonna cook on propane, use the stove in the kitchen. I've seen people cooking on gas grills using frying pans.. What the hell's the point???

Answer 5

charcoal is best for flavor, but I have a gas grill for speed and convenience.

Answer 6

definitely charcoal!!! if i wanted to cook with with gas i would cook in the kitchen. although i read a study that said charcoal has a cancer causing agent. scary huh?

Answer 7

charcoal 100% - I love the taste it gives to my food

Answer 8

Charcoal has a BBQ taste to it, and some say that's not good for you. Gas is cleaner, and it gets the job done without the mess. so I guess its all about the taste and the cost of the equipment I say what ever is handy at the time.

Answer 9

charcoal is more fun
gas grills are more like an outside broiler and they don't taste as good as charcoal

Answer 10

charcoal!