Gas or Charcoal ?

[Jor el]

What say You ?

Show your work.

[RAGER]

Both.  for different things

[I,Galactus]

Charcoal for days.  Weber one touch 22.5" w/ chimney starter.

Steaks, chicken, pork, burgers, brats, kebabs, mostly direct heat stuff.  I'd like to get some of these and smoke more.



I dunno if this counts as showing my work.  I've never photographed my food when I could be eating it.  Also my presentation ain't great, I leave that to the pros.

[Chovie D]

Gas for convenience and control and speed. charcoal has a flavor tho...probably bad for you flavor but a good flavor nonetheless.

[GodShifter]

From my vast knowledge in grilling, the "pros" always use charcoal. I've always used it, too (I'm not a "pro" by any stretch of the imagination).

Gas does have its pluses in that the fire is ready immediately and you don't have to worry so much about carcinogens (not that I do, anyway).

[MadJohnShaft]

We have 5 grills, to help Fight the Power.


I like the Gas one for making dinner, and it's right out the back door. I put wood chips in it, to give that delicious smokey allure to everything cooked upon it.  I acquired a second propane tank, so I always have a full one and can run one out until empty. It is a good thing.


I have one of those Weber Rotisserie attachments - to spin a chicken. Everyone should get that.

[bitter]

Gas for convenience and control and speed. charcoal has a flavor tho...probably bad for you flavor but a good flavor nonetheless.

Taste the meat not the heat!



There was some recent research claiming that eating charcoal cooked foods was doing folks a lot of harm. Cancer causing carcinogens and such. While it does impart a greater flavor, it can be a little overbearing at times. We used to make charcoal grilled quesadillas and they were gross.

[Chovie D]

yeah , theres the charcaol and then the gallon of lighter fluid I used ot use to light it. cooking your food over those is probably not great for you. hell even good old wood smoke probably has some carcinogenic stuff...tar and shit. I bet a 100 thousand charcoal grilled drumsticks are as bad for you as one cigarette tho.

I use cedar planks, sometimes alder, when I want smoke flavor on fish.
I dont do alot of meat anymore.

[MadJohnShaft]

I would be skeptical on reports that doing something we've been doing since evolution 101 (cooking over wood) is bad - the likelihood that food cooked over a wood fire is anything but aligned with us 100% is very low.

[Chovie D]

I would be skeptical on reports that doing something we've been doing since evolution 101 (cooking over wood) is bad - the likelihood that food cooked over a wood fire is anything but aligned with us 100% is very low.

you may be a farmer but now I am becoming skeptical of your status as scientist...
http://www.ehhi.org/woodsmoke/health_effects.shtml

[Lumpy]

Yeah, that was like the least-scientific statement ever. That was like stating a hunch.

They say a lot of the 'grill' flavor comes from the drippings hitting the heat source and then vaporizing. Meaning that type of fuel is not as important as you might expect.

Maybe I read that here, it's all becoming a big blur anymore.

[Chovie D]

Yeah, that was like the least-scientific statement ever. That was like stating a hunch.

They say a lot of the 'grill' flavor comes from the drippings hitting the heat source and then vaporizing. Meaning that type of fuel is not as important as you might expect.

Maybe I read that here, it's all becoming a big blur anymore.

You are correct aboot the drippings, I read that in Modernist Cuisine. I also read in another location that the drippings release carcinogens as well. Like I siad tho one ciggy is probably more damaging than a million char grilled bratwursts.

[Metal and Beer]

I think when some amino acids or enzymes or such encounter creatine they convert to a suspected carcinogen, and that bullshit they inject to keep meat red for long periods also doesn't take kindly to being burnt and converts to a nasty carcinogen (I can't remember the substance name but I believe it's being litigated over)

/shitty grammar shaky science

[Jor el]

What about the Pink Slime ?

[RAGER]

Wood fire is the shit to cook over.  I mainly use gas for the convenience.  once in a while I use charcoal.  I mainly like cooking over fire.

[mortlock]

i used to be like all charcoal. then i liked the ease of gas and was all gas and shit..now i like both but prefer gas when im drunk.

[I,Galactus]

My grandpa charcoal grilled damn near everything except eggs all year round (north Iowa winters be damned) and lived to the ripe old age of 91 without a spec of cancer.

That being said, I'd rather die of cancer from eating charcoal grilled meats that live a life devoid of their deliciousness.

[MadJohnShaft]

I rotated an ultra brined chicken tonight.  With some thick assed bacon wrapped around it. 

[joyce]

m.

[RAGER]

I rotated an ultra brined chicken tonight.  With some thick assed bacon wrapped around it. 

this is a great way to kill the kids off before having to pay for Harvard

[mutantcolors]

I have a fire pit in my back yard in Boise. Got a folding cook grill to go over it and everything. One big ass bed of coals will deliver mightily on stuff like ribs or burgers, or a mess of fish. Cooked about 9lb of trout on that sucker one night. Fucking FEAST.

[tossom]

Charcoal, gas is cheating.  Plus, managing to set anything on fire outside in Scotland is a hell of an achievement!

[mortlock]

fuck cooking meat..real men eat it raw.

[khoomeizhi]

I have a fire pit in my back yard in Boise. Got a folding cook grill to go over it and everything. One big ass bed of coals will deliver mightily on stuff like ribs or burgers, or a mess of fish. Cooked about 9lb of trout on that sucker one night. Fucking FEAST.

yup - wood coals>charcoal briquettes>gas  for flavor and effect
gas>charcoal>wood for ease of use.

[MadJohnShaft]

If I had to cook a whole baby, I would use the rotisserie and wrap the baby in thick bacon.

Maybe a maple syrup marinated pineapple instead of the head.