Charcoal or Propane?

[Yoko]

More summer based threads!

Which do you have and which do you prefer? Charcoal or Propane BBQ?. Both have their pros and cons. Propane is convenient, but they don't last very long. Refills/replacements are expensive. And it's a bit of a safety hazard.

With Charcoal all you need to do is buy a bag of charcoal and that lasts a while. It's cheap. The con is that it takes longer to heat up. I think the outcome is absolutely worth it though. It makes your food taste better. There isn't a possibility of blowing up your back yard...Although, if it't done improperly, it can cause a massive fire, but you'd have to be absolutely retarded to let that happen. We've had neighbours come by in a bit of a panic asking if our back yard was on fire. We're like. lol...nope, it's just a charcoal bbq. You should invest. Lots of fun.

Which do you think is better?

[loaf]

I prefer

DEEP FRIEED

[Pete]

Thanks Kyra, now Lowes is blowing up my internet, offering free assembly on grills.

I've used both. On one hand, I love charcoal, because I love making my own fire, loading coals up over crumpled newspaper and really just making the biggest most obnoxious fire I can. The downside is that a lot of my friends complained about the taste of the meat afterwards.

As for propane, I like how easily transportable it is, as well as the grill, and how quickly and efficiently it lights. Unlike charcoal, you can light a grill and have a flame in about 5 seconds, as opposed to lots of prep time and cleaning up the mess. Though, with propane you do have to clean up the mess in the actual grill afterwards, and that's just fricken gross.


Propane and propane accessories.

[Yoko]

That isn't the only place you can buy a BBQ. Endless possibilities.

I prefer Charcoal. I love the taste of a steak that's fresh off the charcoal BBQ. The taste of a steak on a propane BBQ just isn't the same. It can't compare.

There really isn't much of a mess with the charcoal one. Not that I know of. You use some of the old charcoals for the next round, adding just a few new ones. With the propane, you're right, it leaves a nasty mess on the grill every time. I've been convinced that charcoal is the way to go.

[Heartless Angel]

I use neither for barbecue. I grill with propane, mostly for convenience. Barbecue does not involve a grill. Barbecue is cooking for a long time over low heat, grilling is cooking for a short time with high heat. You barbecue with wood, usually in a smoker unless you're into holes in the ground. I'm a fan of applewood and hickory smoking myself.

[Alpha]

HA, I've never heard anyone make that distinction before. A 'grill', to me, is the arrangement of metal bars on top of which you place food, beneath which is a source of heat. The activity as a whole is a barbeque. A barbeque can be with a grill, or with smoke, or perhaps with a hāngi, but a grill is just parallel metal bars.

We've had neighbours come by in a bit of a panic asking if our back yard was on fire

Wtf, I've never had charcoal that smoky. Or maybe your neighbours are paranoid.

I agree though, charcoal is the best. It's more sustainable, the food tastes better, and you can make warm banana splits: unwrap a banana, split it down the middle, add chocolate. Wrap in tinfoil, place inside charcoal. Barbeque with dessert. So good.

[Heartless Angel]

HA, I've never heard anyone make that distinction before. A 'grill', to me, is the arrangement of metal bars on top of which you place food, beneath which is a source of heat. The activity as a whole is a barbeque. A barbeque can be with a grill, or with smoke, or perhaps with a hāngi, but a grill is just parallel metal bars.

The device isn't what defines it as barbecue, it's the method. Traditional Barbacoa was all about slow cooking letting the smoke flavor the meat. Grilling uses high heat to quickly heat meat. People often use the term incorrectly, but ask any hardcore barbecue cook, anyone who's ever won any kind of award for barbecue, anyone who knows what they're doing, and they'll tell you the same thing, grilling isn't barbecue. Grilling's cool and all, I grill all the time, but that isn't barbecue. I'll still put barbecue sauce on it half the time, but that doesn't make it barbecue.

[Sasquatch]

HA, I've never heard anyone make that distinction before. A 'grill', to me, is the arrangement of metal bars on top of which you place food, beneath which is a source of heat. The activity as a whole is a barbeque.

Oh, no no no no no no.

Slopping sauce on something doesn't make it barbecue. Barbecuing takes preparation, it takes set-up, it takes equipment, it takes hours of slow-cooking. Grilling is just tossing some crap on a grate over a flame and turning it every once in a while. It's possible to grill with charcoal -- it's not possible to barbecue with propane. And keep in mind, just as adding barbecue sauce doesn't make something barbecue, barbecue doesn't require barbecue sauce. In fact, the marinades and dry rubs are more important than the sauce, and well-barbecued meat can (and should) be moist and flavorful enough to be eaten without sauce.

Barbecuing is separate from grilling in multiple ways. For the main ways, first is the equipment. While barbecuing on a regular bowl grill is possible, it's nowhere near ideal. Barbecuing requires an enclosed compartment, whereas grilling could be done on a grate over an open fire. Second, of course, is the method -- grilling includes searing the meat, while barbecuing involves slow-cooking with low heat and smoke for hours on end. And lastly, most people don't realize the importance of the meat cuts. You should grill lean, tender meats, while barbecuing is for the fattier, tougher pieces -- the low-heat, long-cook method lets the flavors and juices seep into the meat, tenderizing it, while that's not necessary for "grill-able" cuts. You can barbecue beef brisket (always whole), but pork is the way to go -- get yourself a nice shoulder (the bottom is the "picnic", while the top of the shoulder is called the "butt" -- yes, the butt is in the front shoulder of the pig, while the ham is the ass end), and if you cook it right, you should be able to simply pull pieces of meat away from it (hence, "pulled pork"). Of course, behind that are the ribs -- spare ribs are from the belly-side, while loin ribs are from the back/top-side. ("Baby back ribs" are loin ribs from younger pigs. Baby pig, back ribs, there you go.)

Anyway ... Charcoal all the way. It's cheaper, it's cleaner, it's easier, and it's more versatile.

[kupo]

charcoal hands down - it gives a better taste than propane. hank hill dosne't know what he's talking about.

[Michael Swayne]

I tried finding a video of Hank Hill saying "Taste the Meat, Not the Heat", but YouTube is pretty scarce of that right now. Anyway...

I choose propane. But only because I get all propane I use free. It helps having a propane (and propane accessories) business right down the road. It's only free because we residents occasionally become inconvenienced by the noise and smell, and it acts as payment in case a tank explodes there and damages property. American Cylinder for the win!

[Josh_R]

I work at Lowe's and get half off on all my propane refills, so I am gonna go ahead, and say propane.

When in doubt go with Hank Hill

[Joxsjua]

I use both, but recently I'm a bit sketched out on the whole "char" idea. Dr. Oz was explaining how when foods have char on them, that 'char' contains a lot of cancerous compounds and properties. I don't know if this includes cooking with charcoal or how that works and I hate to be the buzz-kill of this thread, but shit just got real!

[Yoko]

I use both, but recently I'm a bit sketched out on the whole "char" idea. Dr. Oz was explaining how when foods have char on them, that 'char' contains a lot of cancerous compounds and properties. I don't know if this includes cooking with charcoal or how that works and I hate to be the buzz-kill of this thread, but shit just got real!

****ing thread killer you. It's supposed to be about summer fun. Don't kill fun threads.

If you're an unhealthy sob, this would have some effect on you. If you're healthy, eat right, I wouldn't care about these carcinogens. Everything causes cancer apparently. Just live life and be ****ing happy.

[Polk]

Sorry Kyra, I know I'm dragging this off-topic again, but I wanted to address this.

I use both, but recently I'm a bit sketched out on the whole "char" idea. Dr. Oz was explaining how when foods have char on them, that 'char' contains a lot of cancerous compounds and properties. I don't know if this includes cooking with charcoal or how that works and I hate to be the buzz-kill of this thread, but shit just got real!

To be fair, it's probably mostly carcinogens in the smoke that do this. Keeping the heat nice and low helps prevent this, because carcinogens in the smoke raise as the temperature gets higher. This explains it better than I can, and everyone should watch it because Good Eats rules and Alton Brown rules.

On topic, though, I was raised on charcoal my entire life, but my dad recently got a gas grill, so I definitely want to do a little experimentation with that. Alton Brown has a great looking gyro recipe that I really want to try. Maybe I'll try it out and give an update or something.

Also, propane sort of rhymes with cocaine, and I feel that could be really helpful if you are writing a rap song.

[Joxsjua]

also don't use plastics 3,6, and 7; or ever heat/microwave anything using any plastics, they leech BPA and estrogen into food and liquids. BPA have be linked to DNA altering, especially in white males(making their wee wees smaller) in future generations. Also BPA can block receptors that will indicate to the body there are hormones present that aren't really there. The FDA now is forced to re-review the affects of BPA leeched from soft plastics, similar to the ones use in baby food containers(you'll notice the soft plastic lining on the underside of the jar lid). These studies have been going on for many decades but sometimes to change the ideals of a lobbyist controlled paradigm it may take many more.

[Yoko]

That isn't what this tread is about. Stop going off topic.

I'm in the mood for applewood smoked bacon.

[Joxsjua]

I like applewood, but when it comes to wood smoking, the sweeter the flavor the better IMHO.

[Yoko]

I like applewood, but when it comes to wood smoking, the sweeter the flavor the better IMHO.

See? Maybe we can get along. It's all about the flavour.

[Clint]

I'll go with charcoal. Not for some hippie reason like it's cleaner or better for the environment, or shit like that. Propane explodes, and charcoal doesn't. I'll go with the one that isn't going to blow me up before I have a chance to eat my food.

Because if for the love of God I do blow up before I eat my food, I'm going to be pissed, and I will probably shoot something.