Topic: BBQ - Gas or Charcoal?

[New Plot]

Hi folks

Have been reading posts as rain here has been bad.  Dreaming of all the lovely veg I will be able to grill this summer if the plants have survived the rain.

Having a rather small grill in the kitchen has made us decide to buy a new BBQ.  Can't decide on type.  Any thoughts on type would be gratefully received.

The sun has come out today but looking at the forcast here it is going to rain for the rest of the week (Reading, Berks).  Very annoying as OH has taken week off as it is half term.

Thanks

[Clairylou]

I would always go with charcoal otherwise it wont have that BBQ flavour if you go with gas it will just be the same as grilling it in the house,  we have a fire pit bbq so after you have finished eating you can stick a log on and enjoy the night air for an extra couple of hours.

Claire  ;D 

[Admin aka Dan]

Got to be charcoal, a gas bbq is just cooking outside, a charcoal bbq is an adventure!

And the food tastes better!

[Jeannine]

Charcoal will give you the stronger BBQ flavour but of course takes longer to get going and I can never wait the hour till the coals are completely white, and I can't stand stuff done on a BBQ till the coals are ready so I use a gas one as we use it all the time and right through the winter. I still get the  BBQ flavour from the stuff being in direct contact with flame but it is  very different to a house grill.

I suppose if you had a preference for a certain flavour of coals it might make a difference.

I fire up the gas grill and we are cooking on it in 5 minutes which is fine for the two of us, if I was regularly cooking for a crowd at parties etcI would build one as waiting for the coals to be ready can be part of the party, but for everyday all year round cooking I find the gas one is more practical

 XX Jeannine

[Curryandchips]

Got to be charcoal, a gas bbq is just cooking outside, a charcoal bbq is an adventure!

That was my millenium activity, I built a brick BBQ complete with chimney, and hot shelf above the cooking area, and had the last and the first BBQ of the millenia ...

I also have a BBQ on my plot, which I sometimes use to cook breakfast ... fresh sweetcorn is delicious !!!

Derek :)

[Sparkly]

Spend a bit of money of a proper cast iron charcoal one! It really is worth it and, and if you buy a decent one it will last a decades. We have a brinkman smoker. They are very expensive (try googling) but if we got ours on a very good offer from the wholesaler 'costco'. It has certainly been worth every penny. You can fill it will coals and burn it at 600 degrees to sterile it, therefore using no nasty chemicals (very easy too!). It works as a smoker so you can smoke joints of meat if you are having a dinner party. You also get a proper bbq flavour. re: waiting ages for the coals to burn down. If i am in a rush I use those bags of charcoal that you set alight. They are ready in about 20 mins so it is not too bad. When we have a number of friends over I normally use the bags to get it going and load with wood lumps and charcoal brickettes for long term burning. We always have a big party in the summer and I use to this to smoke a big joint, steam whole salmon wrapped in a foil bag, cook sirloin steaks and chicken tikka. We do use a gas bbq but only really to cook some sausages and burgers for the kids.

[tim]

Apart from flavour, Charcoal is carcenogenic??

[Jeannine]

Sparkly I noticed you had mentioned Costco. I looked fro Costco warehouses when I came back from Canada,where is your Costco please?

[pye]

I'm with Jeannine, gas is quicker, easier, cleaner, tastes great.

They use gas a lot in Oz, spiritual home of the barbie, so it can't be all bad.  :)

[Jeannine]

Oh Pye, spiritual home of the Barbie....I am from North America...might challenge you on that one!!!

[redimp]

Burning gas releases carbon dioxide that has been locked up in the earth's crust for millennia.  The making and subsequent burning of charcoal only releases the same amount of carbon dioxide that was consumed by the tree whilst growing.  Also, you can get charcoal made by local charcoal makers the traditional way, that has been harvested as a proper method of local woodland management for no more money than the (rainforest?) lumpwood stuff that you get from the supermarket or garage.  Try your local co-op - they usually sell it.  The sustainable hardwood stuff gives the best flavour too. :)

[pye]

Oh Pye, spiritual home of the Barbie....I am from North America...might challenge you on that one!!!

Throw another shrimp on the barbie and we'll call it a draw.  :P

What will you be bbq-ing, now you're a herbivore?

[Emmalm]

I used to work as a teenager in a specialist BBQ shop and have to say I've used a gas BBQ at home ever since. With the weather in the UK it is so much easier and quicker, I love being able to turn it on, put the lid down and be ready to cook 15 minutes later. I also find it easier to cook chicken through properly without burning the outside.

One trick I did pick up for gas BBQs is that most of the flavour comes from the fat and juices dripping onto the lava rock, then smoking back up onto your food. So if you cook some really cheap fatty burgers and sausages the first time it helps to 'season' the rocks and then you'll get better flavour (even if you don't eat them after!). It will usually take a few BBQs to get the best BBQ flavour and you can always add wood chips too for extra smoke.

[Jeannine]

I find much of the marinade drips onto the lava rock and causes a flame so  I can get as singed as I want.I can do good blackened whatever  with the gas one just the same the other.

Or, the herbivore thing,well I am eating meat again, it was only  once a week though until this last week, but I am slipping back I am afraid, then I stop and do another couple of weeks as veggie. I think now I don't feel as if I have to cook meat like I did before, so we are eating quite differently, but I would be fibbing if I didn't own up to failing. It didn't come down to having to eat the meat, it just got so boring and I found myself buying veggie convenience foods to compensate which is not something I would usually do.

Sorry, I have bumped your thread.

Meat tomorrow though. New York Striploin steak, it's  already in the marinade for the barbie, with baked spud, greek salad and garlic bread.

 XX Jeannine

[Emagggie]

Weber Kettle user here, we tried a gas bbq and didn't like it as much as charcoal and ended up selling it on ebay.We cook joints on Weber regularly and the Christmas turkey.

[New Plot]

Thanks for your replies, they have given me much food for thought.

Can't wait for the courgettes, peppers, onions, toms etc to grow so they can be skewered and cooked! (Had my first spuds from the allotment tonight - were great).

[Sparkly]

Sparkly I noticed you had mentioned Costco. I looked fro Costco warehouses when I came back from Canada,where is your Costco please?

trafford park - opposite the trafford centre

[BarbaraGood]

We have both - gas one for quickness but love the flavour of the charcoal one, and if we are sitting in the garden all afternoon throwing things on it at will, its easy enough to keep it going. We also cook in the chimnea thingy, its better at cooking than keeping us worm tho, would have to more or less sit on top of it to keep the chill from your bones  ???