Food Jam: Propane or charcoal?

Grill choice?

  • Stick with the charcoal

    Votes: 5 45.5%

  • Weber Q3200

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Wever Spirit E-210

    Votes: 1 9.1%

  • Other???

    Votes: 5 45.5%
  • Total voters
    11
bsman

bsman

b00b
I've been contemplating a new grill for quite a while. I have limited space on our patio, and have been using a Weber charcoal grill -- the smallest one -- for years. However, it's a royal PITA lighting it (the wife hates the taste and smell of lighter fluid so I use one of those chimneys and paper to light the coal -- it takes a while), dealing with the ashes (I have to bag them up and put them in the trash), etc. I've been thinking that replacing it with a propane grill would be a good thing -- less hassle and less time so I'd be more likely to cook out. What do you folks think is the way to go? Gas or charcoal? FYI, these are the two grills I'm contemplating:

2013_10_10_21_30_30_Q3200_360x310.jpg

Weber Q3200

2013_04_10_01_40_16_Spirit_S210.jpg

Weber Spirit E-210

I mostly cook fish (planked on ceder) or vegetables on the grill, but every once in a while will make a whiskey roast (chuck roast tenderized in a whiskey-based marinade) or short ribs (I've made them with a pastrami rub).

What say the Weiner roasters?
 
The only use for propane in a bbq context is for lighting the coals.

I swear by the Weber performer

5452acade6021_performerdeluxe_specs.jpg


No lighter fluid, easy ash removal, useful work surface.

Propane grills are for chumps who cannot appreciate good food. Don't be that guy.


edit: Also has electric starter for the on-board propane cyl for lighting the coals. It simply can't get much easier.
 
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There are other options for lighting charcoal, like the plug-in metal dealies that take less than 10 minutes. I have a gizmo that is like a super-hair dryer that gets it going even faster than that, with no paper, matches or lighter fluid.
 
Using a full size chimney and a little smoky joe is a PITA
Using paper with a chimney is an even bigger PITA

Use starter packs/cubes or make your own w/ cotton balls & it will take one annoyance out of the process. A good starter will provide ample burn to get your charcoal up quickly w/ little smoke and no added taste once it burns out. Grill lighter fluid is awful and I don't use it for anything other than starting a bonfire.


Charcoal is where it's at for me and I've owned and used both. Only have charcoal anymore. Gas is great for the convenience/hands off factor but otherwise, eh.
 
We have a classic Weber that we use. I need to do research on emissions vs health. A few years ago there were reports that propane may have had some health risks. There've been other stories comparing the emissions of charcoal to propane (with gas being "better").. Then there's the who thing with cooking food properly as the only seemingly confirmed concerns are burning food and the charred bits being carcinogenic. And even that talk has died down which makes me question the validity.

Regardless, whatever you prefer and is easier. While we use charcoal I don't care for waiting for it be ready for cooking. I also don't like the danger of the gas tank and I've had a few instances of the gas lines leaking and the fire getting to the nozzle (and I like a dumbass didn't run away, but went to turn it off). One was someone else's grill and their bad and other was the grill components just wearing out.
 
bsman said:
I've been contemplating a new grill for quite a while. I have limited space on our patio, and have been using a Weber charcoal grill -- the smallest one -- for years. However, it's a royal PITA lighting it (the wife hates the taste and smell of lighter fluid so I use one of those chimneys and paper to light the coal -- it takes a while), dealing with the ashes (I have to bag them up and put them in the trash), etc. I've been thinking that replacing it with a propane grill would be a good thing -- less hassle and less time so I'd be more likely to cook out. What do you folks think is the way to go? Gas or charcoal? FYI, these are the two grills I'm contemplating:

2013_10_10_21_30_30_Q3200_360x310.jpg

Weber Q3200

2013_04_10_01_40_16_Spirit_S210.jpg

Weber Spirit E-210

I mostly cook fish (planked on ceder) or vegetables on the grill, but every once in a while will make a whiskey roast (chuck roast tenderized in a whiskey-based marinade) or short ribs (I've made them with a pastrami rub).

What say the Weiner roasters?
Click to expand...

I owned a Weber Qsomething or other and have the same Spirit model now (or something really close).

The cooking surfaces and space of the Q were annoyingly small and messy as I recall.

The Spirit has worked well, though the casters and the shelves are junky. One of the casters snapped off about a year after I bought the grill. The shelves aren't all that sturdy but if you treat them gently and don't overload them they should be OK. If you go with the spirit, look inside before you buy. The burners sit below these metal leaves, so you're not cooking directly over an open flame. Make sure you're OK with that. There are definitely hot spots and cold spots that you'll have to familiarize yourself with.

If you have the option to buy the Spirit already assembled, do it. Assembly wasn't difficult, it was just a pain in the ass.
 
Denverdave said:
Charcoal is it for taste. Propane for convenience and speed.
Click to expand...
This pretty well sums it up. For me, 90% of the time I'm grilling it is somewhat spur-of-the-moment, so I went propane. I never run out of charcoal and the grill is ready for cooking within a few minutes.

If you're smoking briskets, or anything like that, then a charcoal smoker is the obvious winner.
 
If you are too lazy to use charcoal (like me), the taste comparison is irrelevant. I love my propane grill.
 
Denverdave said:
Charcoal is it for taste. Propane for convenience and speed.

Get the grill that @baimun got that has both. He can chime in with how it is working for him.
Click to expand...

Yep.

Gas for Weekdays or Hotdogs on the left... Charcoal for the Weekends and Burgers on the right.

charcoal-and-gas-grill-4037.jpg


I have a "charcoal chimney" which I dump the raw "cowboy" charcoal (no lighter fluid or chemical smells when burning) and I put the chimney over the burner on the far left for a little bit.... once all the charcoal is burning and smoking, I dump the lit charcoal into the right half of the grill. :baimun:
 
My grill is connected to a natural gas line from the house. But I haven’t grilled since I got my immersion cooker. It’s more fun to blast food with a blowtorch.
 
shoeless said:
This pretty well sums it up. For me, 90% of the time I'm grilling it is somewhat spur-of-the-moment, so I went propane. I never run out of charcoal and the grill is ready for cooking within a few minutes.

If you're smoking briskets, or anything like that, then a charcoal smoker is the obvious winner.
Click to expand...

I grill spur of the moment all the time and can have my grill up and running in like 10 minutes w/ charcoal sufficient to cook for 2-3 people. (More charcoal for a bigger cook takes a few minutes longer to fully light)
Grab the bag of lump/starters/lighter, load & light the chimney, go in & prep food, come back out and dump coals, heat grate for a minute then toss the food on.

Granted going out fiddling a few knobs & pressing a button is way easier but you're still going to let your grill pre-heat and all that so in the end, the time difference isn't all that significant.
 
Will you be using that Q grill for tailgating or camping?

Chicken absolutely needs charcoal.

We use both. But I'm just as happy to start up the charcoal.
 
i had a gas grill for a while and it rusted and then i got a charcoal one. too much hassle. went back to gas.
 
Charcoal for me. I love the flavor my meat gets when cooked over mesquite charcoal. I use lighter fluid to light it, and I don't taste that at all in my meat (I wait until all the brick are grey before I put anything on to cook).
 
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