Gas VS charcoal grills

[GrnBay007]

HELP!!

Well, actually I would like some Charcoal Grills For Dummies advise.

I've always cooked on a gas grill. It died about 2 yrs. ago and I've been without a grill. Decided to try a charcoal grill so bought one when they had all the sales around Father's Day. Tried it tonight for the first time and things went OK......it was eatable. But I want to get good at this.

Anyway....looking for advice/tips on cooking on a charcoal grill.....and I seriously mean from start to finish type advice.

[BallHawk]

If only Brad Delp were here.....

[Freak Out]

What kind of a grill? A big Weber? First off never use fluid to start the fire...use a chimney if it did not come with a gas start. Use the baskets for indirect cooking if some came with the grill otherwise move the coals around after starting...most charcoal grills do not have any kind of heat shield so be careful because you will burn things real fast if you are not watching. Use soaked wood for smoking when applicable. Yum!

Do some online research and don't trust us flatheads on PackerRats...

[Patler]

I'm sort of into grilling, have been for years. I went from using cheap charcoal grills to an expensive gas grill. Now I have very large and very small ceramic grills. WOW, what a difference with ceramic grills! I am a bit short on time today, and want to offer a number of suggestions, so I will be back with other topics. I will start with:

Fuel -
Buy natural lump charcoal, not briquettes. It's a bit hard to find, but well worth it. I have found it at Ace Hardware and at Menards. Any Patio store or the like that sells ceramic grills (Primo, Big Green Egg, etc.) will usually carry it. You can also order bags on the net from many places, but it is a bit pricey that way. Tremendous difference in flavor. Briquettes are mostly fillers like sand, which is why you have so much ash. You can burn a 40lb bag of natural charcoal and have a tiny pile of ash. Used properly, a bag of natural lump charcoal lasts a long time, so don't be put off if it is a couple dollars/bag more expensive.

If you are forced to use briquettes (but don't be!), avoid the easy light, matchlight, fast start types which are usually soaked with kerosene and do taint the taste.

I agree with Freak out, never use liquid starters. Smelling them should tell you why. Electric starters work OK, I prefer the starter cubes or blocks that are simply sawdust compressed with paraffin (be sure they contain no kersosene, etc.). Using a starter chimney works very well too. You can by one, or simply take a large can, like a coffee can, and remove both ends.

Natural lump charcoals are often blends of more common hardwoods like oak and maple. If you really get into it and want to experiment, you can buy small bags of various hard wood junks that are larger than the smoking chips that are readily available. You can mix the wood chunks with your natural lump charcoal and achieve different smoke flavorings. I have used mesquite, apple, hickory and oak. I like them all. If you keep your eyes open, you can find single species charcoal. Then you are really in grilling/smoking Utopia! A slow cook with mesquite or hickory charcoal can be memorable.

Another way to achieve wood flavorings is by plank cooking. I will address that as a separate topic later. I do fish on planks quite often.

Gotta go. Hope this helps!

[GrnBay007]

Thanks Patler!

I look forward to reading more.

It's nice hearing from personal experiences rather than just researching. I'm looking forward to experimenting with it.

[GBRulz]

I have a weber charcoal grill and I always use lighter fluid. Things seem to taste just fine to me. Maybe if you use just a little bit and not drown the charcoal in it, it's ok?

oo7, the one thing you need to put on the grill is asparagus. I never liked it until I had it on the grill. Soak it in water for a few minutes before putting on, then brush with butter as it's cooking. YUM

[Mr. T]

I just bought a charcoal grill two months ago. Similar situation to you, the burners rusted out on our Walmart gas grill.

I ended up buying a Brinkman Charcoal Grill. I wanted the ability to raise and lower the coals to control the heat (it has a crank and a coal pan). I can't speak to its longevity since I've only had it for a few months. It does cook well though. It also has cast iron, porcelain coated grates. I prefer this style to the traditional wire grates.

That being said, the Weber grills are porcelain coated and almost rust proof. I've never seen one rust. They're also the most sturdy brand compared to what I saw at Menards, Home Depot, Lowes, etc.

I would second Patler's comments about the electric starters. I use an electric starter, but it doesn't work as well as I had hoped. I've watched others use newspaper and chimneys with great success (you can buy them or build a makeshift one as Patler suggested).

I don't think I've used all natural charcoal, but I have used hardwood mixed briquettes with pretty good success. Great flavor, but they don't last as long as plain briquettes. You could also add a chunk of your favorite hardwood to the coals for smoking. I slow cooked and smoked spare ribs on my Brinkman two weekends ago - they were fantastic!

[Deputy Nutz]

the burners on any gas grill will burn out eventually, even the cast iron burners. I have had my grill for the better part of 4 years and I guess I could have taken better care of it, but it still works just fine.

I prefer the gas over the charcol, simply because I can control the temp better.

[Freak Out]

I have a weber charcoal grill and I always use lighter fluid. Things seem to taste just fine to me. Maybe if you use just a little bit and not drown the charcoal in it, it's ok?

oo7, the one thing you need to put on the grill is asparagus. I never liked it until I had it on the grill. Soak it in water for a few minutes before putting on, then brush with butter as it's cooking. YUM

Roll the asparagus in olive oil and balsamic..salt and pepper to taste and throw on the Q....yum!

[Scott Campbell]

I have gas.

http://www.foodreference.com/html/a-chargrl-warn.html

[Mr. T]

I have gas.

http://www.foodreference.com/html/a-chargrl-warn.html

I read that article. It basically says that cooking meat by any conventional means (including natural gas) creates carcinogens. Things that taste good are bad for you.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

Taste the meat, not the heat!!

[MJZiggy]

Now I want char grilled chicken!!

[packinpatland]

Scott Campbell"]I have gas.

Are you like those cows who are contributing to greenhouse gas?.......
you best read this......

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-vt-burpless-cows,0,1965500.story

[GrnBay007]

Any advise on cooking chicken breasts? We eat that a lot and I can't wait to make it on the grill. Back when I had my other grill I only attempted it once ( I know...lame) and I'm so worried about making sure chicken is cooked well enough that it was terribly dry and not tasty at all.