BBQ: Gas Vs Charcoal

BBQ is quite distinctive from what the Americans would call 'grilling out'.

Most people in England are grilling out, whether you're using charcoal or gas to be honest.
Unless you're doing all of the marinating and smoking and so on.
 
Father in law uses gas, I always forget and get all excited when they say we are having a BBQ and we travel down to the in-laws only to get a sausage or bit of steak that would have got more colour in a griddle pan.

We had a BBQ two Saturdays ago and he was there. He commented on how good the food tasted and I think it finally got through it was the charcoal.
 
Used to have a gas bbq a few years back back when I thought "BBQ" was cooking a few sausages, burgers and maybe the occasional beer can chicken.

Now i have a weber 57cm kettle, a WSM, know the difference between grilling and smoking and make some cracking food.

Gas bbqs are convenient if you absolutely have to start cooking immediately, but personally i see no issue with the 20 mins it takes for a chimney to light. Also you don't have to deal with the fat & grease clean up in a charcoal bbq. Charcoal cooked food definitely tastes better, but if all you care about is cooking quickly outside on a sunny day then crack on with the gas.
 
molinari said:
Charcoal all year round for me. Gas is convenient, but it's just not as good.
I thought this was interesting...
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It is interesting, but equally almost all of it applies to Gas as well - Juices from the meat still turn into Smoke, and you can still smoke wood chips with Gas.

I think most people just think that if you use Gas, literally just means a gas grill, whereas in reality much of what applies to a charcoal bbq still applies to Gas when used properly.
 
ttaskmaster said:
If your blind taster cannot distinguish between gassed and charcoaled (or wooded), then vision is not their only duff sense... :p
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Charcoal when ready for cooking has no aroma, there is no difference to gas and BBQ. It is basic science. The aroma comes from fat, marinade and juices dropping form the meat and hitting a very hot surface, be that charcoal or the heat plate makes absolutely no difference. cooking over a gas grill generates plenty of aromatics to coat the meat. In fact I have to be careful, some marinades with a good amount of olive or sesame oil will generate too much smoke for the desired food.


Adding wood chips and smoking is a completely different ball game. But then you can smoke with a gas powered smoker anyway. All that the charcoal or gas is doing is providing a heat source, gas is perfectly capable of heating wood until it smokes.
I'm looking at getting a smker and it is almost certainly going to be gas powered. Throw a rack of ribs in early morning and pretty much forget about until dinner time.
 
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MookJong said:
Father in law uses gas, I always forget and get all excited when they say we are having a BBQ and we travel down to the in-laws only to get a sausage or bit of steak that would have got more colour in a griddle pan.
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That has absolutely nothing to do with gas though, just an inept cook.


I can hit over 800 *F in my gas BBQ and and incinerate pretty much anything. the biggest issue is it actually getting too hot if you are not careful. The good thing with gas is you can quickly control the temperature without having to move the meat at all.
 
D.P. said:
Charcoal when ready for cooking has no aroma, there is no difference to gas and BBQ. It is basic science.
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And that's the point where I lost interest... Not in what you're saying, but in the lack of art, skill and fun. :D

It's like having F1 cars all raced by computer, or something.
 
D.P. said:
That has absolutely nothing to do with gas though, just an inept cook.


I can hit over 800 *F in my gas BBQ and and incinerate pretty much anything. the biggest issue is it actually getting too hot if you are not careful. The good thing with gas is you can quickly control the temperature without having to move the meat at all.
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I think your first point is the crux of the matter really. Despite what I said earlier I actually agree with you completely. The problem is that your average person (that would also cook badly with coal - aka British BBQ) will get a cheap gas BBQ and then burn some sausages on it. This gives an unfair image to gas BBQ in general.

As someone that now uses a pellet smoker I should really have more sympathy for gas BBQ....
 
ttaskmaster said:
And that's the point where I lost interest... Not in what you're saying, but in the lack of art, skill and fun. :D

It's like having F1 cars all raced by computer, or something.
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The art comes in choosing the right meat, preparing the meat, marinades, cooking the meat, and all the other food.

Charcoal or gas is just a heat source. When you boil a pan of water and cook pasta, whether you use gas/elec/induction makes no difference, they are just heating the pan. The art and skill comes form the pasta and its sauce, dd you make the pasta fresh? What flours did you use? How many eggs? What is your sauce like?

there is no art in boiling a pan of water just like there is no art in lighting charcoal or switching on a gas BBQ.
 
D.P. said:
The art comes in choosing the right meat, preparing the meat, marinades, cooking the meat, and all the other food.
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Other food?
Oh, you mean that green stuff the womenfolk do? I thought that was a decorative centrepiece for the table! :p

Nah, I agree that's part of it.
I'd argue that using marinades seems a bit pointless, as the natural flavour of the meat is the more important aspect... at least in my opinion. Burying it under different flavours is just criminal... kinda like putting ketchup on stuff!

Anyway, marinades were invented to tenderise cheap, tough cuts and hide the lack of quality, weren't they? Don't need that with decent meat!

D.P. said:
When you boil a pan of water and cook pasta, whether you use gas/elec/induction makes no difference, they are just heating the pan.
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If that were the case, every recipe should work to 100% perfection then, right? "On for 10 mins at setting 3, then remove and serve"?

Nope...

We have electric-only in our house and even the various (scientifically proven, by the way) formulae to convert from gas cooker instructions don't often work, despite the electric cooker working exactly as it's supposed to. It's more about knowing your individual cooker - The difference between gas, electric and coal is quite stark. I have professional chefs backing me up on this one, as they've used my kitchen!

D.P. said:
The art and skill comes form the pasta and its sauce, dd you make the pasta fresh? What flours did you use? How many eggs? What is your sauce like?
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Or in knowing that it doesn't need to be so complicated... or at least that the fundamentals matter more.

D.P. said:
there is no art in lighting charcoal or switching on a gas BBQ.
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With both charcoal and wood, it's utterly inconsistent so very important in the type(s) you choose, the pieces you use, how you lay it, how you maintain it and how you monitor it. It's almost like extreme-overclocking a system. If it were that much of a science, we'd all be 8-Pack... [looks down at stomach, just to check].

Gas is just on or off, with fairly precise control settings.
No art. No fun. Certainly doesn't taste of burnt wood, either.

If I'm truly honest - The best braai I ever had was back on my 30th birthday, in a park, done using a pair of cheap portable foil barbecues from the petrol station - No marinades, sauces, fancy combinations or anything like that - Just the basic fundamentals done to perfection for eleven people on a very crappy heat source, by a guy who knew what he was doing.
 
It's a bit like arguing accurate meat thermometers take all the 'art' out of cooking, you should be able to 'sense' or 'feel' when something is ready and tools which make things easier should be frowned upon.

Frown away, I'll just enjoy my perfectly cooked steak in the meantime :p
 
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