Is it summer yet? Some of us have been grilling out all winter (covered patio). But with the tangible approach of summer, others are beginning to crack open the charcoal, fill up the propane tanks, and mix up a batch of their secret homemade barbecue sauce.
But if you gotta pick just one, gas or charcoal, which will it be? The online advice ranges from the stripped-down to the expert. But just giving out advice isn’t what chews up column inches in a newspaper. We must also have manly humor articles.
The latest one appears in the Joplin, Missouri, Globe. Like other opinion-makers, Mike Pound comes down firmly on the side of charcoal, despite its drawbacks:
As those of you who have charcoal grills are aware, the whole lighting-the-fire process takes a while. That’s because most charcoal is made from substances that are impossible to burn. Some forms of charcoal are so impossible to burn that they are actually used to make children’s pajamas.
But Pound finds the wait for the charcoal to warm up meditative.
Myself? If I had a few extra dollars lying around, I’d forgo both gas and charcoal and go for one of these.
Charcoal 1000% Much higher heat for properly charring steaks and chops thus retaining moisture and flavor.Weber charcoal starter is fast and simple for getting a good hot grill.Wood chips enhance flavor.
Nonsense. It takes just as long for a gas grill to warm up properly than it does to torque up a charcoal chimney (10-15 minutes tops). Gas is fine if you just want to do some burgers or dogs, but it’s a lot harder to properly smoke food using gas. A good offset charcoal smoker, a Weber kettle, or my Kamado grill all beat gas at low-slow bbq AND they can sear steaks and chops.
The Kamodo (dome shaped clay/ceramic cooker) appears to be the best thing going . I hope to get mine next week. After a lot of research, they seem the most versatile (can bake a pizza just as nice as that Italian brick job), sear steaks and low-and slow some pulled pork overnight.
As far as I know most Kamodo fans use lump rather than chemical-laden briquettes .. I own a gasser for quick burgers or fish, and a Char Griller Pro for smoking and grilling real meats. I’ll probably keep the gasser for “quickie” jobs to feed my teenage kid’s pie holes full of SOMETHING. Anything worth eating, is worth cooking properly !
How about those hybrids? I’ve been looking into the Weber Performer, where it uses charcoal, but has this propane starter unit to get the coals fired up.
As a retired professional chef, caterer, and foodie I prefer wood charcoal in a Weber grill..I use an electric fire starter which takes 9 minutes to get the coals going. But now I’m debating which is infact “greener” wood charcoal or the natural gas which runs to my house. I love that extra flavor of the wood charcoald, but I’m questioning…Tova
Probably the “greenest” cooking charcoal is extruded coconut charcoal. After the coconut flesh and milk have been extracted and processed, the husks are burned in a low-oxygen oven and extruded under pressure into octagonal cylinders of almost pure carbon. LONG burn times, minimal ash, neutral flavor, renewable resource, almost impossible to get in the United States.
Monkey..you haven’t answered the charcoal vs. natural gas dilema. Does anybody know which is “greener”..as I’ve said I love wood charcoal, but this involves blah blah blah, vs the natural gas which fuels our entire house. I’m trying to be a good citican, but if I have to destroy peat bogs, so be it.
Tova