Any Grillers out there? Gas, Charcoal, or Wood Pellet?

[Mayor_of_BBQ]

oh man almost forgot about this one...



GREAT for charcoal grilling for two or a few. No cover, so not great for indirect, but I build a hot fire on one side for grilling steaks or fish!

[AJ Huff]

One of my life goals is one of these 

https://www.goldenscastiron.com/goldens-cast-iron-cooker-and-cart/





-AJ

[Bulldog9]

Gas mostly, and learn the hard way that the extra money for a Weber is worth it.
I have a SS box that sits over the burner that I can load up with wood chips to get a smoky flavor.

5 or 6 years ago I added a  wood pellet smoker grill (Rec Tec) absolutely love. Rarely use charcoal.

[sickora]

These help!

Seconded. These are great when you want to indirect grill,  smoke for a long time, or just use less charcoal. 

[LaMojo]

I used charcoal for years until I rescued an old Charmglow, NG fired double grill.  Bought new SS burners and ceramic coated racks for the lava rocks and meat. Made a gas manifold to plug in a fish fryer and a crawfish boiler. That was 15 years ago. Of course, LPG would work just as well. I couldn’t go back to charcoal.

[dte8dom]

Be careful with the charcoal grill. Once you figure it out it is impossible to go back to gas. Years ago I bought a really nice gas grill but it never was really satisfied. 6 years now I've been cooking on a BGE and now that expensive gas grill is a storage unit for the grilling accessories. You will get so used to that flavor that at restaurants you will only order food that you don't normally grill at home.

[Guzzistajohn]

Be careful with the charcoal grill. Once you figure it out it is impossible to go back to gas. Years ago I bought a really nice gas grill but it never was really satisfied. 6 years now I've been cooking on a BGE and now that expensive gas grill is a storage unit for the grilling accessories. You will get so used to that flavor that at restaurants you will only order food that you don't normally grill at home.

I've never liked a gas grill, It's just not right. Once you go egg, there's no turning back.

[Moparnut72]

After the smoked ribs two  nights ago and this thread I  bought a Weber today. I've had ribs going for awhile now. Regulating temp has been my biggest challenge. So ribs, grilled corn, cole slaw and potato salad tonight. We will see how it goes with the ribs but my wife makes a killer potato salad so not all is lost. I gotta go in and do the slaw and I don't do so bad with it. Far better than the slaw at the wedding reception that kept me up half the night with acid reflux. Contrary to popular belief it wasn't all the beer I drank.   
kk

[Kane]

I love my weber, but am now intrigued by the GBE. As far as wasting fuel, kill the fire and reuse what’s left of the wood or charcoal until it’s ash. You can stretch the fuel out pretty good if you’re conservative and reuse the burnt fuel.

[jrt]

One thing I really dislike about charcoal, besides the blowing ashes, is I find it wasteful..
With gas, I preheat, cook, then turn the gas off.
With charcoal, I make a bed, grill my meat, and then I still have enough coals to cook
maybe 5 more meals. My grill doesn't seal well enough to smother out. That's a huge amount of
wasted fuel to meat ratio.
I've taken to only using charcoal on "special" occasions/holidays.

-AJ

My Kamado seals enough that it shuts the fire down and saves the charcoal.  I'm not saying 'zero waste', but it saves quite a bit.

[AJ Huff]

My Kamado seals enough that it shuts the fire down and saves the charcoal.  I'm not saying 'zero waste', but it saves quite a bit.

Yes, I know. My grill does not, as I said.

-AJ

[jrt]

Yes, I know. My grill does not, as I said.

-AJ

Honestly, it is mostly about about technique on what you have.  I had a conversation with a friend from Brazil- growing up, all they had was a pit and used spits to hold and turn meat.  They did fine.  My dad built a bit ol bbq grill out of bricks.  We did fine.  In college, I had a Weber.  Fine.  As long as you learn how to use your grill, you can make some darn good food. 
I'll admit- nowadays, my bias is toward the BGE, Kamado, Something Joe designs, because I am now used to that and I like the way I can regulate temperature.  I can crank the temperature to broiling or cook a piece of meat at 200-220 all afternoon with very little intervention (ok, I'm lazy as well).  But that is appealing for my style of cooking. 

[Tom H]

My Weber in action. Compared to previous posts, not very exciting. But some fries and BBQ sauce, it was great! I do try to use just enough coals to get what I'm making done. Though, when done, you could still slow cook a few hot dogs with what is left.




Tom

[Groover]

My wife scored us a Charbroil Kamander last season for $50, only thing wrong with it was a bent side shelf (fixed now). Before that, I used a picnic style grill and have used lump charcoal since doing regular grilling. Just recently I started putting about 20 percent briquets to the lump coal on the bottom to keep things more steady. Speaking of, I see other Kamander users here, has your ceramic coating on the grill come off? Mine started peeling which is fine since I've never had one like that. Apparently because I used a wire brush to clean it, but also wondering since I've had the grill go past 1000 degrees with the lid closed... (again, was using an open grill for the last 15 years)

[TalbotMatra]

All of my friends now have a gas barbecue and no one misses charcoal. With gas, you get an exact result and there is no charcoal mess and dust in the food. Gas rules!

Ciao
Lars

[Guzzistajohn]

All of my friends now have a gas barbecue and no one misses charcoal. With gas, you get an exact result and there is no charcoal mess and dust in the food. Gas rules!

Ciao
Lars

I'll have to start checking my angus beef for charcoal dust. Funny I never noticed that    By the way, can I have a little x-tra propane flavor with that t-bone?   

[Perazzimx14]

I'll have to start checking my angus beef for charcoal dust. Funny I never noticed that    By the way, can I have a little x-tra propane flavor with that t-bone?   

Every apple knocker knows you use NG for the best smoke flavor.

[Kane]

I get that one appeal of gas is less clean up, but my experience with gas is that there will be periodic deep cleanings and maintenance that doesn’t happen with the Weber. For example, cleaning up the sludge from fat dripping that accumulates in the bottom of the grill, replacing burnt out flavor bars, and the occasional dismantling and cleaning of the burners. With the Weber it’s rolling it over to the compost pile to dump out the ashes from the previous use (good for your compost and garden), brushing the grill, and the occasional wipe down.
YMMV!

[jrt]

Technique and heat source not just technique. In the winter I use a kerosene heater to heat the garage. I also use it to simmer soups and stews. I'm only looking for gentle heat no flavor. So the lid stays on and the stuff inside simmers away while heating my garage. When making Brunswick, BBQ chicken stew or cowboy beans. They go in the BGE with no lid on the Dutch oven as I want the mild smoke flavors the charcoal imparts.

I can't argue that, but I will say that smoke flavor depends on the heat source also.  It is nuanced.  A lot of times, I'll use briquets just be expedient, but if I really want a decent smoke flavor, I'll soak wood (cherry or pecan or mesquite or whatever) and add that on lump charcoal.  It is rarely burnt up at the end of a run, but there is always some imparted flavor.

[Kane]

You can think of the wood that you cook with as another layer in aromatic cooking.