I’ve decided that a new grill would be a great gift for the wonderful man in my life, and I did my due diligence, and found out that he prefers a charcoal grill. (Which I guess explains why he doesn’t use the old gas grill he’s got.)
Anyway, I personally am of the gas grill persuasion, so I’m kinda lost on the pros and cons of the different charcoal grill setups I’m seeing online. Plus, I very seldom grill myself, so I don’t have a good foundation of knowledge to work with.
None of the gas grills I have had could properly sear a steak. I see they have some with special burners that radiate heat instead of just flames but I have never used one.
Charcoal gives a better flavor, no doubt. but it isnt as easy. I prefer charcoal.
There are basically two sorts- the kind that looks like a UFO on three or four legs, or the kind that looks like a big egg- which is less common and more expensive. The third kind is larger and more for professionals. Ask him whether he prefers the UFO kind Or the egg kind-
Then go to a big store and ask one of the nice employees about a nice one on sale.
I’m big into grilling and smoking and I’d check it with him first. Spill that you’re buying him a grill and get his advice. He may not even want one and, if he does, he probably has some idea of what to look for. And, preferences aside, he may actually prefer OWNING a gas grill.
IMHO – and this is based on personal experience and not by any means any sort of expert recommendation – charcoal grills are an unnecessary nuisance because much of the smoky flavour comes from the drippings onto whatever is producing the heat, not from the charcoal itself. If a gas grill doesn’t produce enough heat to smoke and sear – or if it doesn’t properly smoke the drippings – then what you have there is a lousy gas grill. A multi-burner Weber generally does a great job, plus, as a bonus, it’s capable of doing wonders with indirect heating for roasts. My current old Weber has lasted me more than two decades, and I still love it!
But I admit I’m biased, just giving my side of the story. There are definitely charcoal grill aficionados with their own stories. And of course, if the object of your affection has his heart set on charcoal, then who am I to argue. But maybe you should suggest that he do some due diligence himself on the pluses and minuses.
Um… I will have to disagree hard with this statement, “because much of the smoky flavour comes from the drippings onto whatever is producing the heat, not from the charcoal itself”
The charcoal, being a wood product, provides most of the smokey flavour. However, I agree with you that a Weber grill, specifically, a Weber Kettle Grill (https://www.weber.com/CA/en/charcoal/original-kettle/) is the superior grill!
I have a Weber Smokey Mountain for smoking, a Weber Kettle for most of my grilling needs, and a Bull gas grill that I use for hotdogs, foil wrapped vegetables, carmalizing the glaze on pork rips… and storing my grilling accoutrements.
OP, go for the Weber Kettle, get a Weber chimney and a propane torch to make lighting the charcoal easy, and have a fantastic grilling season!
True dat! I have two sizes of the Weber Kettles for different uses. For scorching hot small grill jobs like a steak, or carne asada or teriyaki beef, I go with the smaller model. For larger jobs, or where I need a hot and cooler side, I use the big one. In all applications I use chunk charcoal as it lights faster and gets a lot hotter than standard briquets.
The Weber kettle looks pretty solid. I’ll definitely have to take a look at those.
And yes, I know I could just ASK him what kind of grill he’d like, but he’d likely try to talk me out of getting him anything expensive, etc. It’s tough buying gifts for him!
I’m firmly in the charcoal camp and will never have anything else. I grill a lot.
I don’t now how much you wish to spend, but if $500-ish is not out of line, I’d encourage you to check out these Webers:
They offer the best of all possible worlds: Charcoal with a built-in propane lighter to start the coals. Mine is a much earlier model. I’ve had it since 2007 and it’s still going strong. Love that thing!!
I am very firmly in the charcoal camp. I don’t like gas grills.
Personally, I like the way that kettle grills cook. That may come down to personal preference though.
On the other hand, my kids bought me a grill a few years ago. It’s fairly similar to this:
Personally I don’t think it cooks as well or as evenly as a kettle grill. On the other hand, having a place for plates and cooking utensils is a big plus. I also like that the tray that holds the charcoal can be raised and lowered, which gives you more control over the heat.
As much as I like all of the features of this grill, I am probably going to go back to a kettle grill when this one finally gets old and rusty.
Personally I wouldn’t want a charcoal grill with a propane starter, but that’s just my personal preference. Just give me a decent sized kettle grill. No fancy bells and whistles.
I use my charcoal grill a lot and I like it much better than the few gas grills I’ve used. I have a 22" Weber kettle grill, nothing fancy but it works great. I would recommend throwing in a chimney starter, which can be gotten for $20 or less and makes it very easy to light the charcoal without lighter fluid, also known as “make your food taste like gasoline” fluid. My preference is to use a can of Sterno rather than paper to start the chimney, because it avoids having a pile of paper ash blowing around the bottom of the grill and possibly getting on the food.
I use newspaper under my chimney (yes, I still have one delivered) and use my Benzomatic torch to light (I’ve done a lot of copper plumbing so have the best). By the time the food goes on, the paper ash is long gone.
My dad got one of the Performers with the propane assist and the tabletop (but not the OG stainless table) last year and I’ve used it a bit. The big plus for the gas is in combination with the chimney. It’s the same newspaper and coal process I’d be using anyway but faster lighting and also more certain; I’ve had the paper burn out before the coals catch plenty of times. I can certainly live without it but it’s more useful than I expected.
You may be right, and I’m certainly not going to argue with someone who has both a charcoal and a gas grill plus a smoker! But I do want to make clear the reason for my comment, not to dissuade anyone from going with charcoal, but for anyone who might be on the fence and might be unfairly dissuaded from gas grilling, particularly with one of the excellent Weber gas grills.
When the weather is bad and especially when the snow is flying in winter, I’ve been known to do pork chops and sausages and the like either by pan-frying on the stovetop or in the oven. For most meats, the difference between this style of cooking versus an outdoor gas grill is like night and day! I don’t even mention steaks because I’d never dream of doing a steak on a stovetop, though I know there are fancy recipes for pan-frying steak.
And the main aspect of that night-and-day difference is mostly the smokiness, although probably to some extent the flame-searing as well. When I throw burger patties on the gas grill and close the lid, and it erupts in flames and smoke billows out everywhere, is it not reasonable to believe that the resulting burgers will taste smoky? And they sure do!
There’s also a distinct difference between a roast cooked on indirect heat on the grill – something Webers are particularly good at – compared to one done in the oven, and the difference largely seems to be the smokiness.
Conversely, somewhere I have a little cast iron box into which you’re supposed to put hickory chips and place it over the burner of a gas grill to produce wood smoke. I tried it a few times but stopped using it because it made no appreciable difference.
Let me be clear: I do NOT claim that gas grills are just as good as charcoal. A Weber kettle charcoal grill may indeed produce the best results. But charcoal grills take prep time and are generally only justified when grilling significant quantities. Gas grills are ready in minutes and are a very fine option when the alternative is no outdoor grilling at all because it’s not worth the time and effort.
I prefer charcoal grills but since I have mostly lived my adult life in multi-unit buildings those are forbidden and it is gas grills or nothing (fire hazard thing).
I can say a good gas grill with a few accessories can get you really close to what a charcoal grill can provide. Indeed, since they are easier to use and manage than a charcoal grill I’d say gas grills are overall better unless you are a master with your charcoal grill (and few are). Gas grills also tend to be more versatile. But, a good one worth buying will probably cost more than a charcoal grill.
Bottom line, a good grill can provide great results no matter the type. That said, the basic Weber kettle grill is a classic. Cheap, nothing fancy and it just works well. It’s been around for ages for a reason.
Likewise, my gas grill works best for my situation. Mainly because for five months out of the year it’s too hot to even think about turning on the oven in my house and I’ve taken to using my gas grill as a de facto oven. It’s much easier to adjust and maintain the temperature in my gas grill and I’ve gotten pretty good at turning out baked goods on it.
