Charcoal BBQ Grill

[dragondick]

I need fellow Terbites' recommendation &/or input re charcoal grill:

I have a propane gas grill which served me well for a # of years, then I bought a charcoal grill because "die hards" claimed that charcoal gives higher heat which in turn gives the meat better flavour. I cannot tell the difference.

Should I have my taste buds checked?
Is there really a noticeable difference in taste between charcoal & propane?

I have no problem with starting a fire & extinguishing it. Controlling the temperature is a challenge though.

Any comments will be appreciated.

 

[james t kirk]

I need fellow Terbites' recommendation &/or input re charcoal grill:

I have a propane gas grill which served me well for a # of years, then I bought a charcoal grill because "die hards" claimed that charcoal gives higher heat which in turn gives the meat better flavour. I cannot tell the difference.

Should I have my taste buds checked?
Is there really a noticeable difference in taste between charcoal & propane?

I have no problem with starting a fire & extinguishing it. Controlling the temperature is a challenge though.

Any comments will be appreciated.

Real men cook with Charcoal.

On girls cook with propane.

I have a weber charcoal grill. You can't beat it. It forces you to slow down. You have about 45 minutes to sit there and read the paper while the coals get going, or talk to the neighbour, or whatever.

As to the flavour, it depends on how you cook with it.

Much of the flavour of barbequing is caused by the fat dripping onto the coals and igniting and giving off chemical compounds (cancerous they say) that then gets into the meat. If you close the lid on the weber while you are grilling, your barbeque flavour is reduced.

If you open the lid, the fire gets hotter, and you get more flame and smoke, hence a different flavour.

The other trick is not to use starter fluid. Buy yourself one of those weber starter cones. You put the brickets in the top and a couple of sheets of newspaper in the bottom. Light the paper, then it gets the brickets going.

When I used to use the lighter fluid, I could taste the remnants of it sometimes in the food.

No more with the starter cone.

 

[t_dot]

hey dude,

i picked up a weber kettle this summer for some smokey open flame grilling/bbqing. i know what you're going through when i comes to controling the flame. here's some things i've learned over the summer through trial and error and research. 1) charcoal can get hotter than your gas bbq, but you need to fan it and really get the coals glowing. some dudes acutally use a hair drier or some kind of blower. this spike of heat is short lived too. 2) controling the heat is tricky. in my experience the bottom vents are mucho important when you're playing with the heat. if they are closed you can really choke the heat, if they are open wide you can spike the temps, so just experiment a little and remember the results will take longer to appear. (ie. the temp wont change as quick as when you crank your gas bbq up or down) also i've found if you put the lid on it makes a huge difference in max temp. the lid cuts of lots of oxygen, so if you want to high heat grill leave it off in my opinion. 3) the kind of charcoal you buy makes a difference in the heat. lump charcoal gets very hot, and charcoal brickettes are designed for a steady even burn.

if you're really into charcoal/wood bbq, you should check out barbecuebible.com they have a discussion board just like terb.

 

[langeweile]

If you really want a flavor impact. i suggest you buy some woodchips like mesquite, hickory, juniper or applewood.
Soak them for 24 hours in water and throw them on the charcoal. Either the "real ones" or the "fake ones".
The amount depends on the cooking time of the meat you cook. Longer cooktime require more chips.
Basic rule for all good BBQ's, slower is better.

Have fun.

 

[antlerman]

Alternate way....with gas

The best way to cook with gas!

First you are best to start with a good propane or natural gas BBQ from vermont castings. These BBQ's are very heavy cast wich keep the heat all around the meat. Next is to get away from the fake coals in the Q and have the ribbed steel plate under. This plate ensures a even spread of the heat to prevent hot spots and when dripping do fall they instantly flame out still releasing the flavour smoke.....but not the foul greasy smell from porus rocks.

That said the best way to prepare any Q is to start the coals or the gas and place a sheet of tinfoil over the entire cooking area, reflective side down.
Leave the foil in place while the Q heats up, this will givew you a really hot grill to start. You can either brush off the white powder on the grill or leave it for flavour.

Now with the foil removed quickly drop your meat on the hot grill and listen to it sear and sizzle for a few seconds. Thi intense heat seals the meat closed keeping the juice inside the meat.

once the meat stops sticking to the grill quickly flip it over to a new place on the grill and turn down the heat.

Never close the lid on the grill unless it is below 10c outside or windy.

This will ensure that the meat is sealed and keeps the flavour inside the meat.

And always pull the meat off just before it reaches you level of preferance. put on a plate and cover with another piece of foil and let sit for 10 minutes.

Now you ahve the perfect juicy piece of meat.

I have done this method with both types of grills side by side with the same cut of meat and no one could tell the difference.

gas or coals do not make the difference...it is how you cook it!

 

[Meister]

Sorry to break your boner, guys, but the fat dripping on the coals and evaporating back into the meat to give you that yummy flavour is a ....




carcinogen.

 

[langeweile]

Sorry to break your boner, guys, but the fat dripping on the coals and evaporating back into the meat to give you that yummy flavour is a ....




carcinogen.

Oh well i guess you can't have it all...good food that's good for you..darn...

 

[DshRipRock]

The first thing to get straight is when you cook on charcoal you are BBQing. When you use a Propane or Natural gas you are Grilling.

I have both types and some food is best on the grill and some best on the BBQ.

Some fish/shellfish would be the first type I could think of. Best done on a Grill. This is due to the short cooking times.

Roasts of meats do best when slow cooked over charcoal.

I own a Weber BBQ and Weber Propane Grill. Both have given me years of service.

 

[PHNINE]

Maybe this will help???

https://terb.cc/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=98986

 

[langeweile]

The first thing to get straight is when you cook on charcoal you are BBQing. When you use a Propane or Natural gas you are Grilling.

I have both types and some food is best on the grill and some best on the BBQ.

Some fish/shellfish would be the first type I could think of. Best done on a Grill. This is due to the short cooking times.

Roasts of meats do best when slow cooked over charcoal.

I own a Weber BBQ and Weber Propane Grill. Both have given me years of service.

you are right.....