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Gas Or Charcoal?


Murph

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I'm going to buy a grill when my kid gets here. She spent the night with a friend.

 

My old Weber is shot. I'm a charcoal guy, but always wished I had a gas grill for those occasions you just want to slap something on, without having to go buy charcoal.

 

Lowes had one the other day that had BOTH. A gas burner on the side, a gas grill, and a charcoal grill. $299.00.

 

Sumb!tch was about 6 feet long, but I think I need it.

 

I'm hungry.

 

Murph.

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What's carne asada?

 

Here in California they use round steak to make carne asada. But you can also use flank steak.

It's thin sliced, slow cooked seasoned and chopped up to make tacos and burritos.

 

I use charcoal to start my open pit. Then I use dry red oak. But that's because we have lots of oak in the nearby hills that needs to be cut down from time to time because of the fire danger. Red oak is good for barbecue. Burns hot and also has a pleasant smoke.

 

Good luck with your decision. Go for the super-mega-ultra-deluxe model.

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We have real nice deer here in Illinois, Roger. Nothing like backstraps slathered in sauce.

 

If my daughter doesn't hurry home I'm gonna starve to death. My wife's asleep, works midnights, and I can't leave till she gets here...

 

I gigged last night, and am fasting, I guess...

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I bought a gas grill maybe 8 or 10 years ago. We didn't use it at all last year and probably won't this year either. It's getting ratty and I don't think I'll replace it. Before that we had a small hibachi, kinda oval shaped and heavy cast iron. Life was a lot simpler then, just set it on a cinder block and dump a handful of briquets in there. I think I'll go hibachi sopping.

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I have mine hooked up to the natural gas. It burns hotter and with more pressure than the propane tanks plus you never run out. When I want the flavour of wood smoked, I soak some wood chips in water beforehand then wrap them in foil or in an old tin can. Put them on the grill off to the side of the burner and don't let them dry out.

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I have mine hooked up to the natural gas. It burns hotter and with more pressure than the propane tanks plus you never run out. When I want the flavour of wood smoked' date=' I soak some wood chips in water beforehand then wrap them in foil or in an old tin can. Put them on the grill off to the side of the burner and don't let them dry out.[/quote']

 

I know that works, Dave, having done it m'self. My major squawk with the gas grills is the grease accumulation. It never occurred to me when I bought mine that it'd be MORE maintenance than a charcoal grill but I got sick of scraping the grease outta the bottom of the damn thing so's it wouldn't blaze up on me. They don't seem to last as long as a charcoal grill, either. I've had Webers last 10 years or so and all I got outta the gas grill was a couple seasons. The burner assembly and stuff over the top of it started rusting almost immediately after the first use. But, like guitars, women and motorcycles, it's all about what makes your putter flutter; eh?

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Get one with stainless burners. As for grease accumulation, I get mad at my kids for using too much sauce. It really contributes to the gunk and flavour of anything else you grill after that. Try using marinades or dry rubs more than sauces. It's the sugar content in most sauces that makes them burn. No question, some routine maintenance helps.

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I've had my aluminum Weber gas grill for fifteen years, I love it.

I got tired of starving waiting for charcoal, along with all the mess and the hassle of old coals.

 

Don't go cheap.

Get one with good burners and a trap at the bottom for grease to collect.

I think I paid $600 for mine, but it's built like a tank inside and out.

It has two rows of diffuser bars below the grill grate, so any drippings get spread out and burned off gradually instead of a big glob falling in one spot and flaring up - one raw steak and one charred steak anybody?

 

I haven't even looked at a grill since buying this one, so I don't know what's out there.

 

Either stainless or aluminum, steel will rust and fall apart in no time.

The hinges for the lid are one place I see doom on cheap ones, if that breaks the grill is trash.

 

We use ours for much of our meat.

I will not allow our oven in the house to be used when temps are over 100 degrees outside.

The A/C is already running its *** off 6 months out of the year here, a 400 degree kitchen oven doesn't help.

Mrs. Neo has learned to cook all sorts of veggies - even bread on our grill while it's fired up for dead animals.

 

Shop around, look at how they're made, and don't get too wrapped up in gadgets and gizmos.

Buy quality, not flash and bling.

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For weekend stuff, I prefer gas. I tend to grill nicer cuts of meat, and as good as the charcoal flavor is, if I spend extra coin on a nice marbled fillet, a slab of kobe, or tuna steaks, I'd rather taste the meat in a crust of its own. However, I'm in an apartment for the next few months or so. Once we get a house, my first maintenance job is going to be building a pit in the backyard. I'll be using fieldstones and clay for the walls, and I'm not sure what I'll make the grill out of yet. Then I can get back to that caveman vibe that Roger was talking about. I plan on skewering and turning many a dead beast on that sucker.

 

Also, is it just me, or does cooking and eating gratuitous amounts of meat seem more satisfying with a vegetarian audience?

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I was at the outlaws for a BBQ today. He always uses a Gas BBQ which until today, I never got on with. I cooked on it today and actually for once thought it beats the hell out of a real BBQ... I like the fact that it has a hot plate for cooking onion's mushrooms and keeping food hot. It's a big bastard too. It's one of the outback BBQ's

 

Regards

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I went back with charcoal. The combo was too big.

 

This is a nice rig with two levels, smokestack, temp gauge.

 

I like it way better than the Weber, you can control the temp much better, and it has triple the area. Did chicken quarters and ribs for Mums day, got it fired up again right now, for some more ribs.

 

The fast is over!

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