Charcoal or propane which is better for flavor [Archive]

waybomb

06-26-2008, 07:01 PM

Locutus

10-17-2008, 12:03 PM

IMHO, there isn't a great deal of difference for most things, but for a good steak, I always use charcoal due to the far greater heat, and therefore better ability to quickly "sear" the steak and seal in the juices.

And it only takes about 20 minutes with my "smokestack" style charcoil lighter. To me, at least, the extra 10 minutes is well worth it for steaks.

OTOH, I far prefer the gas grill for sausages, due to better ability to regulate temperature. :chef:

joec

10-17-2008, 12:16 PM

VeraBlue

01-25-2009, 12:46 PM

I see this post is waaaaaaaay old, but what the hell....I just got here.

When I was a kid my Dad had a charcoal grill. We even had an outdoor fire pit that he burned logs in, occasionally cooking on that. When gas came into vogue he got a gas grill.
When I got married and had a yard of our own, we got a gas grill. I never liked lighting that thing. I always expected it to blow up. Three years ago I got a charcoal grill, more advanced than the kind my Dad originially had. I got a smoker, too..and an outdoor fireplace as well. I use all three for cooking.

It takes about 20 minutes or so for the charcoal to be ready to cook on. Then it stays hot for a little more than an hour. I prefer the flavour of anything over the flavour or lack of flavour of the gas grill. I still have the gas grill but haven't touched it in three years.

smoke king

01-25-2009, 01:09 PM

I'm with you on that Vera-I have a gas grill that I walk past everytime I go out to light my Weber or stoke the smoker!!

My sincerest apologies to Hank Hill....:yum:

joec

01-25-2009, 02:18 PM

Actually I have never liked the taste of charcoal nor the problems with keeping it hot long enough. At any rate I use a gas smoker and get the taste of the woods I use which is what I really want. My grille is just that a CharBroil that cooks clean with gas, gets the job done and doesn't drowned out the actual flavoring I use in rubs or seasoning so the food tastes like I like it not the taste of charcoal.

homecook

01-25-2009, 02:19 PM

For whatever my opinion is worth........I prefer charcoal. I just love my Weber!

Barb

QSis

01-25-2009, 04:34 PM

In my opinion, there is no comparison between the flavor of stuff cooked over charcoal and stuff cooked over gas.

I have two Weber bullet smokers and a Weber kettle. Haven't owned a gas grill in over 10 years.

Lee

VeraBlue

01-25-2009, 05:50 PM

Are there any better coals than others? I usually use Kingsford. Had occasion to use wood coal once, but had a hard time getting it to light. It stayed hot longer, but it took forever to light.

Anyone use those chimneys to start the coals?

chowhound

01-25-2009, 06:13 PM

Ooh, a grill thread....

Flavor; Too hard for me to compare because I grill using propane. I, nor anyone that I've cooked for has a problem with anything I cook using gas. Many moons ago, when I was a little guy, my father had a natural gas grill and my two uncles charcoal. They always rotated the family get-togethers and I don't recall anyone saying one cooking medium was better than the other. And I grew up to my old age of today pretty much around both, but most of used propane grills. I'm not even going to get into cooking over an open fire because that's a whole different animal.... camping, cooking over an open fire, or a fire pit in the backyard that's more about ambiance than it is flavor. IMO. And if I want a smokey taste, I can wrap up some chips in a foil packet and set them on a burner.

I think that grilling with gas it much safer than charcoal. If I didn't have my propane grill up on my porch, there's no way I would be playing around with charcoal at least 3x/week. Sparks, igniters... fun to play with, but lots of caution needed for sure on a wood deck. Gas is so safe that.... well, that it replaced wood stoves :wink:

Convenience? Who here that uses charcoal fires up the charcoal grill to grill a couple hot dogs for lunch, or burgers? Gas has charcoal for convenience (and being cleaner) hands down. If I light only two burners on my Ducane I have a 500+ grill in five minutes. All four and the flavor bars are cherry red and it's up to 600F. Like Joe C mentioned, very controllable temps, too. I even love my hot and cold spots for moving around food. Sometimes I'm not even grilling meat, I'll fire it up just to toss some potatoes on. Crispy skin, grill marks.... all in the matter of minutes.

I have nothing against charcoal grills, but I'll always own a gas grill. I do prefer the "days of old" though when they used briquettes and lava rocks over these "flavor bars".

Your mileage may vary :wink:

chowhound

01-25-2009, 06:17 PM

I use a chimney to light charcoal when I'm cooking BBQ on the WSM. They work great. A little newspaper for the igniter and you have a chimney full of lit charcoal in ten minutes.
And I have much better luck with good old Kingsford than lump charcoal. It burns much longer and gives more consistant temps. I never had a problem lighting the lump though.

VeraBlue

01-25-2009, 06:18 PM

I do miss the convenience of gas, I have to admit. You're right, Chowhound...no quickie burgers or dogs with charcoal. Personally I've never detected any flavour with gas, but do get a nicer flavour from the coals.

chowhound

01-25-2009, 06:29 PM

Yeah, that's why I didn't want to get into the flavor aspect too much. I much prefer grilling a steak over pan searing and baking it, so that's flavor enough for me :smile: And the gasser means I'll be cooking it that way more often. A purist I aint :lol:

QSis

01-25-2009, 06:38 PM

I use a charcoal chimney when I grill hot and fast (cooking steaks, chops, burgers, etc).

I use Weber parafin cubes to start my coals in the smoker because I can better control the heat for low and slow, long cooks.

I use Kingsford briquettes almost exclusively for both methods of cooking but I'll occasionally use hardwood lump for the hot and fast grilling.

Lee

homecook

01-25-2009, 07:06 PM

I use the charcoal chimney also. I usually use Kingsford.

Yes I will fire up the grill for a couple dogs, brats or burgers. But I'm a "nut job" that way!

PanchoHambre

01-26-2009, 03:30 PM

Deadly Sushi

01-26-2009, 03:59 PM

I like the charcoal grill... or actual wood in my firepit thingy.. I actually think I ruin a lot more this way but it is just more fun to me to build a fire.

Grew up with the propane and that made some great food... way easier too.

Howdy Poncho! :tiphat: I agree with the wood in the fire.... its just a hell of a lot of fun for me too!!!

sattie

01-26-2009, 04:02 PM

Charcoal/hardwood lit with a chimney... no lighter fluid! The best!

waybomb

01-26-2009, 08:43 PM

You folks using Kingsford briquets - you really should try to find a bag of real hardwood charcoal and cook with it. You will avoid Kingsford like the plague once you've crossed over...........

Calicolady

01-26-2009, 09:11 PM

I use all 3, but not often. I mostly keep for emergencies for hurricane season, when we lose electric, sometimes for days, sometimes a week to 10 days.
It looks silly any other time using them as I live alone and doing all that for 1 brat, or 1 dog, or 1 burger LOL!
But when I get the chance I use the gas for fast cooking stuff.
I love ribs and roasts on the wood, but don't use the wood too often. Mostly briquettes.
I love a eyeround or pork tenderlion grilled over an aluminum pan placed in the bottom center of the grill, with the hot coals around it so the meat isn't under direct heat. The pan collects the juice for some of the most fantastic tasting gravy.
Or a half turkey breast cooked over apple wood.
Wow. Now I got myself thinking about my dad's birthday meal this weekend.
Thanks guys.

PanchoHambre

01-26-2009, 09:52 PM

Howdy Poncho! :tiphat: I agree with the wood in the fire.... its just a hell of a lot of fun for me too!!!

... it satisfies my inner pyro... this summer the kitchen is going down so I will be grilling a lot... if you hear about the great North Philly fire of '09 you will know who is to blame.

Phil

01-27-2009, 01:42 PM

It's kind of a convenient, flavor thing. I have a 600 lb. smoker, a Weber, and a propane Charbroiler. The gas grill has a side burner. There is no bacon cooked in our kitchen, hence the side burner. I'll fry bacon and sausage when it's freezing because I don't like the hangover smell in the house. I have had some super rib-eyes on the gas grill. And, if I'm doing burgers on the gas grill, the meat will contain about 27% fat for the flair ups. On the Weber, I'll always use wood with the charcoal for flavor. It's very convenient with the gas, but I don't like fish from it. If I had to choose one, it's the Weber. Also, on the Weber, I can have a med rare steak and "no" blood. Amazing product.

High Cheese

01-27-2009, 01:59 PM

I vote for real hardwood charcoal, very much unlike Kingsford or other "briquettes". It's very hot, cooks fast, and pours on the smoke.

But a propane one does well if you never ever clean below the food grate, other than the burners.

I just hooked up a large Kitchen-Aid natural gas grill. Right now, it still tastes like off the grill inside. But after a few weeks of heavy hamburger, brat, and steak cooking, I'm sure it'll get better.

+1,000,000

I'm not a fan of briquettes because of the mess they leave behind. It's a real PITA during extra long cooks when you need to clean out the ash half way through.

I love lump or just hardwood.

My main gas grill has heat diffuser plates just below the cooking grates. When I turn the grill on, I'll toss a couple pieces of lump (usually Mesquite) right on top of those plates. I get real nice smokey flavor to the food I'm cooking. Even works with 8 minute steaks. The lump just burns away to nothing so there's no clean up or anything. Sometimes one or two of the pieces will catch fire, I'll use those flames for extra browning, then just move the meat to a cooler part of the grill. With the lid shut, you get some nice smoke.

There's only one (1) thing I use briquettes for, and it HAS to be the Match-Light variety: Hot Dogs! I love the charchoaly, chemically taste of hot dogs cooked over Match-Light.

Maverick2272

01-27-2009, 02:13 PM

Charcoal here, and like Waybomb I find that with real hardwood charcoal, the flavor is better. With Kingsford you can get too much of the charcoal taste in it, and it can overpower the seasonings you are using. While gas would be quicker for a quick grill, I never do a quick grill LOL. When I go out to grill it is the whole enchilada for me! Steaks, burgers, dogs, brats, corn even BBQ'ing some chicken.
Basically, we make an afternoon of it with tons of side dishes as well which leaves us tons of leftovers LOL.

BamsBBQ

01-29-2009, 10:04 PM

I stopped using charcoal and switched to gas. I find it really is a lot easier to control the temperature easier than with charcoal. Now my smoker is also gas but it will use charcoal in place of wood chips which I've never tried since I also don't like the taste with charcoal.

i also have one that burns both, charcoal or gasser..but the main thing is to use a water pan in your smoker if you are going to use it... water boils at 212* and there are basically no heat spikes once u get it going

Actually I have never liked the taste of charcoal nor the problems with keeping it hot long enough. At any rate I use a gas smoker and get the taste of the woods I use which is what I really want. My grille is just that a CharBroil that cooks clean with gas, gets the job done and doesn't drowned out the actual flavoring I use in rubs or seasoning so the food tastes like I like it not the taste of charcoal.

if u burn your charcoal in a chimney down to white and no black (yes a little bit of waste) u get next to no charcoal flavor

I use a chimney to light charcoal when I'm cooking BBQ on the WSM. They work great. A little newspaper for the igniter and you have a chimney full of lit charcoal in ten minutes.
And I have much better luck with good old Kingsford than lump charcoal. It burns much longer and gives more consistant temps. I never had a problem lighting the lump though.

me either and i agree... i found a ever better way to light my chimney... i fire up my turkey deep fryer and set the chimney on it..burn baby burn..lol

joec

01-29-2009, 10:27 PM

I used a chimney to start my charcoals for years but once I tried gas I was hooked.

chowhound

01-29-2009, 10:34 PM

I just bought a 500,000 btu weed burner/ice melter. I might switch from the chimney to that. Burn baby burn (lol). I can see my singed balasters now....

buckytom

01-29-2009, 10:38 PM

oh, i want one of those.

man invented fire, half of the reason of which was for fun.

i keep telling dw that i need one for weeds. it would give me more time to do other stuff, rather than hand pick them. but, she knows my inner pyro, so, no go.

Maverick2272

01-29-2009, 10:44 PM

Fire is fun, wonder if I can get DW to let me get a turkey deep fryer just so I can 'play' with it, LOL.

When I was a teenager we lived on an acreage with an old concrete silo. We used it to 'test' out home made bombs using my dads black powder, gasoline, whatever we got our hands on... darn thing actually fell down one day, LOL!!

Oh wait, maybe I shouldn't say that... is that a SWAT team pulling up to my house???

BamsBBQ

01-30-2009, 12:00 AM

I just bought a 500,000 btu weed burner/ice melter. I might switch from the chimney to that. Burn baby burn (lol). I can see my singed balasters now....

thats how we start the stickburner...lol

Wart

02-01-2009, 03:45 PM

Charcoal or propane which is better for flavor?

I'll consider your question an excuse to start a thread.

:thumb:

Propane does have a purpose, cut up 20 and 30 pound tanks make neat little firepots. :dizzy:

How much more time does it take for a charcoal grill to be ready for cooking as opposed to gas. 10 minutes and my propane grill is ready for the food.

I can have lump charcoal going in 15 to 20 minutes, half hour at most. I prefer to take about 45 minutes.

Thing is the actual time to get a grill going isn't an issue. It's concurrent time, while the fire gets going I'm doing other things, prep work and such.

If one looks at it as taking the prepped food out to the grill, starting the grill, waiting for the grill come up to temp, then cooking on it, then the gas is faster.

But if you look at it as, put a fist of twigs in the grill, light them off using a plumbers torch, dump a pile of lump on te burning twigs, go to the kitchen and prep, go to the grill and spread the coals, back to the kitchen and finish prep, carry the food to the grill and start cooking, lighting charcoal takes about 3 minutes.

If I used a chimney I bet it would be less.

:shrug:

The above is for the Sportsman Grill. Burgers and steaks.

Now, lighting off the big 500+ sq inch grill (direct grilling smoking) can take a bit more time, using the above method takes about 10 minutes, sort of. Maybe. .

Thing is, when I light the big grill it's for a long haul, one hour at least (chicken, steaks for a group). more like 2~3 or 4 hours for ribs. And I'm playing for an external fire box for it (20 pound propane tank, thinking of going to a 30).

When lighting off the big grill and it's only wife and I the cooking done is for two or three days. Lunch and dinner left overs, ribs and chicken, whatever.

In short, the quality lump and chunks of wood brings to the table far outweighs the convenience of propane.

RobsanX

02-01-2009, 04:18 PM

I have a Weber charcoal grill, and a Kenmore four burner LP grill. I find myself using the gas grill almost exclusively because of convenience. I never really could taste much difference between charcoal and gas.

Miniman

02-01-2009, 04:25 PM

When I was growing in Africa, we half a 44gallon drum, loaded with wood that burned down. I've never really used charcoal, but do have a gas grill currently - for speed and also we don't tend to do much food, so not worth the hassle of getting a wood burn started.

joec

02-01-2009, 04:29 PM

My gas smoker just uses the gas to hold a steady temp and get the wood going. I like the fact it holds a very steady temp once it is set. It also produces smoke for a good 2 hours which is pleaty for most things. I rarely add more wood to it after the smoke stops.

chowhound

02-01-2009, 05:13 PM

It surprises me that the taste and convenience question has become a quality issue. The quality of the meal lies with who is fixing it. IMO.

I've used both, though like I said earlier, I am much more familiar with gas and have chosen it for my grilling heat source over charcoal, and I couldn't tell you I noticed any difference in taste or quality using charcoal over gas. Well, unless the wind kicked up the ashes while using the charcoal. Then I would say the food was noticeably grilled using charcoal.
If charcoal added flavor, wouldn't it come already flavored, like apple charcoal, or cherry charcoal?

I might just pull out my little charcoal grill, or use the bottom part of my WSM, and do a side-by-side comparison. I'm curious now if the quality of my food will change.

joec

02-01-2009, 05:22 PM

What I was meaning was using the typical brickets which to me impart a taste I can sure taste and don't care for. Now I've had food smoked using real wood for charcoal that was excellent and all I tasted was the smoke from the wood used. I also not referring to smoking either but grilling meats such as steak on charcoal. I've even had excellent smoked food done in electric smokers and to be honest if they are worth their salt not many can tell the difference either. However those all use real wood that smolders producing smoke be it what ever means you get the wood going I don't think it matter much.

Wart

02-01-2009, 11:31 PM

I also not referring to smoking either but grilling meats such as steak on charcoal.

Well, yeah.

When I spread the coals I toss on a couple of chunks of wood. Of course care must be taken on how the wood and coals are placed.

Wart

02-01-2009, 11:50 PM

It surprises me that the taste and convenience question has become a quality issue. The quality of the meal lies with who is fixing it. IMO.

And who is running the fire.

I've eaten from many gas grills, even cooked on a few, and I've eaten what I've cooked over my coals with wood, and there is no comparison.

I suppose if someone lights off the Kingsford and waits for it to turn white there is probably little difference between gas and briquettes.

Chunks of wood .... Hmmmmmmm

If charcoal added flavor, wouldn't it come already flavored, like apple charcoal, or cherry charcoal?

You mean like the briquettes with Mesquite in them?

They do.

I'll admit I have thought of getting a propane unit for convenience, then I remember what I make verses what I've eaten off gas grills and the thought quickly goes away. There is no comparison and I'll do the extra work.

chowhound

02-02-2009, 08:32 AM

Thanks, Wart.
I'm definitely going to do that comparison. Maybe after I've cooked with the charcoal a couple times to get the feel for it again. I want to be fair.

AllenOK

02-03-2009, 09:18 AM

Profaners and Blasphemers! Propane?!?!?! Renownce your heretical ways!

If you all saw the post I made on the BBQ forum, you'll see the size of my cooker. In fact, you'll see not one, but TWO chimneys with live charcoal in them (notice the flames from the top). I have 5 kids who won't stop growing any time soon. As a result, I'm constantly having to increase the amount of food that I'm cooking. During the summer, I've been cooking an entire 10 lbs bag of leg-and-thing quarters for dinner. Cheap, easy, and extremely tasty when I brine them, then cook over live coals. The flavor is UNBELIEVABLE!

Wait a minute. Oh. Crap. The grill I use at work is gas.

*scurries around, grabs a paper bag, and puts it over his head.

Please leave me in my shame.

chowhound

02-03-2009, 09:23 AM

That's OK, Allen.....
I find that food cooked on a gas stove tastes remarkably like food cooked on an electric stove :dizzy:

(that was the closest smiley I could find to the crazy one) :wink:

leolady

02-09-2009, 01:44 AM

Charcoal/hardwood lit with a chimney... no lighter fluid! The best!

You sure aint whistlin Dixie!:agree:

BamsBBQ

02-09-2009, 02:37 AM

all last summer i was just using charcoal to light my oak wood... had a tree that went down a couple of years ago and was burning that down to embers then cooking my food

ohh my there is nothing in comparison how a nice juicy ribeye tastes cooked over oak coals or grilling some corn on the cob.......:thumb::thumb::thumb:

Adillo303

02-09-2009, 05:35 AM

Another voice in the chorus. I lile the taste of hardwood charcoal. I do not like the taste of chatcoal lighter. I have a Weber that has a small has jet to make a flame under the charcoal basket. Lights my charcoal and does not add the taste of lighter. Five pounds of propane lasts the season.
I also have a chimney and sometimes use that.

I also find charcoal economical, because, if I put the cover on and close the vents it goes out and next time I just take out the basket shake out the ash and add more chatcoal.

The smoker is smother animal all together. I am hoping to convert the fire to propane for heat control. That will heat a pan of wood chunks which will make the smoke. After all the smoke is the flavor. I am also hoping for better flavor as I will not be mixing the flavor of charcoal and the wood chips.

Finally, the time element. Gas is quicker. I am therefore trading speed for flavor. IMHO

AC