Recommendations for Gas Barbecue

[Raymond Lin]

Having something shallow fry in it's own fat/juice vs the fat ignite and char the food makes a huge difference. Then there's the extra mess, smell, smaller cooking area.

There is no shallow fry, that's why I said griddle (like 3 times), not pan. The ridges ensure the fat is not frying the meat.

As for smaller cooking area, get a bigger griddle ? and you can only cook so much, i don't have dinner parties every day.

In terms of cleaning, same thing as cleaning any other cast iron pan.

It sure is easier than buying an entirely new outdoor bbq surely if you are looking to be lazy about cleaning?

 

[LiE]

There is no shallow fry, that's why I said griddle, not pan. The ridges ensure the fat is not frying the meat.

I guess it depends how much fat is in the meat, in my experience, even though the juice is between the ridges, it still isn't so far removed from the surface that it's completely removed from the pan.

Look, lets use a coffee analogy. Charcoal is a artisan bean, ground to perfection and pulled through a expensive espresso machine (if you know what you're doing, same as coffee, it's still easy to mess up). Gas is like Nespresso, it's better than instant but it trades off in many areas for convenience. Using a griddle pan is your instant coffee.

 

[Raymond Lin]

I guess it depends how much fat is in the meat, in my experience, even though the juice is between the ridges, it still isn't so far removed from the surface that it's completely removed from the pan.

Look, lets use a coffee analogy. Charcoal is a artisan bean, ground to perfection and pulled through a expensive espresso machine (if you know what you're doing, same as coffee, it's still easy to mess up). Gas is like Nespresso, it's better than instant but it trades off in many areas for convenience. Using a griddle pan is your instant coffee.

With coffee I either go proper or I go without….it’s that serious. I actually drink tea instead.


With BBQ, I either do it in the kitchen or I start a real fire, there is no in between for me.


A griddle is fine, gets the job done. If I want a BBQ then I do it properly. The in between thing is just weird to me, I understand it but I don’t necessarily agree with it, it seems the solution doesn’t fit the problem.

 

[dl8860]

I guess it depends how much fat is in the meat, in my experience, even though the juice is between the ridges, it still isn't so far removed from the surface that it's completely removed from the pan.

Look, lets use a coffee analogy. Charcoal is a artisan bean, ground to perfection and pulled through a expensive espresso machine (if you know what you're doing, same as coffee, it's still easy to mess up). Gas is like Nespresso, it's better than instant but it trades off in many areas for convenience. Using a griddle pan is your instant coffee.

Sounds like a good analogy. Funnily enough, I have a nespresso machine, a pourover maker (which I use supermarket ground coffee tbf rather than artisan bean freshly ground) and instant coffee, and most of the time I drink instant!

Goes to show we are all happy to put time into different things, I like my coffee fast and cheap but love making a charcoal fire.

 

[jpaul]

for steaks - on a griddle, dont't they preserve much more succulency . the contact heat, as opposed to charcoal radiant heat, will seal the outside much faster,
remember seeing a rick stein programme on steel workers pittsburgh? putting steaks directly on furnace heated metal.
if you're bbq'ing the steak that's something else,

small red mullets(need to be near the med?) or sardines they need a griddle.

 

[Skidder]

Obviously not (you know that) but does gas taste good?

With a good gas grill you will have flavourizer bars / beads or whatever that varpourise whatever drips on them and that vapour then heads back up and coats your meat. The coal smoke, doesn't give flavour (and if you have lit it properly it should not smoke) but the vapourising does and this happens just the same with a good gass grill. Plenty of blind taste tests out there showing no difference.

Neither gas nor briquettes/charcoal give flavour, heat and vapourising give flavour - and both do both. The exception is if you use nastly light the bag charcoal or lighter fuels that can give a nasty chemical flavour.

Your george forman or whatever you are talking about doesn't vapourise like that, it just makes marks and heats.

I don't cook steak on a grill either way. Sous vide and then chimney starter or just a pan. Cheap gas grills are awaful for steak as they don't get hot enough to sear. On mine I do have a searing burner and can get the heat up but it isn't as hot as a chimeny starter for sure.

 

[Raymond Lin]

With a good gas grill you will have flavourizer bars / beads or whatever that varpourise whatever drips on them and that vapour then heads back up and coats your meat. The coal smoke, doesn't give flavour (and if you have lit it properly it should not smoke) but the vapourising does and this happens just the same with a good gass grill. Plenty of blind taste tests out there showing no difference.

Neither gas nor briquettes/charcoal give flavour, heat and vapourising give flavour - and both do both. The exception is if you use nastly light the bag charcoal or lighter fuels that can give a nasty chemical flavour.

Your george forman or whatever you are talking about doesn't vapourise like that, it just makes marks and heats.

I don't cook steak on a grill either way. Sous vide and then chimney starter or just a pan. Cheap gas grills are awaful for steak as they don't get hot enough to sear. On mine I do have a searing burner and can get the heat up but it isn't as hot as a chimeny starter for sure.

Ha, George Foreman, that reminds me. I had one about 15 years ago, used it may be twice? It was so crap that I took it to uni and left it in the communal kitchen and let my friends go at it (people who can’t cook). It kind of just boils meat and all the juices runs off.


The way I see it, as long you get a good sear, good meat, it will taste good. BBQ for me is the fun of the fire, gas BBQ isn’t fun and it doesn’t taste better than cooking a steak on a cast iron or carbon steel pan IMO. The best steak I’ve had wasn’t done on a BBQ but on a stainless steel plate at a Japanese restaurant.


p.s. yes I know, fat is flavour.

 

[montymint]

After owning gas for a year now I regret the purchase - yes it's nice to be able to cook whenever but it's really not the same and I just find myself cooking indoors more.

 

[Skidder]

Ha, George Foreman, that reminds me. I had one about 15 years ago, used it may be twice? It was so crap that I took it to uni and left it in the communal kitchen and let my friends go at it (people who can’t cook). It kind of just boils meat and all the juices runs off.


The way I see it, as long you get a good sear, good meat, it will taste good. BBQ for me is the fun of the fire, gas BBQ isn’t fun and it doesn’t taste better than cooking a steak on a cast iron or carbon steel pan IMO. The best steak I’ve had wasn’t done on a BBQ but on a stainless steel plate at a Japanese restaurant.


p.s. yes I know, fat is flavour.

Yeah steak in a decent pan with butter and oil is better than steak on a grill of any sort.

 

[dl8860]

Yeah steak in a decent pan with butter and oil is better than steak on a grill of any sort.

Season your steak properly and give it a good sear over hot coals, that's the best way for me. At least for a ribeye, where it's nice and fatty and you get the fat to start to render. Perhaps for a fillet or a leaner cut, the butter in the pan will help.

 

[200sols]

Yeah steak in a decent pan with butter and oil is better than steak on a grill of any sort.

Comedy gold.

 

[tlrBeta]

I have a gas BBQ, one of the Weber Spirits. However, i must admit, a steak cooked on coal does indeed in my opinion taste better.

I echo the comments of LiE above, the speed and ease of burn off to clean saves so much hassle. Even with a chimney starter i use for my smoker.

Back on topic, have you brought that pellet beast yet?

 

[jpaul]

Channeling FrenchTart - https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/05/the-food-labs-perfect-grilled-ribeye-steaks.html
hadn't appreciated ribeye on a bbq is a two stage process

1. 1.
   Season steaks liberally with salt. Set on a plate and let rest for at least 40 minutes or up to 4 days. If resting longer than 40 minutes, transfer to a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate, uncovered, until ready to cook.
   
   
2. 2.
   Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and arrange coals on one side of charcoal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill, and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil grilling grate. Season steak with pepper and place on cooler side of grill. Cover and cook, with all vents open, flipping and taking temperature every few minutes, until steaks register 105°F (41°C) for medium-rare or 115°F (46°C) for medium on an instant-read thermometer, 10 to 15 minutes total.
   
   
3. 3.
   Transfer steaks to hot side of grill and cook, flipping frequently, until a deep char has developed and internal temperature registers 125°F (52°C) for medium-rare or 135°F (57°C) for medium, about 2 minutes total. Transfer steaks to a cutting board and allow to rest for at least 5 minutes and up to 10. Carve and serve immediately.

 

[Skidder]

Comedy gold.

A lot of people in this thread who I suspect are not very accomplished cooks

Season your steak properly and give it a good sear over hot coals, that's the best way for me. At least for a ribeye, where it's nice and fatty and you get the fat to start to render. Perhaps for a fillet or a leaner cut, the butter in the pan will help.

I prefer to cook steak sous vide and chimney starter as I said, but a pan really does work perfectly



.

 

[randomshenans]

You're wasted on this lot @Skidder you and your manly silver foxness!

 

[Skidder]

You're wasted on this lot @Skidder you and your manly silver foxness!

I'm wearing a wife beater at the moment, you would love it!

 

[Jasoncmor]

Charcoal will always be the way to go, but for the amount of times I'm actually able to get the BBQ out, lighting the coals and waiting was just too long for me, so I recently bought a gas BBQ from B&Q, was pretty cheap and they have an end of season sale on aswell so made it cheaper, i'll just be saving the charcoal for my ugly drum smoker.