Yes I know, people nowadays would prefer a gas grill for convenience and efficiency. But do you remember the days when your Dad (or Mom) would struggle to start a fire with charcoal and lighter fluid? They would work on making the heat just right by fanning the briquets with a piece of cardboard ripped from a box. It was quite some work but for some reason I do recall that the food my Dad cooked back then was always better than the food I cook over a gas grill today.
Maybe it's just me being a bit nostalgic. But I seem to miss the times where you had to "work on" starting a BBQ as opposed to just flipping a switch or pressing a button for fire. Just the mere facet of having to wait for 10-15 minutes just to see if the charcoal is that nice color would be fun to do again. Sure you can run into the problems of running out of charcoal in the middle of BBQ'n. And the mess afterwards??? Charcoal grilling is definately a lot more work....but the taste!
I am sure the debate over which method of grillin will yield better taste will prove that it's a draw and that the comparisons would even indicate that in some cases grillin over gas would taste better. Why they say? Because it has nothing to do with the fire but the juices and spices from the meat that is being grilled they say. The argument for charcoal grilling is that you can get a much more intense and hotter fire. Which by the way stimulates the juices and spices in the meat. The hotter the fire the better tasting...so they say. There is also the traditional arguments such as gas can't replicate the "smoke" flavor that can be found in charcoal grillin.
Whatever the arguments I am conviced that my Dad's BBQ was better than mine is today. Not that he's better at BBQ'n but because he had a charcoal grill. I also remeber that food at the park seem to taste better as well. Rarely have I ever attended a park function where either it was a pot luck or food off the grill. The grilled food was a lot better than your conventional gas grilled food I recall.
Why this blog? I figured I would go out and get me a grill. Do I stay within the confines of efficiency and the one click start? Or do I get dirty and go the route that would yield me the taste that I remembered when I was kid?
Benefits of Gas and Charcoal Grills
Gas
Push button convenience
No messy charcoal to deal with
Easy to start
Control temperature with a dial
Control temperatures for longer periods of time
Can still use wood for smoky flavor
Wind is not a factor
Charcoal
More heat
Hotter grill
Flavor from charcoal
More intense smells
More hands-on experience
2 comments:
You must have a lot of time on your hands.
Not by choice
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