I’ve always cooked charcoal. I just recently moved to a nice apartment and they have grills by the pool. I used one tonight and made one of the best steaks I’ve ever had. It still has that flame flavor. You don’t get the added sort of wood flavor but it is extremely good. More juicy than my charcoal steaks also. I’m surprised.
by STSPICKLEBALL
41 Comments
I was a charcoal purist until I actually used a gas grill. Now my gas grill gets used about 5 times as often as my charcoal grill.
There’s a time and a place for gas. Just like there’s a time and a place for charcoal. Just like there’s a time and a place for a real wood fire / bed of coals. Just like there’s a time and a place for a smoker. Just like….need I go on?
Love my gas grill! Quick and convenient way to make a great steak.
Nice char and temp on that looks perfect.
Love love love taste of charcoal grilling. With that being said my Weber genesis gets used far more frequently then my kettle. Convenient to start and finish. Quick. Food still comes out great.
Hank Hill would be proud
Great
It all depends on what you want.
I have a gas grill because I want to slap something on, grill it and eat it. I don’t want to wait for coals to get just right or smoke something all day. I want something in under 30 minutes. Gas lets me do that with a minimum of fuss.
for me propane is for instant gratification and spatchcock chicken on a work night. One of many of my cooking apparati
Propane and propane accessories ftw!
I’m a charcoal devout but you can get some damn good and quick results on a gasser.
One love to the grillers of the world
Gas is great. I like charcoal more though.
Taste the meat not the heat
I have a nice gas grill, a BGE, and an offset. They get used the most in that order. The convenience of gas is just too hard to beat on a weeknight, even though the BGE gets hot pretty fast for high temp cooks.
Gas is good, coals are better, smoking is the shit!!!! Just my option…. I cool on a gas bbq all the time only break out the other 2 options when I have the time
Wait until you discover a Blackstone griddle. Whole ‘notha level. Love charcoal still though!
When I want to bang out dinner after work, like brats or dogs or burgers or kebabs, I’ll absolutely go to my gas grill. Chuck eye steak? Absolutely. But if it’s the weekend and I have time to grill a ribeye, I’ll go to charcoal. I am not snobby one way or another about it, and kind of can’t stand when people are.
It’s another tool to get to grilled meat! (Actually with a foil wood chip packet it makes some very good eats.)
The best steakhouses in NYC are grilling those massive, cost as much as my monthly salary, steaks on gas.
Wait, you mean you don’t need to lug out a bag of charcoal, douse it with lighter fluid, wait 30 mins to start cooking, and cook for 12 minutes, all to be left with a carcinogen-laden steak and bed of coals that’ll keep burning for 2 more hours? You mean there’s an option that is quicker, cleaner, and allows for better heat control?
Quick, someone tell the macho men! I’m sure they’ll be reasonable and readily admit it’s a perfectly acceptable way to cook a steak.
I’ve always been of the opinion that a grill is a grill, no matter the fuel. The chef is what makes the difference.
Each has its purpose, but I will always cook my steak over charcoal. Veggies and kebabs get relegated to the gas. Funny how the gas grill cost over 10X what the charcoal one did.
Get the best of both worlds with some added wood chips!
For something cooked longer, soak the wood chips in water for a bit, for a quick-cook like for steak leave them dry so they make a lot of smoke in a short time.
Put the wood chips in either a metal smoker box or just wrapped in foil with fork holes all over and put right over one of the propane burners.
Charcoal or nothing!
I’ve got gas, charcoal, and a pellet smoker. Everything has a time and place. For me, charcoal gets used the least. Pellet smoker gets used the most, it’s just insanely convenient. I used to only cook on charcoal, but now I have to REALLY be in the mood to do it. Just too much time and fuss, and the end result generally isn’t enough of an improvement to usually be worth it.
I prefer charcoal but I don’t always want to put in the effort. I’ve made a few ribeyes over the last few weeks on my propane Weber and they’ve come out very good.
It has a time and place – everyday with a ribeye on top.
No
Grill a steak on a smoker at max temp. You’ll never ask this question again.
I’ve used gas for 20 to 25 years now and I would never go back to charcoal
You can also put that little box of wood chips to give it a different flavor
Pros and cons
Amazingribs.com does a really good breakdown of this age old argument. Charcoal purists can do what they want but there really isn’t much science to back up their argument. https://amazingribs.com/ratings-reviews/how-to-buy-a-grill/charcoal-vs-gas/
You can add a little smoke on a gas grill and it works great.
They’re both good, my philosophy is gas on weekdays and charcoal on weekends. Though it all depends on how much time and space you have.
Reverse sear minimize greys
Taste the meat not the heat.
Great for steaks. High temps. Smokers are great for steaks, but IMO they need to be seared after. For the CrUsT!
Gas is predictable and easy once you learn your grill. Charcoal will forever be superior though due to the experience as a whole. Mastering an open, Living flame. It requires touch. That said, I rock the propane grill 95% of my grillings 😂
I love gas grills. My dream is to someday get one that gets really hot. That’s the only issue with “normal” gas grills like my Weber Genesis – they just don’t get raging hot. Also my Weber is a piece of crap with 2 of 4 burners broken within 2 years but that’s a Weber thing.
“Taste the meat, not the heat!”