Well, my WORST mistake was leaving the gas/flame on all night after grilling. And about 10 beers. No fire, but in the morning the grill body had… sagged a bit. The grates never fit right after that. Second worst mistake was trying to cook venison ribs for my in laws. Did I know how to cook ribs AT ALL at that point? No. Did they turn out like charcoal flavored Kevlar? Yes.
Everyone has an OPINION about which is better, gas, charcoal or wood. It’s what you like, and what you’re most familiar with that’s best. I can smoke foods, cook using indirect heat, etc… all with my gas grill. It’s quick, convenient and I’m fairly skilled with it. You only get that “superior” flavor if you know what you’re doing. Otherwise, carbon all tastes the same…
Couple years ago, I fired up the gas grill. Once it was hot, I put on a beef roast of some sort and leave it alone. 45 minutes later, I go out and have a look. Meat is raw. Grill is cold. Tank is empty. Propane place is closed until Monday. Roast is cooked in the oven that night.
Heh. Here you go:
I went to set up the grill (charcoal, not gas) and, after putting the briquets in the stovepipe, discovered I didn’t have any starter fluid. I scoured around, looking for an alternative, and then found something I thought might work:
White gas. Big aluminum camping can.
I’m smart enough to know this is more flammable than ordinary starter fluid (you know what they say about “a little knowledge”), so I don’t want to splash it all over. Instead, I pour a little into a paper cup, and pour it over the briquets.
Then I remember: Damn, I left the lighter inside. So I go retrieve that. Takes a minute to find it.
Come back out. Add a little bit more white gas, because I’m figuring some will have evaporated, and the rest will be soaked into the charcoal and hard to light.
Okay. All set. Grab the lighter, lean down to light the newspaper in the bottom of the stovepipe, and –flick–
–WHOMP–
It’s like Bruce Lee kicked me square in the chest.
My wife exaggerates, though. I wasn’t blown across the yard.
Because the porch interrupted my trajectory. I bounced off and landed face-down on the cement patio.
To her credit, my ever-loving wife took several seconds to make sure I was unharmed before she started laughing at me and mocking my idiocy. At least I think she was laughing. It was hard to hear through the ringing in my ears.
BRIQUETTES???
BLEAGH!!! You people grill with “charcoal” briquettes? Do you all feel you need some kind of punishment for past misdeeds? If my choice is propane or charcoal briquettes, I’ll eat the meat raw. The only worthwhile charcoal is real charcoal, not that briquette trash.
And as for truly miserable rubbish like “match lite” or other petroleum-soaked travesties–all I can say is you get the vile taste you deserve for using it.
Briquettes, indeed. Might as well just not bother in the first place.
I’ve certainly heard this, but I have no idea where around here to obtain said Real Charcoal. The closest I’ve found is this lightweight tinkly-sounding stuff at the local huggy-granola store, but it doesn’t get anywhere near hot enough. Briquets get the job done, especially if you add the damp hickory chips or whatever to get that nice smoky flavor. But if anybody has a line on actual, honest-to-Og charcoal, I’d definitely give it a try to compare.
First, you have to use it properly. Most people are utterly ignorant of how to handle good charcoal. Lighter fluid is vile. Throw it all away. This has to be lit either with a starter chimney (using paper) or by essentially building a kindling fire under it. An electric “starter” will probably never get it going properly. I can and have worked steel with real charcoal. It can get that hot. You can’t just toss a match under it and presume it’ll light up FOOOOOM like petroleum-soaked briquettes.
Some good brand reviews can be found at
The problem I’ve seen most often with hardwood charcoal - I use Grove brand, bought at a regular grocery store - is that it can get too hot! I think we’ve just been piling on too much, perhaps it feels too light compared to briquettes.