Choosing between a gas BBQ and a charcoal BBQ

There are many different types of BBQs, but which one is right for you? In this article, we will discuss the pros and cons of both gas and charcoal BBQs in general, as well as their respective advantages and disadvantages. Ultimately, it is up to you to decide which type of BBQ is best for your needs.

BBQ types: gas or charcoal?

So, which type should you go for, gas or Charcoal? The answer to that question isn’t as straightforward as you might think. Both have their pros and cons, and there are thousands, if not more defenders on both sides of the spectrum! So the right choice for you depends on your personal preferences and what you’re looking to get out of your BBQ experience.

Gas BBQ grills are more convenient to use because you just have to turn on a knob to start the heat, and they’re also easier to clean. However, they can be expensive depending on the type of gas you use and how often you use it. The big BBQ debate, as you may call it often falls down to, if you prefer a charcoal taste or a plainer flavor of food cooked on a gas grill, which in my opinion seems to taste a lot nicer than a home cooked gas grill, through that maybe the fat draining propeties of the BBQ. When people think of BBQ, they often think of nice sunny days in the garden with a smoking BBQ with tasty charcoal cooked food and there can be a stigma against gas BBQ’s as not being authentic BBQ events, so bare that in mind when throwing a home BBQ party!

Charcoal grills tend to be less expensive than gas grills, and many people believe that the flavor of food cooked over charcoal grill is superior, which again reinforces my previous comment about BBQ stigmas! But to be honest it is true, you do get flavour with charcoal, but that is not to say gas grills as tastless, because that is a false claim and I much prefer cooking food on my gas BBQ compared to cooking on a home cooker.

OK let’s go over some pro’s of using a gas BBQ

Gas BBQs are a popular choice for in house backyard cooking, truckers, travellers and holiday makers such as campers or hikers as they are easy to use, simply requiring you to connect gas and light and away you go. Gas BBQ’s tend to be less messy and easier to get clean, which again is perfect for those travelling on holidays or long erands. Gas BBQ’s often come with smart gizmo’s like piezo ignition buttons for quick and easy lighting, which means no need to use matches through I would certainly carry a few as a backup! Higher end gas BBQ’s such as the Cadac Pro cook 2 BBQ often come with additional cooking stoves, allowing you to cook more at once, which is very handy, especially if cooking for more than two people! Unlike charcoal BBQ’s you don’t need to mess around with messy charcoal or cutting wood, nor have to worry about fuel or lighting the fuels. Then of course you need to wait a while for the charcoal fuel to start burning, increase in tempeture so that you can finally start cooking! Oh, and let’s not forget you may have to add more charcoal fuel to the BBQ when the fire starts to go down! Now a gas BBQ, well you have nothing to worry about, if you got a full tank of gas your pretty much set for a week or two easy before the gas starts to run low, and gas BBQ’s tend to be safer as you not messing around with flamables.

Con’s of using a gas BBQ

I think the biggest con you’ll face with using a gas BBQ is the stigma of ‘thats not proper barbequeing’ from your mates, and let’s face it, one garden has a dull smokeless gas BBQ going the house down the road has a raging fire stove going with smokey food going! Charcoal BBQ’s really help set the stage for a great home party event, especially when combined with some background music and a few beers, which is hard to compete with if you are using a gas BBQ.

Now if your good with putting up with stigma jokes then the next thing to contend with is taste! Generally speaking people tend to lean towards smoked food that has been cooked over a charcoal BBQ and again this will likely play a big factor if your hosting a party. But if you are cooking for yourself or family then I think you can get away with gas BBQ just fine.

Costs, well costs vary depending on how often you use the BBQ and wheather you go for cheap gas brands or mainstream brands. Often the cheaper gas canisters will run out within a day or two whereas a Coleman gas canister will last you a week with moderate usage. Now that is for gas canisters, you can invest in a gas bottle from Calor gas, which isn’t cheap! You have to purchase a bottle, available in various sizes and then you need to purchase the actually gas, which can be pricy through it should last you 6-12 months plus denpending on usage. If you go down the gas bottle route, you will have to purchase additonal adapters to hook up to your BBQ and you will have to contend with moving the gas bottles around, and a full gas bottle is pretty heavy! Gas bottles are not really ideal for camping unelss you are traveling in a motorhome or caravan.

Pros of charcoal BBQs:

Well we have looked at the pro’s and con’s of gas BBQ’s, now it is time to do the same for charcoal BBQ’s.

Costs!

Generally speaking it is cheaper to buy charcoal packs than it is to keep purchasing gas canisters or re-fill gas bottles, but again it does depend on how much you use. With these tough economic times, people are looking for ways to save money and so a lot of people are moving away from gas to charcoal grills, which of course taste nicer anyway.

Getting hot in here!

Once the charcoal BBQ gets going, the charcoal grill will produce more intense heat compared to a gas BBQ and of course the charcoal grill will add constant flavour to your food as it cooks!

BBQ anywhere

Charcoal BBQ’s are just as portable as gas BBQ’s so you will be able to take your BBQ anywhere, such as hiking, beach trips or camping and caravaning holidays. Heck, you can even buy those disposable BBQ’s, which are light, self lighting and come with food! Oh, there charcoal BBQ’s.

A little know how:

Charcoal is made by burning wood in a low-oxygen environment, which creates a lot of heat and carbon. This carbon is what’s used to create the barbecue flavour that we all love. Gas grills, on the other hand, use propane or natural gas to produce heat, which means that they don’t have the same smoky taste that charcoal grills do.

Going green for the planet!

If you care about the earth and you should then another benefit of using charcoal over gas is that gas is better for the environment, as gas grills produce harmful emissions that damage the ozone layer. So maybe it’s time to ditch the gas and go green, go for charcoal and enjoy the smoke and taste, whilst saving the planet.

Time to wrap up the pros’s, and what can we say, if you’re looking for an authentic barbecue experience, with lots of great tasting food then for affordable price then stick with charcoal!

The biggest con to charcoal BBQ’s is the the start up process and aftermath.

There are many benefits to using charcoal BBQ grills, such as the great flavor they produce, however there are indeed con’s!

The biggest con to using charcoal BBQ grills is the start up process and aftermath. The process of starting a charcoal BBQ grill can be difficult and time consuming, and the cleanup afterwards can be just as challenging.

The firebox needs to be filled with charcoal, and then lit, which uses requires a liquid or gel fuel source before lighting, which can be tricky, and on top of that it taskes a while for the charcoal to get going! Not only is it messy to start a charcoal BBQ but a little bit dangerous if you do not know what you are doing, as after all you are dealing with flamables! A gas BBQ is almost dummy proof, connect a gas canister or bottle and flip a switch and you are done, which is far quicker than a charcoal BBQ!

Another thing that can be a problem with charcoal BBQ grills is the ash buildup. Charcoal BBQ grills produce quite a bit of ash when they are used, and this can build up quickly resulting in blocked air ways, which can cause the BBQ to get dangerously hot! For these reasons it is important to empty your BBQ of excess ashes regually.

So when it comes to cooking on a charcoal BBQ there are a few drawbacks. Many but not all charocal BBQ come with no hood, which means the the smoke and grease tends to linger in the air and on your clothes. Not to mention, the smoky BBQ can be great but not so cool when the wind keeps blowing the smoke in your face, which is not only annoying but not particually healthly on your lunges!

We have talked about the con’s of starting up the charcoal BBQ and some con’s of cooking, so now it is time to wrap up with the con’s of the clean up! For starters you must extinguise the BBQ and never leave the BBQ to die down on it’s own! You must ensure the fire is out! Otherwise you have a serious fire risk on your hands and that is a major benefit of gas over charcoal, once the gas is off it is off! Like the gas BBQ’s you’ll need to wait for the BBQ to cool down before trying to remove any grills for cleaning or in the case of charcoal BBQ’s emptying out the ashes, which again should really be dosed in water to ensure nothing catches fire.

I suppose it goes without saying really but the charcoal BBQ’s pose a higher fire risk compared to gas BBQ’s so it is important to cook away from flamables, especially tents, even if they state they are fire proof! I would always recommend a bucket of sand, a fire blanket or even a fire extinguisher on hand just to be on the safe side. the ashes and charcoal left over can be a pain to clean up.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are pros and cons to both gas and charcoal barbecues. Ultimately, the decision of which type to buy comes down to personal preference, whether that be quick and fast starting gas BBQ’s or the more traditional smoky BBQ’s that deliver second to non great flavour food. Both gas and charcoal BBQ’s are very portable so you can take them anywhere and in terms of price, well there both pretty similar really with perhaps charcoal coming out a little cheaper over time, which is down played with the fact that gas BBQ’s are cleaner compared to the messier charcoal BBQ’s! So, again it really does boil down to personal preference, but no matter which type of BBQ is chosen, it is important to fire safety seriously to avoid burning down your home or tent!