Charcoal or Propane?

My wife just got me a propane grill for my birthday. I've known the grill purchase was coming soon, I used to have a cheapo charcoal one, but we didn't bring it wiht on the move. Anyway, I couldn't make up my mind if I wanted charcoal or propane, so I'm glad she made it for me. I really like the charcoal flavor, but I can't stand the mess or the fact that sometimes I just can't judge the heat correclty. I really like the constant success I have with propane. What are you folks? Who's charcoal, who's propane?

I'm in the same boat as you. I like the taste of charcoal, but it's a huge PITA. I may eventually add a charcoal grill for special occasions, but for my day to day grilling, it's tough to beat propane.

Definitely propane here. When I want to grill I don't want to make an evening of it. Just fire it up and away you go.

My charcoal grill is going now, hamburgers. I had a propane grill and didnt like it, less flavor in the meat but it is easier to use.

I have propane for everyday, fast, get-it-on-the-table results. But, I have a small charcoal that I live to fire up if I am going to be outside for a while and want to make a day of it (so to speak).

"Taste the meat, not the heat!"--Hank Hill, Manager Strickland Propane

Weber Kettle with a chimney charcoal starter (or newspaper sprayed with olvie oil if I need to get a big pile of coals going). I'm not a hardcore charcoal purist, but I really love the process of building the fire and then cooking with it. It takes about a beer longer to cook dinner with charcoal than gas, and I'm willing to make that sacrifice.

crappy underpowered propane grill here. I spend the money on microbrew beer and homebrew stuff. Someday I'll get a proper grill..... but I'm sure it'll be propane

While I prefer charcoal, it's not really compatible with my lifestyle. I usually grill 4-6 nights a week, it's my preferred means of cooking most meats and many vegetables as well. Still, I usually don't get home from work until 7:30, and if I had to mess with charcoal I'd be eating dinner at 10PM every night.

Propane works fine for simple grilling, and for many purposes (such as fish wrapped in foil) it's as good or better than charcoal. Even light smoking is easy, with a cheap steel box and some wood chips. Obviously propane is 1000% more convenient. I do have a proper charcoal smoker for weekend use, as well as a small charcoal grill for camping.

Natural LUMP charcoal - The way to go with a Big Green Egg.

I have both and I agree with many of the previous comments...charcoal is the go-to unless I am looking for minimum time required or want to keep churning out burgers and dogs at will, all day long.

Tonights dinner of short ribs on the charcoal grill with hickory smoking chips was just fantastic!

I only have Charcoal, by choice. I don't mind a 20 minute wait. I'm prepping stuff or getting changed from work anyway.

Geebus, Ed you hedonistic bugger, cut it out! Everytime I see that egg of yours I get all carnivorous. Between that and the keezer posts, you just might find a doe-eyed little Fingers curled up on your doorstep one morning. You're not allowed to bait us you know!

I use propane for my day to day grilling. But when it comes to smoking I use charcoal and wood chips.

Ed, how do you manage the heat on one of those.

With my grill I have 4 ways.

1. Time after lighting the coal
2. Hight of the fire basket from the fixed grill (adjustable)
3. Distance from the coal. (Big grill so I can cook away from the fire)
4. Lid up or down.

Charcoal with Mesquite , I wont grill any other way.

I have both charcoal and propane. 1 large propane bi-level grill, 1 weber 18.5 kettle, and 1 Weber Smokey Mountain Smoker. I use the kettle grill FAR more than anything else. For 4 or less people, this grill will do anything you need. IMHO, charcoal isn't a PITA, and the flavor is always better. I have a smoker box in the propane grill and it still isn't as good.

The trick is to use a chimney starter, with the paper from the charcoal bag itself. As you use the coals from the bag, tear strips off the excess. Using this coal-dusted paper, I get it started the first time, every time, and there's no bag to throw away. While waiting for the coals to completely fire, I prep the meat/veggies etc. You can mix lump/briquet charcoal to adjust your heat as well. I actually recycle the unused charcoal between cooks, and I think the coals start quicker this way.

I do charcoal, gas, and wood. Depends on what I'm cooking and what mood I'm in.

Charcoal all the way!

Charcoal!! I have a gas grill and a smoker but I never use them. I bought a 55 gallon barrel grill home made by a local welder. This thing is real well made, and I bought it for $150.00 delivered. I saw him driving down the highway with a small trailer loaded with grills and had catch up to him and get his phone number.

I use propane, and I think I have pretty much mastered it, which is great! I never got close to mastering charcoal.
The big green egg looks awesome -- the best hotdog in New England is made by a little roadside stand (mobile, he has a Honda Ridgeline and a trailer) about 3 miles from my house -- Fred's Franks -- and they use a Big Green Egg, too, which I find odd for a commercial venture but I think it's part of the reason their hot dogs are so awesome! Oh, for a glimpse at what makes this "hot dog stand" so great, check out fredsfranks.com - what a great way for someone to get away from the rat race and enjoy life!

Lump charcoal for me. Had propane years ago & missed the smoke flavor.

charcoal all the way

Both. If I'm pressed for time, I'll roll with propane. If not, I have a smoker which doubles as a charcoal grill. But I love smoking more than anything else.

Natural gas hookup right outside the back door.

Grilling 5 times a week year round? Never want to risk running out of LP.

For smoke...I'll drop some soaked wood chips into a foil pouch and lay on the ceramic briquets.

BierMuncher said:

For smoke...I'll drop some soaked wood chips into a foil pouch and lay on the ceramic briquets.

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I do the same thing with my gas grill but it just doesn't compare to the chips tossed in with the charcoal on the weber.

Gas, way simpler and easier. Charcoal is just too much of a hassle and work for me because, 1) I'm a poor college student and it's one or the other, and 2) I have no time with school for all the extra steps.

The secret with gas is to season your meat real good (your base is sea salt, fresh ground black pepper, and garlic, and add on or go from there), turn the heat down to the lowest setting, and let those suckers cook. When I make steaks (rare-medium rare, any other way is just a waste of the meat) they stay so juicy and I usually end up with a plate full of juice to mix with my mashed potatoes.

I do more smoking than grilling and that means lump charcoal and wood chips or (my new prefered method) wood pellets. I always found it easier to control the flame on a charoal grill than propane. IMO, all the propane grills I've ever tried to use have two settings: lukewarm and blazin' high!

And scientifically, you just can't get good smoke flavor using propane. The combustion process using propane produces a lot of water vapor that combines with the smoke and forms a 'barrier' between the smoke and the food. Whatever small amount of smoke actually gets to the food winds up giving it a small amount of smoke flavor that just sits on the surface. So, you don't get that true smoke flavor a that prized pink smoke-ring on your meat. Oh, and I always use a chimney starter.

However, using propane and grilling is still better than cooking indoors and not grilling at all!

BierMuncher said:

Natural gas hookup right outside the back door.

For smoke...I'll drop some soaked wood chips into a foil pouch and lay on the ceramic briquets.

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I've got a natural gas valve right outside my patio door, but sadly I've never put it to use. Eventually I plan to build a brick BBQ center with a gas grill and a large burner for brewing. For now, I just keep a backup LP tank.

I've got this little perforated steel box for wood chips, it cost me about $3.00 some ten years ago. I don't even soak the chips now...just fill the box and put it over the hottest part of the grill while it heats up and slide it to the side once it starts smoking. Due to insufficient oxygen, the chips never burn, and actually turn to hardwood charcoal that I eventually use as fuel in my standalone smoker.

It all depends on what and when I am cooking. I have a great gas grille, a good charcoal grille, and a killer smoker. Gas is the most used, but that is for nightly dinners. Atleast 2-3 times a week the full meals are made on the patio. Fish and steaks go on the charcoal, veggies, burgers, split up chickens and wings on the gas, all others on the smoker.

Lump Charcoal for me in my grill / smoker. I will go with briquettes if I am in a pinch. I have had propane in the past and it is easier and faster, but there is just something about charcoal that can't be beat. I am a master on my grill, with my charcoal, but if you were to switch either of them on me, I would be lost.

Where are you guys finding lump charcoal?

two words:

Cowboy Charcoal!

Thanks guys you made my supper decision easy. I have a whole chicken thawed and couldn't decide if I should throw it in the oven or on the grill. The grill it is!!! Propane, BTW.

beer can chicken

JnJ said:

Where are you guys finding lump charcoal?

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Most any place that sells grills and accessories carry it. Walmart, Home Depot, OSH, even Smart & Final.

It can be tricky to work with, compared to briquettes. Quality and consistency also varies a lot. I hate opening a bag to find four giant chunks and a whole lot of tiny flakes and dust.

BlindLemonLars said:

Most any place that sells grills and accessories carry it. Walmart, Home Depot, OSH, even Smart & Final.

It can be tricky to work with, compared to briquettes. Quality and consistency also varies a lot. I hate opening a bag to find four giant chunks and a whole lot of tiny flakes and dust.

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One of the bags I bought was full of old hardwood flooring (or hardwood flooring scraps). Still had the tongue and groove! I don't find it any easier or harder to work with; I use a chimney starter and it seems to work just as well as with the briquettes.

Royal Oak is usaully very good. The fires usually burn very consistent. You gotta have that chimney starter, it makes life so much easier.

BlindLemonLars said:

Most any place that sells grills and accessories carry it. Walmart, Home Depot, OSH, even Smart & Final.

It can be tricky to work with, compared to briquettes. Quality and consistency also varies a lot. I hate opening a bag to find four giant chunks and a whole lot of tiny flakes and dust.

Click to expand...

I've never seen it at Wal-mart, all I can get there is kingsford, which works fine for me.

the_bird said:

I don't find it any easier or harder to work with; I use a chimney starter and it seems to work just as well as with the briquettes.

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Most of the difficulties are the result of irregular size. It's hard to get an even burn going when some pieces are the size of your shoe and the rest are the size of your little toe. I always end up breaking up the huge chunks with my hatchet, which is a task worthy of Mike Rowe's "Dirty Jobs" program. I too use a chimney starter, and all the little coals end up falling out the bottom as I carry it to the grill.

I've also bought bags where every other chunk sporadically threw showers of sparks as it burned. Makes grilling in shorts a real adventure!

I still buy the stuff, but it does require more effort. Hey, most worthwhile things do require more effort...but as homebrewers, we're well aware of that!