Gas or charcoal?

[Chef Munky]

I'm thinking of buy a grill. At the moment I use a hibachi. I've never used a gas grill, but I have never been impressed with the food other people have made on gas grills. But, I have been reading posts here and am getting the impression that a gas grill might not be such a bad thing.

What do you guys like and why?

Could I buy a gas grill and on occasion stick the hibachi on the grate and use the gas grill's cover to have a nice enclosed space for cooking on charcoal?

That's a hard question to answer. I to have and use both kinds plus my rinky dink Brinkman smoker. They all have their individual jobs to do. Yes you can put you hibatchi in it and close the lid. Just don't turn the gas grill on. Depending on how many burners the gas grill has you could possibly have the best of both worlds.

Breaking them down into individuality. The Propane is quick and to the point. I call it my Big Daddy Grill. It's the best one we've ever owned. Found a great deal on Amazon. It's a Strathwood. Have had it for years. It's still holding up. We've had others that didn't last long at all. Filling both tanks costs about $40. Another thing to keep in mind is the size. Mine is huge. Weighs 350 Lbs. It really puts out the heat. Because of it's size it needs some serious open room. Look for one that has easy access to the drip pans. The one I have has an opening on the back where all I have to do is slide out the pans. Clean, turn and burn baby! Good racks are a must to.

As far as how food tastes? I'd be looking at the cook before I'd look at the grill. Know what I mean? Just sayin'.

I hardly ever break out the Weber. Unless I have the time to. It's saved for special occasions. A burger cooked any other way just isn't the same. Charcoal is cheap.

Munky.

 

[4meandthem]

Recommendation for the boneless/skinless breasts? When you're finished with whatever you're cooking on coals, take the breasts, season, and put them on the coals, close the lid. When you're through eating whatever you originally cooked, take a look, a temp if you're unsure. Wrap in foil and let sit to complete cooking. Then freeze them if there are too many, refridgerate otherwise. Slice, dice and you have great food for another meal -- or in our case, two or more. Cold meals, warm meals, pasta dishes, stir fries.

I have a hard enough time trying to rember to take 1 nights meat out of the freezer let alone meat for future use. Most of our takeout meals are due to me forgetting to defrost something. I know what your saying though. I do cook more meat than I need most nights and wind up using it in another dish within days.

 

[Claire]

I have a hard enough time trying to rember to take 1 nights meat out of the freezer let alone meat for future use. Most of our takeout meals are due to me forgetting to defrost something. I know what your saying though. I do cook more meat than I need most nights and wind up using it in another dish within days.

I don't thaw them. I take a bag, and when the food comes off the grill, I toss the frozen ones on. I grab my favorite seasoning (we all have them, come and go, for many years now it has been Cavendar's Greek) and sprinkle it over the rock-hard chicken breasts, close the top of the grill, then go sit and eat and talk and drink. Help clean up. Go out. If they look done, I put them in foil on the counter soak in their juices, which surprisingly, done this way, there are a lot of. Into the fridge before bed-time, then in the morning freeze or put in baggies in the fridge, depending on my plans.

 

[bakechef]

If I only had charcoal, I'd rarely grill, with gas I grill 2-3 times a week. If you have food that is going to drip, you'll get plenty of flavor from a gas grill.

I would have both if space permitted. Right now I have a deck that sits about 10 feet off the ground with no stairs to the back yard (I actually prefer this since it prevents a burglar from easily accessing my back door, my neighbors are much easier to get to), it's small and the one time that I used my small weber, I was really uneasy about having hot coals left on a wooden deck, since we often have strong evening storms in the summer that could easily knock it down. Gas wins in my scenario.

 

[Hoot]

I have used all of the above methods of cooking. I, personally, prefer to cook over an open fire pit. Having said that, I would recommend a dual source grill as mentioned above. That way you have opportunities to gain experience using both.
Just my 2 cents.

 

[CraigC]

I personally don't use gas for anything but the jet cooker. I have an el cheapo stick burner, a 22.5 weber and a large green egg. I'm sure there are as many folks out there that feel the same about gas as I do about hardwood charcoal and smoking woods.

 

[taxlady]

This is the only dual fuel grill I can find here on the Island of Montreal:

Nexgrill Dual Fuel Grill, Propane/Charcoal | Canadian Tire

I'm seriously thinking about it. But, when the gas side quits, I'm stuck with a 5 foot long charcoal grill with more than half unusable. I suppose I could use that side for the hibachi, when this eventually happens. Or, if I have been happy with the grill and it lasted a reasonable amount of time, I could buy another one (if they still make them).

Does this look like a good grill to you guys? Anyone have any experience with Nexgrill?

 

[Cheryl J]

Just my 3 cents (inflation, lol).... I grill a LOT. I don't think I've even turned on my oven in a couple of months. I had both kinds of grills up until recently, then I got rid of the propane one. It was the older kind with the lava rocks, and one side didn't work well anymore. Plus, like others have said, grilled steaks or burgers just aren't the same on a propane grill. I agree with others that the chimney starter is the way to go, rather than using the fluid.

Since it's just me, unless family is here, I try to take advantage of the heat, space, charcoal and all, and go ahead and throw on extra chicken, veggies, or whatever. It usually gets repurposed or munched on over the next couple of days. As my grandmother used to say, never bake an orphan.

 

[salt and pepper]

Both- Wood-charcoal for BBQing & smoking, and gas for easy grilling & rotisserie.

 

[CharlieD]

i have been extrememly happy with my gas webber. i ahve had charcol grills in the past and i really cannot say that the food tasted any better. one can always buy wood chipps, cherry, etc. to add some smokie flavor to the meats or vegies.

 

[taxlady]

i have been extrememly happy with my gas webber. i ahve had charcol grills in the past and i really cannot say that the food tasted any better. one can always buy wood chipps, cherry, etc. to add some smokie flavor to the meats or vegies.

Here at DC, I have read about making smoke with wood chips on a propane grill. It's one of the reasons why I am willing to consider propane.

How hard is it to use the wood chips with a propane grill? Can you use them with all propane grills or is there something special I should look for?

 

[Andy M.]

...How hard is it to use the wood chips with a propane grill? Can you use them with all propane grills or is there something special I should look for?

I've done it. Make a foil packet with soaked wood chips, poke a few holes in the top to let the smoke out and place it on a deflector over one of the burners (usually opposite where the food is.)

 

[bakechef]

I do the foil packet often. I just place it on the thingy that covers the burner and place the cooking grate back on. If I'm doing some slow cooking on the grill like ribs, I'll do 2 packets. I place the meat on the opposite side, that isn't on.

 

[roadfix]

I have and use both. And I get nice flavors from my gas grill simply because its filthy and full of grease buildup.
But I prefer charcoal or wood because I enjoy playing with fire. So cool.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

I tried the foil packet on a gas barbecue several times, followed the directions regarding soaking and making the packet from foil and poking holes, used a 2 burner gas grill which let me shut off one side and put the packet there (right on the unlit burner) and I never got any good results. (Tried both hickory and mesquite chips.) I finally concluded that this just does not work, or at least does not work for me, and I resolved to get a charcoal grill/smoker sometime in the future.

For me, I want both a gas grill and a charcoal grill, and probably eventually get a vertical smoker too.

I think if I had to pick just one I would pick gas, for its convenience. But I think a charcoal grill will always out perform a gas grill, but at the cost of more labor required.

 

[Andy M.]

I tried the foil packet on a gas barbecue several times, followed the directions regarding soaking and making the packet from foil and poking holes, used a 2 burner gas grill which let me shut off one side and put the packet there (right on the unlit burner) and I never got any good results...

You put the packet on the unlit burner? That's why it didn't work. You're trying to burn wet wood. The burner has to be lighted to accomplish that.

 

[forty_caliber]

I've had less than ideal results adding smoke flavor on a propane grill using one of these smoker boxes.

This item or the foil pouch just can't do the work of a purpose built smoker. You can get some smoke flavor. Don't expect a smoke ring or bark on the meat.

.40

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

Actually it was a couple years ago and I forgot now which I did. The results I got were detectable but not worth the effort, and not any kind of smoke ring or even strong smoke taste. More like just the slightest hint of a taste.

I grew disgusted with the project and decided the only to do it is the right way, with gear designed for that purpose. I'm pretty good at cooking and a reasonably good barbecuist too, I gave it my best effort, and I got unsatisfactory results. Most of my cooking endeavors end in spectacular results.

In fact I just remembered I tried one of the smoker boxes too, and followed the product directions, and that didn't have any satisfactory result either. I returned it to Home Depot for a refund.

 

[bakechef]

I've done well with the foil packet, I can get a good smoke ring on ribs. I do put it right over the lit burner.

 

[FrankZ]

Just catching up to this thread.

One thing I didn't see mentioned is where the grill is going to sit. I would not do charcoal on a wooden deck. I have dropped too many hot coals on the stone patio.