Caporegime
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13kg bottle is 34 quid so roughly the same/not much in it? probably get it cheaper but i went to calor gas website.
Poll: BBQ: Charcoal vs Gas
- Thread starter Ricochet J
- Start date
13kg bottle is 34 quid so roughly the same/not much in it? probably get it cheaper but i went to calor gas website.
ENplus A1 quality.
Yes they deliver but chances are you have a depot near.
https://www.wolseley.co.uk/product/balcas-brites-wood-pellet--non-trade-10-kg/
Caporegime
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no stock in the 5 branches near me, i did hear someone yesterday say they saw them at a garden centre. wonder which one. i might ask them next time i see them.
however you can do free click and collect and it's only 2 miles away. 4 quid per bag is cheap. i'll be getting one probably in a month or so. plan on making a lot of pizzas. over the next couple of weekends
thanks for the heads up. fuel is literally peanuts at that price. i may never use our electric oven again as the uuni takes 10 minutes to heat up. i've already got 4 sizzler pans
Soldato
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We kinda ended up that way, being heavily influenced by our friends who do the whole braai thing... which is basically meat and more meat. She tries to limit things and do salads and stuff, but it rarely ends up that way as it's more faff.We have lots of other stuff on the side, so while the meat is still the "main event", a BBQ for us is not just about eating as much animal as possible.
Besides, the dogs would get very upset if they didn't get theirs, too!!!
Got both, and have used both in parrel fopr events.
I challenge anyone to do a blind taste taste. The charcoal itself does not in part any flavor at all into cooking, if it does you are cooking wrong and not waiting for it to get hot enough. The flavor form grilling over charcoal or gas comes form fats and juices hitting the heat source below and vaporizing. Good quality charcoal gives off no odor.
There are a few difference, some pros and cons to each:
When it comes to smoking, e.g. rel BBQ there are some more differences:
I challenge anyone to do a blind taste taste. The charcoal itself does not in part any flavor at all into cooking, if it does you are cooking wrong and not waiting for it to get hot enough. The flavor form grilling over charcoal or gas comes form fats and juices hitting the heat source below and vaporizing. Good quality charcoal gives off no odor.
There are a few difference, some pros and cons to each:
- Charcoal is just never as convenient, even within chimneys and electric starters. Charcoal is dirty, you have to keep a good supply, and it always takes significantly longer to prepare.
- Cheap gas cookers don't get as hot. Whether this is an issue depends exactly on what you are doing but for most foods it is pretty irrelevant. For searing a thin steak you want a good gas BBQ, or do what most restaurants do and use a cast iron pan.
- A poorly maintained charcoal grill wont be as hot as a good gas one. Worse still it can have uneven heat
- Gas BBQs always have he ability to lower temperatures which is very useful for thicker meats. With charcoal grills you can't lower the charcoal bed so easily and you have less control over temperatures when the re are flare ups etc.
- Good quality hardwood charcoal is expensive, and not so easy to find.
- Charcoals grills are harder to clean up.
- Good charcoal grills last forever. Even good gas BBQs tend to eventually need replacing, and they are more expensive
- not so much in the UK but in many countries, charcoal cna be banned outside or on balconies etc, while gas grills are more tolerated due to fire safety.
When it comes to smoking, e.g. rel BBQ there are some more differences:
- Temperature is irrelevant since you cook at lower temperatures
- Regulating an accurate temperature is important, this is much easier with gas, and can be made automatic.
- Gas BBQs generate more CO, less CO2 and more H20 vapor. The carbonmonoxide is a preservative, and will lead to a deeper "smoke ring", because as smoke ring has nothing to do with smoke but preserving the color of the hemoglobin. CO will also preserver the meat flavor more. This is the only time when there is a difference in flavor, and it is subtle and only comes about after hours of cooking. Many people prefer the meatiness of gas, others prefer the slightly drier taste with charcoal .The water vapor helps create a stronger smoke that sticks more readily to the meat. This is why you typically add a water tray to the smoker. The watervapor can keep the meat more moist (on the outside) while smoking. Thin is a personal choice, if you want the outside to dry right out then charcoal without a water tray would be better.
- In both charcoal and gas smokers, the smoke comes form the wood chips and has nothing to do with the heat source.
- Many professional BBQ joints in the US that regularly win competitions use gas smokers in house. Within the actual competitions there are sometimes regulation related to safety that prohibit gas, but in these instance often electric smokers win.
You'd better let the Oxford Charcoal Company know that they're wasting their time with single species then
Don
You'd better let the Oxford Charcoal Company know that they're wasting their time with single species then
But again in a blind test would anyone be able to tell? Seems to me like it's the super deoxygenated, 24 carot gold plated hdmi cable of the bbq world.
I'm doubtful but people claim they can. I'm not likely to try it myself, but I hope it's true.
Soldato
I own a Weber kettle charcoal grill and Weber Genesis grill. I can count on one hand how many times I've used the kettle since buying the Genesis.
I can't tell any difference in taste other than the slightly better searing of steak over charcoal due to the extra heat. It's far more convenient, has a far larger cooking area and is easier to control the temperature.
I wonder how many of those saying a gas grill is the same as what's in their kitchen have actually tried using a decent gas grill...
I can't tell any difference in taste other than the slightly better searing of steak over charcoal due to the extra heat. It's far more convenient, has a far larger cooking area and is easier to control the temperature.
I wonder how many of those saying a gas grill is the same as what's in their kitchen have actually tried using a decent gas grill...
Soldato
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Define 'decent', in monetary terms...?
If it costs anything like the thing in the kitchen, then I'd put that in the realms of diminishing returns as it would likely get ignored in favour of a couple decades worth of charcoal and wood, really. No steak, not even one cooked by the hand of Justin Bonello himself, is worth that level of expense...
Soldato
A proper BBQ is with charcoal. If you are using gas then it's just a grill outside.
Other than that unless you have a large garden in the middle of no where, they are very antisocial to your neighbours what with all the smoke and smell.
What I find amusing is a neighbour has a BBQ on all weekend then the following weekend they whine because I have my incinerator bin burning away. Hypocrite.
Other than that unless you have a large garden in the middle of no where, they are very antisocial to your neighbours what with all the smoke and smell.
What I find amusing is a neighbour has a BBQ on all weekend then the following weekend they whine because I have my incinerator bin burning away. Hypocrite.
http://www.kamadojoe.com/grills/joe-jr/
This probably the best thing i have ever bought for being outside, I use a £5 heat gun to get the charcoal going (takes about 5 mins) and can just let it cook away. Think the longest burn i have done was some mutton for about 11hrs or so, or some steak searing in 20seconds if you let it rip.
As daft as it sounds the charcoal you use really does make a difference, So only buy the restaurant grade stuff and throw in apple/oak to smoke with on occasion.
(really need to do some salmon, but building a outside kitchen from pallets atm)
This probably the best thing i have ever bought for being outside, I use a £5 heat gun to get the charcoal going (takes about 5 mins) and can just let it cook away. Think the longest burn i have done was some mutton for about 11hrs or so, or some steak searing in 20seconds if you let it rip.
As daft as it sounds the charcoal you use really does make a difference, So only buy the restaurant grade stuff and throw in apple/oak to smoke with on occasion.
(really need to do some salmon, but building a outside kitchen from pallets atm)
I have the same setup and completely agree. I used to do 6-8 hour cooks on my kettle and it was a PITA.
As mentioned, the only downside of gas is the lack of heat for searing.
Soldato
Totally inaccurate. In layman's terms they are both given the title of BBQ but to be pedantic BBQ / grill is down to the method of cooking (high and fast / low and slow). The fuel source is utterly irrelevant.
They are both outdoor grills / BBQs
Soldato
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Totally inaccurate. Layman and 'expert' alike frequently argue over whether barbecuing is a type of grilling, or the other way around with grilling being one of several cooking techniques utilised in the barbecue... Supposedly the original Caribbeans and Arawaks were essentially grilling, but with a lot of smoke involved too, so I guess it's both.
I personally believe it's about cooking food on a grille, outside in some not-at-home location, which means not really being able to carry a massive half-ton gas-based brick installation as you've usually camped and/or trekked to the location... with home barbecues being a necessity given how few outside locations will actually let you barbecue, nowadays.
But really, it comes down to where you're from, as the meaning of the word and its similarities vary around the world. A barbie and a braai are neither barbecue nor grill... or so I'm vehemently told.
But this is the UK, in which case the word is barbecue and must comprise standing around for several hours getting drunk and sunburnt, while the most senior paternal figures of the hosting household attempt to light the charcoal fire with firelighters and white spirit (other liquid fuels acceptable), and then the whole thing getting rained off by sudden heavy showers a few minutes before the food is ready!!
I was originally a coal person, however after recently being given a gas bbq, I have to admit, I do quite like it.
I think it's more the convenience of it all, everything gets hot a lot quicker, plus you can control the temperature a lot easier so things cook better.
I think it's more the convenience of it all, everything gets hot a lot quicker, plus you can control the temperature a lot easier so things cook better.
Same here, actually a few years ago now, after giving my brothers gas bbq a home for a while I liked it. Now we have two young kids it makes life a lot easier, and there’s still a nice smokey taste to everything from the fat vaporising.
I do quite like a bit of ceremony with food and drink, whether that be mixing a nice cocktail, grinding and preparing fresh coffee, kneading pizza dough etc, so I may be back in the charcoal fold sometime.