Charcoal or gas

Grillin' time is in full swing in my neck of the woods.
A coworker and I were discussing the differences between
charcoal grilling and Gas grilling (I prefer charcoal, for the added flavor)
How about you outdoor cooking fanatics?
Which is your favorite method?

Share a recipe or two if you have them as well!

Mesquite > all


This is the truth!

Hmm, I bbq'd a Charcoal/mesquite turkey last year.
Stuffed it with Lemons, and Oranges, and sweet onions.

It took all day, but it was worth the wait.!

I dunno, it depends what ur cooking. Like if youre cooking something that was marinated and you want it to taste like the marinade, then the charcoal would kind of mask the flavor. If ur doin ribeyes or beef of pretty much any sort then the charcoal is better.

summary:for marinades-gas
for regular stuff-charcoal

Have to agree....

I think they all have their distinct purposes...

Most people have a bad experience with using charcoal b/c they use WAY too much lighter fluid...Building the coals just right is the key - The ideal method is to not just scatter them about and form a semi-cone shaped mound then light it...

The key is in compressing the heat...Get an old steel tin and cut the bottom out, then apply some form of a handle so you can lift it up later....Put this tin in the chamber of your grill, dump your coals in the tin, light and then let it go for a good while....Remove the tin carefully and place your grilling surface on top....Then the next key is to grill AROUND the charcoal heap you've created - Grilling directly over it will cause the food in the middle to dry out and the food on the edges to cook slower....Keeping your meat away from the middle and on the edges ensures that you maximize the tenderness and juiciness..

Gas is simply quick and simple - You can slow cook on gas, but you have to know the hot spots on your grill first...

Now - I don't have an auger-driven pellet loading smoker...But I've used on in a BBQ competition...And let me tell ya...lol....

It used little fans that were driven by an electrical current to consistently feed tiny wooden pellets into the flames at precisely the right moment to keep the temperature you selected....Best part was it had three augers, so you can incorporate three different flavors into your meat...

It took the better part of a day to cook, but god damn!!

I like the slow cookers you can use...with a thing on the side to hold the wood. It has a little damper. You can cook ribs and such really slow like the whole day. Makes the juiciest and most tender ribs you have ever tasted.

How can there be so many people who are not showing charcoal the respect it deserves? I personally can only cook on charcoal. Anything else just seems unnatural for grilling. This doesn't include the occasional smoking of some ribs. But outside of that, charcoal all the way.

CHARRRRRCOAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL !!! BRING THEM RIBS ON !

Charcoal is amazing. But it shouldnt be used for certain things such as steaks....or hot dogs. The taste would interfere..IMO

Charcoal with a bit of mesquite. Kingsford actually sells a mixed briquette that has a bit of mesquite in the charcoal. It's my personal favorite.

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Charcoal=best cooking. Charcoal is the best....mesquite is awesome. propane is ok but IMO charcoal=best.

I have recently arrived from DUH PLANET, so what on Earth is Mesquite and what is it for ??

and yes CHARCOAL RULESSSS !!.... when those coals turn gray / white ... its time to rumble !!!

I guess mesquite is like a seasoning or a flavoring. It usually comes with the charcoals. Its just a seasonig.and it is delicious.

Pffft. Gas barbecues...you might aswell just go indoors and grill your food. The taste from the charcoal makes all the difference.

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Mesquite is a type of wood...

Like hickory, cherrywood, and applewood it's used as for flavoring - If you ever run across it in the wild and break some up, give it a sniff and you'll see why it was used for imparting flavor in foods....

Even more mesquite trivia

mesquite info


BTW, my Charcoal Grill was made by New Braunfels in Texas..It's a pretty big surface area to cook on, over 450 square inches, it only cost me about 79 bucks... They make smokers as well.

Ok, how about giving up on some recipes?

I heard something about Beer Butt Chicken, anyone heard of that one?

Wow...SOunds like a nice size grill SD When you inviting me over?

Well - I've given some professional secrets away from a top contendener in the BBQ competition circuit over on my culinary thread..."Simple Steps to Kick Ass BBQ!"

www.belowtopsecret.com...

I forget how to link directly to a post, but if you scroll down to about 1/4 down the page you'll see my whole spiel about BBQ - I wrote that one day fresh from the BBQ competition, so it's filled with "juicy" details...

And as I typed those words I suddenly remembered that I totally left Byrd in the dust with her diabetes-safe recipes....If you're reading this Byrd, I appologize and I'll update that thread ASAP...

Holy crap!

You're one cookin MOFO..
We have a Rib cookoff here every year...Good stuff.
Is that the kind of competition you're into?

....Yeah - Cooking's where my heart is...

The BBQ Competition we competed in was actually a national event organized by The Kansas City Barbeque Society...It was called the Lakeland Pig Fest...

I couldn't find the website they had before the Fest, but here's some pics from the booth that was directly across from us:
mostwantedfoods.com...

Lemme tell ya man....There were some BBQ loving fools out there ....I've never seen anything quite like it - These people make it their livelihood to cook and compete....They have the funniest little rules too - You can only use certain kinds of lettuce for garnish, it has to be in a styrofoam container, etc...

Another tip I took away from that event that I forgot to mention in that blurb on my thread was basting....

Basting makes a hell of a difference....Beer and apple cider.....Put it in a spray bottle and moisten the meat with it every 30 minutes....