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Charcoal or Gas Grill?

post #1 of 140
10/13/03 at 12:29pm
Thread Starter 
Looking for a grill for the patio. I was all set to buy an gas grill, when a friend who's in a BBQ club, suggested the Weber kettle grill. Now I don't know what to get. I hate the idea of messing with charcoal, but I hear that charcoal gives the food a better flavor. What's the consensus? Thanks!
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post #2 of 140
10/13/03 at 12:32pm
A BBQ club? I must join.

Gas. The only thing better than a gas grill is a built-in gas grill.
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post #3 of 140
10/13/03 at 12:34pm
I gotta vote for charcoal. I love my Weber! Yes, it's a little messier, but the food tastes way better.
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post #4 of 140
10/13/03 at 12:35pm
charcoal charcoal charcoal, charcoal is the best.


charcoal is the best!
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post #5 of 140
10/13/03 at 12:38pm
To me nothing tastes better than stuff grilled over Mesquite charcoal. For me it's definitely worth the extra hassle.
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post #6 of 140
10/13/03 at 12:40pm
Absolutely Weber Charcoal. I put my gas grill on the side of the road and havent looked back. Plus, with charcoal, you can use wood chips.
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post #7 of 140
10/13/03 at 12:42pm
If your looking for quick ways of BBQing then gas is the way.

If your looking for flavorful food then charcoal is the way to go.

I know I miss the flavor of having a charcoal grill, but I don't want to give up the time it saves me by going out and turning on the gas and igniting and waiting a couple minutes for the grill to heat, instead of waiting about 20-30 minutes for the charcoal bricks to turn gray.

There are currently some gas grill that have the option to put a pan full of charcoal on top of it which then heats up the charcoal. I am not sure how well this works, but I have seen it in the stores.

If I had the room I would certainly have both.

Paul
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post #8 of 140
10/13/03 at 12:47pm
Charcoal certainly gives better taste, but the preparation and mess just isn't worth it IMHO. My friend and I moved into our houses at the same time last year, and he bought a nice charcoal grill, I bought gas. We were talking the other day, and I grill out probably 2-3 nights a week from March-October, whereas he grills out twice a month...the reason? The hassle of having the charcoal on hand and it not being wet, getting the fire lit, having the coals at the right temp, having the heat evenly distributed, and keeping it that way for the duration of cooking.

Gas all the way. If you want, save up and get a smoker or Little Green Egg as a secondary outdoor cooker.
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post #9 of 140
10/13/03 at 1:32pm
Charcoal no question.

Go for the Weber One-Touch Gold, or Platinum if you've got the dough.

A few sweeps of the handle and the ash goes into attached ash catcher. Mess objection, check!

I can't argue the time question, but I think the extra 10-15 minutes are well worth it. And it's not like you have to sit next to the grill that extra time. Go to the fridge and use it as time for one more Bud!

Also gives the flexibility to use a variety of smoking chips.
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post #10 of 140
10/13/03 at 1:35pm
Charcoal is great, but gas is just so much more convenient. Gas grills are as convenient as your oven, so you're likely to use them more often. Plus, you can add a cast iron smoker box for wood chips that really adds to the flavor.
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post #11 of 140
10/13/03 at 1:42pm
Its strange the best stake I've ever eatin came from the oven and was Broiled.

As faras the Gas or Charcoal Like everyone says It depends on the amount of time you want to spend getting it ready.

I would also say Smokers give the best flavor in most food, slow roasted smoked foo, MMMMM hard to beat.
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post #12 of 140
10/13/03 at 2:02pm
Thread Starter 
So far the answers seem spilt. I'm just as confused as ever.

Lots of mentions for the Weber charcoal grill. That was the one that was recommended to me. As mention by wally, the one touch grills seem to be more convenient to clean.

Quote:
A BBQ club? I must join.


Yeah, sounds pretty yummy. Don't know if they have monthly meetings, but I know they do go around to BBQ contests.
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post #13 of 140
10/13/03 at 2:09pm
I'm reminded of the "King of the Hill" episode where Hank Hill thought that his propane gas was the best way to cook burgers (until he tasted a charcoal cooked burger and was addicted)
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post #14 of 140
10/13/03 at 4:07pm
I will second the notion of a gas grill with a tin full of wine soaked Hickory or Mesquite wood chips for the "smokey" flavoring. It isn't as good as a regular grill using good charcoalized wood chips and hickory chips, (never, ever use lighter fluid. For like $10 you can get an electric grill lighter, and you wont have that terrible lighter fluid taste in your food. What a fast way to ruin a BBQ!) but it works almost as good, and it is much faster.

Matt
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post #15 of 140
10/13/03 at 4:20pm
I have a gas grill with a natural gas connection. I use it nearly everyday. I buy wood chips, oak, mesquite, hickory to put in it, if I want the flavor of wood. I agree that charcoal is best way to grill, but I'm not coming home every night and starting a charcoal fire. I find gas with wood chips to be a good compromise given my time and energy constraints.

So it really comes down to convenience. If you want to buy charcoal, lighter fluid or electric starter, empty ashes, etc you'll get better flavor. If not, go with gas grill that you can put wood chips in.
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post #16 of 140
10/13/03 at 4:31pm
I used charcoal for years, but I've switched to gas for the grill. Gas is just too convenient and I like the fact that I can have the grill heated up to around 600 degrees in fifteen minutes (Weber Summit). With gas I can grill something in the evening after world. With charcoal I'm only grilling on the weekends.

When I want that smoky flavor, I have a old fashioned wood-fired smoker that I'll use. Sure, it takes all day to cook a meal, but what a meal!

-greg
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post #17 of 140
10/13/03 at 4:34pm
i have a gas grill - the vermont castings vc 30 which i love!

a lot of people state that charcoal tastes better. i'm not sure i completely disagree, but there's one thing i always think about.

how many people bbq but don't marinate (or flavor) the food in some way? for the most part, i think the marinade "masks" (in a good way) that oft-mentioned charcoal taste anyway.

i see two main benefits to having a gas grill. the first (as already mentioned) is ease-of-use. it is ridiculously easy to operate and clean a gas grill.

the second benefit is the ability to more accurately control your cooking zones. with my bbq (a three burner) i can have three different zones of heat and instantly control it. if i were to do this with charcoal, i have to be more careful about the charcoal placement, plus it's more of a hassle to maintain (or redistribute) that heat.

okay...all that being said...there is definitely something "cooler" about using charcoal, but i'm just not into it. the convenience far outweights that cool-factor.
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post #18 of 140
10/13/03 at 4:36pm
Both have their merits and one isn't inherently better than the other. It definately comes down to what fits your lifestyle and what how much time/effort you are willing to put into it.

I know for me, gas is the only way to go. When I get home from work, I can walk onto the deck and with the turn of a knob, have the gas grill going. I use my grill 4-5 times a week but if it were a charcoal grill I probably would use it once a week at most.

If this grill is mainly for weekend backyard BBQs, you may be more inclined to go with charcoal. If you're interesting in using it more often for dinners during the week, you would probably be better off with gas.
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post #19 of 140
10/13/03 at 5:06pm
i have a Traeger wood pellet grill and will never go back to gas or charcoal. as easy as gas with taste better than charcoal. flip a switch and it self ignites and feeds the pellets from the hopper to the firebox automatically.
www.traegerindustries.com
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post #20 of 140
10/13/03 at 5:32pm
I have a Traeger as well and also will never go back to charcoal or gas.

The oven and stove get very little use in that last 2 years as a result. I will only cook bacon, baked potatoes, cob and asparagus on the Traeger. Never again on the stove or oven. Smoke foods, cook a briscuit, you name it.

In fact I am about to put the pork on in a few

Extremely simple to use, many choices of pellets, almost impossible to ruin anything.

It's one "flaw" is that it can't sear.
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post #21 of 140
10/13/03 at 7:04pm
I use the 3 burner "turbo" gas grill sold by Barbeques Galore. It's really heavy duty but not cheap - current price around $600. But you get what you pay for. You will need to replace a $200 gas grill every few years. Mine is 14 years old and still going strong. It uses heavy cast stainless steel burners (not sheet metal bladders poked with holes) under a very heavy cast iron grill with thermal rocks buffering between. They give a great warranty and I was able to do a major parts-swap one month before the warranty ran out. It's a good place to do general cooking on hot nights when you don't want to heat up the kitchen - with 3 gas burners you can use it as a stove as well as grilling. I used it to cook after the 1989 earthquake when we were without power for a few days - it's a great kitchen backup during emergencies. They are convertable between bottled propane and house natural gas if you run natural gas out to the patio.

EDIT: see end of thread. Barbeques Galore went chap. 11 in 2008.
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post #22 of 140
10/13/03 at 7:17pm
Weber fan here. Performer. Normal charcoal heat and kettle, but with gas burners to ignite.
turn the nozzle, press the switch. come back in five minutes, turn the nozzle off. get food ready for 20-25 minutes. grill. done.

I even fire it up for a couple of burgers for me and my wife.

It's not cheap tho (for a charcoal grill anyway)
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post #23 of 140
10/13/03 at 9:11pm
on a slightly different note, what techniques do you all have to clean your grills?

since mine has the ceramic coating, i've been a little unsure. i've been told both sides. one said i have to be careful about what i use and not to use those wire brushes or anything too abrasive. the other people tell me those grills are bullet-proof and you can use whatever you'd like.

for now, i'm just using one of those plastic handle/brillo pad type things....seems to work well enough without doing any damage.
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post #24 of 140
10/13/03 at 9:29pm
Thread Starter 
I was leaning towards the charcoal, but now I'm thinking the gas grill might be more useful for me.
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post #25 of 140
10/13/03 at 10:05pm
Gas with hickory chips.
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post #26 of 140
10/14/03 at 7:45am
The Weber Q gril is a fantastic gas grill. I was a charcoal man myself for years, but since I became a season ticket holder for the Houston Texans and Tailgate before every home game cooking with charcoal became a chore the first season. So I picked up the great Weber Q!

It is portable, in the sense that you can take it with you, but it weighs about 40lbs(most of that is the iron grilling surface). They also make a stand for it too, so you can easily use as your backyard grill or take it with you to the park/beach etc.

As far as using wood chips, I simply use a small smoker box placed on the cookng surface and it works great.

I'll never go back to charcoal (that's something I tought I would never say! )

Take a look here!
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post #27 of 140
10/14/03 at 7:50am
As has been previously noted, it's really a matter of convenience versus taste. I agree that charcoal-cooked food tastes better, but as many other people noted, the ability to come home, spin a dial, and be cooking in five minutes is great. For me, it's made the difference between cooking out once a week (with charcoal) and cooking out every night it's not raining (with gas). And with a $2 smoker box, you can add wood chips to your gas grill and gain a lot of that smokey flavor that charcoal gives you.

Now, having said that, the Stop and Shop near me was clearing out their charcoal grills a few months ago and I did pick up a Weber kettle grill for like $40. I use that one mostly for slow-cooking foods, because I can continually add wood chips every hour to keep the smoke going.

Still, if I were to buy only one grill it would definitely be gas, simply for the convenience and ease of use. What Ted said about controlling the heat zones is a huge advantage in my opinion. The ability to turn off the burners directly under your food and let it cook via indirect heat is crucial for bone-in foods like whole chickens or spareribs, and it is so much easier to do that with a gas grill than with charcoal.
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post #28 of 140
10/14/03 at 8:03am
Another vote for charcoal. It just tastes better. Not any charcoal, I tend to stay away from briquettes. Chunk hardwood charcoal, the good stuff. Lights way faster than the briquettes, burns hot as hell. Personally I don't use a Weber kettle grill because you can't raise or lower the coals. Just a cheap $30 sears grill. Doesn't look pretty but tastes awesome.

Andrej
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post #29 of 140
10/14/03 at 8:23am
Quote:
You will need to replace a $200 gas grill every few years.

I'm still using a Weber One-Touch ($80) that I purchased 10 years ago. I actually have two Webers and use them a couple times a week during the summer and once or twice a month over the winter months.

Waiting for the thing to die already so I can upgrade to another Weber charcoal model. My deck won't accomodate 3 grills
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post #30 of 140
10/14/03 at 9:04am
Thread Starter 
I think I'm going gas grill. The thought of going home, lighting up the BBQ and throwing a big slab of salmon on, has my mouth watering.

Quote:
The Weber Q gril is a fantastic gas grill.


I was actually looking at that one. Looks like it will suit my needs, and has gotten great reviews.
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