[Closed] Barbecue: Gas or Coals, the definitive argument.

My BBQ had a cast iron plate over the gas, great for cooking anything that kicked off a smell. Cooked amazing stuff on it all over the place. Easy to carry, clean, and use. Got used more because it was easy and heated up in minutes. Perfect for 90% of people. For most BBQ is just an excuse to make a fire and cook some cheap sausages which would be better done on the gas.

Gas, every time.

Coals - get hotter, more smoke, man make fire, you can get some great results but requires more attention - e.g. having a hot and cool area of the grill

Gas - gets going quickly, way more control so better result usually, still lots of smoke, doesn't char quite as well if that's what you want

If you want to stand around something warm and smokey, drink beer and just eat stuff -> coal

If you want to get home, discover it's a gread evening and fancy a BBQ NOW, hang around outside, drink beer and eat great stuff -> gas

edit:and welcome to the summer threads 🙂

If im assing about on site its gas on a Cadac - nice piece of south african kit..and if feeding a lot of people it works very well.

Sun morning fry ups a treat - everyone seems to pop out of the woodwork for a bacon butty.

If i'm mobile then its a cobb..

Not really into the authentic smokey/burnt taste of a real BQ and just get fed up wiv smeling like ive been bq'd.

Gas is superior in every conceivable way. It's safer, cooks better, less mess, more convenient and cheaper. However when it's sunny and I'm pissed none of these things matter. So coals, everytime.

Gas? May as well cook in the kitchen. Safer, cooks better, more convenient and cheaper.

That's my view currently wrecker. I'm for the coals option, but Mrs Kryton wants a gas bbq for spontaneity...

Both?

Coals man myself but I can see the spontaneity angle.

That's my view currently wrecker. I'm for the coals option, but Mrs Kryton wants a gas bbq for spontaneity...

Coals = Barbecue

Gas = Hob

And here endeth the thread

Tried gas with lava rocks last year but couldn't get on with them. Hot spots, dead spots and flare ups. Discovered a wonder starter gel in france for coals and got consistent and relatively speedy glowing coals each time. The taste was so much better too.

Coals = Barbecue

Gas = Hob

And here endeth the thread

+1

A gas burner is not a BBQ.

but doesnt the flavour from a bbq come from the fats and juices released from the food hitting the coals and making smokey flavours? So hot coals heated by a gas flame or normal charcoal should give the same result?

I wonder if in a blind taste test people would be able to tell the difference.

but doesnt the flavour from a bbq come from the fats and juices released from the food hitting the coals and making smokey flavours? So hot coals heated by a gas flame or normal charcoal should give the same result?

I wonder if in a blind taste test people would be able to tell the difference.

Don't start bringing irrelevant so called facts into this, it's a primal cook vs fire thing, it's not just about the taste, it's about the whole cooking experience. 😉

My BBQ had a cast iron plate over the gas,

I have a cast iron griddle that fits on my gas hob. And an extractor hood.

The answer is of course charcoal. A decent kettle BBQ allows you to extinguish the coals and re-use next time, so hardly inconvenient.

Dunno but Jack Daniels wood shavings on the gas bbq did impart a fair bit more flavour compared to the lava rocks alone.

I have both a large gas and a Weber BBQ. Gas is reliable, gets hotter than charcoal, easy to cook on for perfect results, easier to clean afterwards which makes it perfect for large BBQ's parties of up to 50 people.
The Weber is easier to get out for the spontaneous BBQ's but can be hit and miss. I use a chimney (as above) to get the charcoal going but still you can be waiting ages for the temperature to build up to cook on often using a lot more fuel than stated. It is more satisfying to cook on charcoal but I don't notice much difference in flavour. I found my old wonky eyesore of a brick built BBQ to be better than the Weber for results.
I still use the Smokey Joe for camping which I picked up as a bargain at an end of season B&Q sales.

in no world is cooking on a gas cooker outdoors a barbecue

leffeboy - Member
Coals - get hotter, more smoke, man make fire, you can get some great results but requires more attention - e.g. having a hot and cool area of the grill

Gas - gets going quickly, way more control so better result usually, still lots of smoke, doesn't char quite as well if that's what you want

If you want to stand around something warm and smokey, drink beer and just eat stuff -> coal

If you want to get home, discover it's a gread evening and fancy a BBQ NOW, hang around outside, drink beer and eat great stuff -> gas

This.

I've got both. The gas Outback has lava rocks which when coated up properly with fat and juices does give a lot of flavour. The charcoal Weber is great for big joints of smoked meats. I use both when doing large groups, but cook different things on each.

Maybe these two evidential images settle the arument:

[img] [/img]

or

[img] [/img]

Maybe these two evidential images settle the arument:

competition barbequing.

Really?

Do they do the barbecues in eduro colouring and have special clothes for the event?

Really Competition barbecuing 😯

Is all charcoal created equal as I really struggle to get my Webber up to heat which I suspect may be to do with the cheap Aldi briquettes?

ok, can we just close this now. I'm seriously hungry 🙁

my Webber

Some brief research tells me whichever option it is, Weber Kettle it must be, with a cover. And a chimney if coals.

Hmm, not cheap though the gas ones.

Really Competition barbecuing

Is all charcoal created equal as I really struggle to get my Webber up to heat which I suspect may be to do with the cheap Aldi briquettes?

Our residential agreement means that charcoal BBQs are not allowed. We've got a gas one now and it's OK but not the same. The problem is that I'm not happy leaving the gas cylinder outside in indirect sunlight as it's stored in a real sun trap. Having to store the gas cylinder downstairs in the basement kind of kills the spontaneous argument as well... 🙁

I miss charcoal..

Starving now, so would happily accept food from either. But for me, it's not a BBQ if I haven't set fire to something. So charcoal.

You laugh, but it's HUGE in the US

Strange hobby but then again barbecues are not exactly prime vegan territory

Strange hobby but then again barbecues are not exactly prime vegan territory

BBQ comps are perhaps a bit strange but watching others compete in baking [i]on the television[/i] is a lot stranger. I can't believe that the beeb made that shite.

I prefer charcoal and would say that gas is just outdoor grilling, however, I can see the ease of use argument as my neighbour behind often just kicks his grill off for Sunday breakfast which I could never be arsed to do with the coals.

Also agree that decent quailty charcoal makes a massive difference to consistent heat and longevity of the cook.

I don't burn things on my BBQ either - there's a lot to be said for learning to use them properly and indirect cooking.

Either way though I think outdoor cooking is something we should all embrace more. This weekend I think it's time to dust off the tools (pretty late in the year for me not to have cooked yet).

Gas .... if only for the speed and convenience of it.

Coals = BBQ
Gas = Cooking Outside

Fwiw I use one of them chimneys to light my coals and it fires up pretty quickly.

The problem is that I'm not happy leaving the gas cylinder outside in indirect sunlight as it's stored in a real sun trap.

I think the answer to this is that you need both, more accurately 3 types of BBQ to survive.

I currently have a small but very sturdy "travel" BBQ that gets the most use. Easily big enough to cook for myself, Mrs-g and the mini-gs, almost all our BBQing is done on that.

Then we have some enourmous webber thing that mrs-g bought that gets used once or twice a year as cooking for less than 20 people with it is just a waste of heat and time.

What I don't have is a gas one, and I can see the space in my life for one of these. As soon as I get a bigger garden I am getting one purely for the "get in in after work, sun will be gone in 45 mins, can cook and eat in that time" of it all. Friends have one, and it has 'coals' on it that heat up, smells like a BBQ, tastes like a BBQ, sounds like a BBQ, it's a BBQ.

It's not the same as a proper one, you won't get the ritual of the building the fire, sitting around chatting and waiting and thats is what I would miss, but the people saying you should just cook something on the grill indoors are completely missing the point.

And if gas, why not just use the grill indoors...

I presume you don't bother going outside to ride bikes ?

I mean, what's the point, a turbo trainer in the garage is much more practical 🙂

I would say most important is the meat.

Put shite sausages on a coal BBQ and it isn't going to improve the situation.

Barbecue: Gas or Coals, the definitive argument.

Coals. Part of the fun of having a BBQ is the effort involved in making fire to cook like the caveman.

I mean if you want to cook with gas that's fine too but that's not BBQ coz that's simply cooking with outdoor kitchen.

Therefore, ask yourself this question do you the time? If you do then coals but if you don't then gas.

However, if you are organising some sort of outdoor orgies where food might be served than you might want to first cook using gas and then finished of with coals or vice versa depending on what you cook. This is to add consistency or flavour to the food. So there you go the answer.

My own personal preference is to use coals as I can't be arsed to mess around with gas equipment. For coals I just create BBQ stand using bricks and some wire mesh etc ...

😀

I like the Aussie approach. They have public barbeques in parks and public spaces that are typically free to use.

[img] [/img]

Controversially (for this thread) many of them are electric!

But which direction would we queue???? 🙂

"We've got a gas one now and it's OK but not the same. The problem is that I'm not happy leaving the gas cylinder outside in indirect sunlight as it's stored in a real sun trap"

you live in death valley ?

Odd isnt it ... if i could achieve the same flavor with my gas hob inside - would i bother BBQing ?

everything tastes better cooked on the open flame

Had one of these fitted to our camper once it turns up.

[img] [/img]

Like that ^

But I'd want it to make a suitable "Psshhhhhhh-tiku" noise as it slides out 😀