Barbecue Season - gas or charcoal?

I've just had to buy a new gas barbecue as the old one 'fell over' during the storms.

What surprised me was there seems to be a move back to charcoal from gas - there seem to be a lot more available in the shops.

Most of the decent gas BBQs were advertised on websites, but when you go to the shop, the only ones they have are the cheapy ones, and I'm not going to buy without checking out the sturdiness, as these things have to last a fair amount of time.

So I was wondering, what do Hexus peeps prefer? Gas or Charcoal (or other fuels)?

I'm firmly on the gas side as at a mate's (charcoal) barbecue yesterday, the cooking window was so thin that not all the food got cooked - once the flames had dies, there was only about 20 minutes cooking time. I was sat there thinking, ah, just fire up another burner...

Gas=more convenient.
Charcoal=more authentic BBQ experience.

See, to me, charcoal and 'authentic' just mean 'burnt'. :)

I've found that with flavourisers and lava rocks and such, the flavour can be just as 'barbecue-ey'

Charcoal!!

Spotted this Weber on Hotukdeals the other day,
http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/webe...-79-99-1883243
I have used that shop before and they were pretty good. I regularly cook on a friends Weber and have been impressed.

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Originally Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH

Gas=more convenient.
Charcoal=more authentic BBQ experience.

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That. Exactly.

Wood, with coals as a second choice!

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Originally Posted by Smudger

See, to me, charcoal and 'authentic' just mean 'burnt'. :)

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That's because you're attending typical British barbecues... Get yourself along to a decent South African braai - It will change your whole outlook!!

A few years ago, I bought a proper gas BBQ. Weber Spirit E320 Premium. Best investment ever! It stays outside all year around - mostly without a cover as I'm too lazy to keep putting in on.

The 'flavour bars' are a pretty good approximation of the effect of charcol, but it's way more convenient than cooking on charcol.

Lumpwood charcoal and some nicely soaked wood chips for flavour

Charcoal is fine and fast if you use one of these:

http://www.hiwtc.com/photo/products/22/16/59/165903.jpg

I'm shopping around myself, but my house has a natural gas connection outside for a grill, so I will probably use that.

Wood fired metal pizza oven here. Can hit the high temps but can get there in 15 mins unlike dome pizza ovens which are an all-day affair. Can double as a barbeque too. Oven is much more flexible than a BBQ although you do have to wrap stuff up to stop it getting smokey.

he thing with a charcoal BBQ is to get distance between the charcoal bed and the food - and the patience to let the charcoal get to the white ash stage when all the heat is radiant. The distance is so that when the fat drops onto the hot charcoal bed, the flames don't burn the meat.

The best charcoal BBQ (IMHO) is to get a 45 gallon oil drum, and cut it down the middle (top to bottom). Fabricate a couple of cross pieces for a stand, and you can use concrete reinforcing mesh as a grid, laid on top. (you can always use a finer grid on top of the mesh. Put three or four inches of lump wood charcoal in the bottom, light it, leave it for 45 minutes, and then it is ready to cook.

And given the size of a 45 gallon oils drum (and one drum makes 2 BBQs, you have enough cooking area to cook for a lot of people!

Sorry, but if you're not using charcoal you're not barbequeing. I'm sure you're having a lovely outdoor cooking experience, but it ain't a barbeque - it's a grill.

I've never had a problem getting everything cooked perfectly on a charcoal barbie - it's largely a question of, as peter says, getting the distance between the grill and coals right and moving anything that looks like getting seriously flame-grilled; although you can also do wonders by having different amounts of coal at different points along the grill to give you "hot" and "cool" cooking areas. My last barbie - Easter day - was so windy that I basically ended up with a furnace (in fact, I've just noticed this week that the coal grill appears to have bent under the combined heat and weight of the charcoal!), but because I had sections at the ends where there were less coals, I was able to manage all the cooking speeds without problem.

Another trick is to make sure that anything prone to burning outside before it's cooked in the middle - chicken and vegetables in particular - are well marinated in something oil-based.

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Originally Posted by peterb

Put three or four inches of lump wood charcoal in the bottom, light it, leave it for 45 minutes, and then it is ready to cook.

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Blimey, where do you get your coals?
I prefer wood because, while all the different coals we can get are usually ready for cooking within 10-15 minutes, they also burn out and lose heat just as fast.

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Originally Posted by scaryjim

Another trick is to make sure that anything prone to burning outside before it's cooked in the middle - chicken and vegetables in particular - are well marinated in something oil-based.

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Vinegar-based marinades work well for that too, for some reason.

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Originally Posted by Ttaskmaster

Vinegar-based marinades work well for that too, for some reason.

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Oil-based ones protect the outside from burning and help conduct (or perhaps convect? not sure) the heat inwards. Oil boils at a much higher temperature than water so you get a better build up of wet heat in the food, anyway. I suspect vinegar works by effectively partially cooking the food during the marinating process - the acids break down some of the proteins in a similar way. You can actually effectively "cook" thinly sliced fish by drizzling it with lemon juice and just leaving it :D

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Originally Posted by scaryjim

Sorry, but if you're not using charcoal you're not barbequeing. I'm sure you're having a lovely outdoor cooking experience, but it ain't a barbeque - it's a grill.

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So true, gas BBQ is just like using a grill, what's the point, might as well use your indoor grill.

Charcoal = Barbecue, nothing beats the smell of burning coal.

http://www.australian-bbq.co.uk/imag...us-5burner.jpg

My father bought an older model of these about 5 years ago to replace an old charcoal one. Its a beast, 100x better than any Weber one I've seen.

Tidy.

This is the one I've just bought. Wish they'd hurry up and deliver...

http://www.costco.co.uk/medias/sys_m...0017830942.jpg

Edit: It's quite small, apparently...

We recently got a srubbishrubbishrubbishrubbishy kettle one from B&Q, but my usual braai has been just a hole in the ground and a grille atop a few bricks.

I bought a great gas barbecue from Very last year. Looks very much like the one in the picture above, but also has a side burner.
This is my first gas bbq and I don't regret it, even after being a 20 year charcoal bbq user!
My top tip though, line some kids play sand in the drip tray, it soaks up the dripping fat a treat!

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Originally Posted by scaryjim

Sorry, but if you're not using charcoal you're not barbequeing. I'm sure you're having a lovely outdoor cooking experience, but it ain't a barbeque - it's a grill.

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Exactly! There is nothing more satisfying than man preparing a 'proper' BBQ and ensuring that all food is cooked just right without cremating.

I guess this should satisfy both sides of the camp!
http://kalamazoogourmet.com/images/u...00hs_green.jpg

http://www.stuff.tv/behold-barbecue-...dreams/feature

Charcoal, gas and whole trees!

I've just invested in a Kamado Ceramic grill

http://i.imgur.com/dW2IwUZ.jpg

Its a little slow to start but cooks very well. I might switch from heat bead briquettes to lumpwood for shorter cooks.
Toying with the idea of a standby gas grill for more mass catering.

Spotted this one in our local Asda at the weekend and if I didn't already have a half-drum barbeque I'd be hugely tempted...

http://asda.scene7.com/is/image/Asda...ails_George_rd

EDIT: however, I thought it was a lot cheaper than £75 in store - I could swear it was only £50....

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Originally Posted by vicar

Charcoal = Barbecue, nothing beats the smell of burning coal.

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Very true, in my opinion, the fat from meat dripping down to the burning coal makes the meat smell better. Just had bbq last weekend in the light rain and I was overloaded on meat! It took us 30 minute talking while waiting for the charcoal to ready to cook, building up some appetite!

Charcoal, and thats the same model we use Jim :)

Just picked up a 57cm Weber charcoal BBQ for £50 from ebay, bit of a clean up and it will be good as new.

firewood to start.. then charcoal to cook

Sacrifice one sausage before cooking.. to burn it to the fire god (you think I'm kidding.. I'm not)

the let the flareing flames lick the chicken skins for about a minute and then slow it all down by raising the grill.....

I love to BBQ

However.. the thing Moby shows looks like the Big Green Egg :)

Nothing beats charcoal.

Pretty sure they done a few double blind tests and people couldn't tell the difference between Gas or Charcoal cooked food!
But yeah, half the fun is getting the bloody coals alight!! lol

Gas every time. Easier to maintain, instant heat (with British weather it might be that you have a half hour window to get cooking!) etc

However you don't get the charcoaly taste, ie burnt, that you come to expect with a BBQ :p

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Originally Posted by scaryjim

Sorry, but if you're not using charcoal you're not barbequeing. I'm sure you're having a lovely outdoor cooking experience, but it ain't a barbeque - it's a grill.

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A grill involves cooking under the source of heat :whip:

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Originally Posted by heinsmit

Nothing beats charcoal.

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In that case I'll use nothing next time I have a BBQ. :)

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Originally Posted by MrRockliffe

A grill involves cooking under the source of heat :whip:

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I've seen a few gas bbqs that appear to operate like that. If you've got one that heats from beneath the food I'm not sure what I'd call that - probably a mess (does the fat npot drip into the burner and clog the holes?)! And regardless of where the heat comes from, I still wouldn't call cooking on gas a bbq - at best you're just cooking (messily :p) ;)

So, how have people's summer cooking experiences been? I had a lovely end of summer BBQ a couple of weeks back - new fire pit flaring at one end of the garden, half-drum BBQ going at the other end, and Queen blaring out of a proper set of PA speakers (nothing quite like it for filling a garden with sound). Only thing missing was the two half-kegs of real ale (I contacted our local brewer just a day too late for him to be able to settle me some). That said, due to popular demand it looks distinctly like there'll be an Oktoberfest sausage and beer night happening soon anyway ... must start planning ;) Anyone else had any particularly nice barbeques (or done some outdoor-cooking-on-gas) this summer?

Had a nice quiet bbq last night, just the Mrs, myself, wine, beer, and opened a bottle of Jura superstition. Food wise went for pirri pirri chicken and steak, cooked on the weber charcoal bbq, chicken was cooked using indirect heat.
Still pondering getting a smoker.

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Originally Posted by scaryjim

I've seen a few gas bbqs that appear to operate like that. If you've got one that heats from beneath the food I'm not sure what I'd call that - probably a mess (does the fat npot drip into the burner and clog the holes?)! And regardless of where the heat comes from, I still wouldn't call cooking on gas a bbq - at best you're just cooking (messily :p) ;)

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There's 2 ways of doing that; You can have lava rocks between the gas flame and the grill, so they get hot, the fat drips onto them and does all it's sparking and spitting and such. Or you can have 'Flavorizer Bars (TM)', which perform a similar function but are metal and sit over the burners like a triangular hat, so the fat drips off into a tray of sand under the burners.

Anyway, I'm being optimistic and going for Sep 20th as my end-of season hurrah. August's very early to stop barbecueing!

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Originally Posted by Smudger

... I'm being optimistic and going for Sep 20th as my end-of season hurrah. August's very early to stop barbecueing!

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Wish me luck, mine will almost certainly be the 27th! Then the BBQ will go back in the shed until New Year's Eve (which a friend of mine suggested a while back and I'm trying to make into a family tradition ;) ).

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Originally Posted by Smudger

Anyway, I'm being optimistic and going for Sep 20th as my end-of season hurrah. August's very early to stop barbecueing!

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My season finishes when the guests are no longer willing to sit/stand around outside.
Typically this happens sometime around mid-November, although a few weekends between December and March are not unheard of... However, I am no longer doing this over a massive firepit these days (have doggies to be careful of), so I suspect I will soon discover what absolute wusses my friends can be!! :D