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Grilling 101: Charcoal vs. Gas

By: Carl Hanson

It's the great debate in grilling: charcoal or gas.

Gas Grilling

Gas-fired grilling has the clear benefit of being extremely convenient. Simply turn a knob, and say hello to your highly adjustable heat source. Gas grills are fueled by liquid propane stored in refillable tanks.

Gas grilling is clean and quick. There's no messing with briquettes, no stacking, no lighting, no smelly starter fluid and no waiting around for the coals to glow. And once dinner is over, there's no ashy mess to clean up. Return the switch to off, rub a metal brush over the grate and clean-up time is over.

On the technical side, gas burns clean, but it doesn't impart much flavor to grilled foods.

Charcoal Grilling

Charcoal grilling may not offer the same level of convenience as gas, but it does boast one benefit that stands out above all others: smoke flavor. The dry, white-hot heat of charcoal sears meat quickly, creating a crusty, caramelized exterior and imparting a telltale smoky flavor.

Of course, charcoal grilling requires more time and attention than gas, from building and lighting the briquettes to waiting for the coals to get hot to managing the flame. Since you can't dial down the heat of white-hot coals, it's a good strategy to leave empty spaces on the lower grill grate (areas without briquettes). These cool spaces allow for better control, letting you to sear food first over the hot spots before transferring it to cooler parts to finish cooking.

Charcoal grills are also less expensive than gas grills, though the cost of charcoal will add up over the years. Charcoal is also more portable than gas grills. A bag of charcoal can easily be chucked into the car and taken to the park or beach.

And let's face it--charcoal also involves an enticing element of danger. Playing with fire is fun. (Of course, this can be a plus or minus, depending on who's behind the flame.)

See our Tips for Successful Grilling.

The Verdict

Ultimately, any determination of what's best comes down to considerations of convenience, cost, flavor and practicality. If you have a tiny patio, a massive gas grill just won't work. Great grilling can be had over either gas or charcoal flames.

Comments

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Cookie monster

Jun. 17, 2009 5:24 am

Charcoal Seems to be Best, Love the Smoky Flavor but I know it has Hazards such as the Chemical in the lighting fluid will also ruin the BBQ if not properly burned off

papabob

Jun. 18, 2009 9:16 am

use a chimaney to light the charcoal thers no fluid flavor throw a piece of dried hard wood or any fruit wood and you have extar layer of flavor just don't over do it play with your fire learn to cook indirectly and you have wonderful grilled juicy pork with a nice smokey flavor you can do all that with a gas grill also but you don't get to play with firei like lump charcoal and wood bot i also understand and am ok with other people using gas time, convience, ease just include your kids spouse and get off the coauch and get outside that big orange thing in the sky is very soothing to the soul

RopeResQ46

Jun. 18, 2009 8:39 pm

Having cooked over a campfire for years, I prefer the taste of the charcoal grill, but with a family, I've settled for the convenience of a gas grill. When cooking over charcoal though, I've NEVER used ligher fluid. The flavor gets into the food and ruins it. You can get charcoal irons, which turn red hot, and are designed for lighting the charcoal. There are several Boy Scout tricks which work well too. Melt paraffin wax in a double boiler. Take strips of newspaper about an inch and a half to two inches wide. Roll them up adding more strips of paper until it's about half to three quarters of an inch thick, and tie with candle wick leaving an extra 2 inches of wick. Dip in the wax 3-4 times for 5-10 seconds, making sure to get the extra wick too without getting your fingers in the wax. Use 4-5 of these in your charcoal pile, 2 should be plenty if you stack the charcoal in a chimney. Light the wick. The other way is to save the lint from your dryer and put it into the paper-type egg cartons. Fill the carton with melted wax and let cool. Cut each egg section apart, use only 2-3, lighting the egg of the egg carton. No more smelly lighter fluid, no more lighter fluid tasting food.

chrisanderin

Jun. 21, 2009 10:16 am

I learned (by mistake/trial and error, whatever you want to call it) a great way to add flavor without putting wood in with the charcoal, yet still using it. I had some untreated oak boards that had been cut to appx. 12" x 12" laying around and was cooking pork ribs on my kettle-style grill. I needed to control the temperature of heat better than just moving the pile to one half and placing the meat over the less intense side (I usually put the "pyramid" towards the hinge/back area leaving the front/handle area free of charcoal). I decided to use one of my boards (again, NOT TREATED, I didn't wanna go poisoning anyone) to prop the lid open (it looked like a giant Pac-Man) to desired height by using the board as a wedge. I only put the board in about 3" and the other 9" were hanging out. When it is wedged against the lid, it can be slid front-to-back or side-to-side to create a wider or narrower opening, helping to control temperature. What did I learn? Not only does this help with the temperature control, but the wood will SMOKE!!! and therefore add more flavor. Since I have learned this, I have tried several different woods/boards, and each time the food (as spiced or not) always tastes great and different. I promise if you use this method, your grilled meat will never taste the same twice, and will always be great.

Patty

Jun. 28, 2009 5:37 pm

While I personally have never grilled, I do know a great trick that my grandpa taught me. One day, while at his house, we decided to have hamburgers for lunch. It was nice out, so we cooked them on the grill and ate at the table outside with my grandma and brother. My grandpa has a gas grill, so in order to get a little bit of a smoky flavor, he had a small tin or aluminum tray that had wood chips in it. I'm sorry that I don't know what kind of wood it was, but it adds a very light flavor that was hardly noticeable since the burgers were full of seasonings. I assume it would be nice with other meats. I suppose gas is easier but there's nothing like playing with fire. I learned that both in science class, with a particular classmate who likes making battery acid eat through foil, and on girl scout campouts with toast on a stick.

Spaces

Jul. 1, 2009 1:22 pm

I use lava rocks in my gas grill so I get the convenience of gas but a great grilled, smokey taste. I grill all year round (even in the snow) so about once a year I swap out half the lava rocks for fresh ones thus retaining that seasoned flavor all the time. The lava rocks also help when doing long, slow grilling... for extra flavor just sprinkle a few hickory or mesquite wood chips on the rocks.

holla

Jul. 9, 2009 8:04 pm

bad news about that charcoal is its made with petroleum (oil that is in your car's fuel) which cooks into your food :(. I highly recommend finding a "charcoal" that is free from oil. I find it at my home depot :)

ESKCSG

Jul. 13, 2009 11:47 am

This has always been at the top list of questions for Grill Masters. Weber's new video series, “Weber Grill Master” touches on this subject: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBC3x4eTEDQ&feature=related

Kenneth

Jul. 18, 2009 9:29 am

I have both a gas grill and a charcoal grill and when it come to one of my favorite thinks to do cooking on a grill I have to say that charcoal is the way to go. Charcoal give food a flavor that can't be beat. Cooking on a gas grill is easier but is like cooking indoors. I built me a brick charcoal grill a few years back and I love it. I barely ever use my gas grill. Any way you like just keep on grillin'.

j e m

Jul. 30, 2009 8:56 pm

July 30,2009 i hve used both also. but now have a gas grill. it is a 5 burner. since having it. ive cook a tureky on it and came out so tender. yes, it is easier but the clean up is better for me.

moevalley

Oct. 25, 2009 8:45 am

Gas grilling is ok if your cooking hot dog's for the kid's and that is all

JeffcoGreg

Jan. 16, 2010 5:53 pm

Gas Grill? Only if I have to. Charcoal/open flame purist, what can I say. Clean the grates, but never the inside, just get it really hot now and again.

Meckie

Jan. 20, 2010 7:32 am

I started grilling with charcoal lighting with a chimaney to lose the flavor of the lighter fluid but I found that some of the flavor I wanted to lose was in the charcoal it self. So I tried to cover it up by mixing cherry wood chips in with the charcoal which worked some what but not fully. So now I light the cherry wood chips in the chimaney, it takes a bit longer to get ready and you have to keep an eye on it so it doesn't flare up. I think that this is the best way to get a full smoked flavor it what ever you are cooking, and the lower cooking temp. prevents you from cook pork ribs to fast. Oh and I have both a Gas and Charcoal grill and I've only used the Gas grill 2 times (for nights I was short on time but didn't want to have a box pizza) in the past year, because you just can get the flavor in a Charcoal grill with its coals, wood chips, or mix of both

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