Propane or Charcoal

Propane or Charcoal

  • Total voters
    65
  • Poll closed .
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I use every option, propane, Charcoal, Wood, and open fire. Wife and I do a lot of cast iron cooking or Chuck Wagon, whichever you call it. Mostly charcoal, but when it comes to smoking it's time to play with the indirect smoker and all types of wood.

Propane is for when I need something done quick, and even then I'll run a pan of soaked chips for a smoked flavor.

Great topic!
 
There is absolutely no comparison to charcoal. It does take a little longer and takes a little skill to learn to control the heat but the pay off is great. Take a step up from that and get a wood smoker. Damn I want to fire my smoker up this weekend!!!!!!!!
 
Asktoro said:
Yuck dude, 200 too low. I do london broils around 300-350. I like my burgers rare with char broil sear. I still think propane is the way to go, call me Hank Hill if ya want. I respect the fact some people like charcoal, I mean you can make a pretty awesome brick oven/bbq with charcoal and have good food, just a preference for me because I'm pissy about temp/time. Nothing beats charcoal flavor, but just a warning... Studies show the more food you eat cooked THAT way kills nutrients and the flavor has cartoigens (sp?)

Thats right folks, rare/medium rare is more healthier :O
Click to expand...

Searing is what also causes the carcinogens as well. High temp meat cooking does too.

But I live in California so everything causes cancer.
 
searing meat does not cause cancer in Ohio. Must suck to live in Cali
 
I like charcoal because I enjoy bbqing. I need all the time waiting on the coals to consume frosty wobbly pops. If i,m grilling I got a beer in my hand.The longer it takes the better.
 
Originally Posted by seabee
70's degree weather and tan women year round, I'm miserable :as per Pacuda.
Cali,does have it's moments,lol.
 
Wood, I have a pull behind smoker that I compete with and cater, love everything smoked, :burnout:
 
Asktoro said:
Yuck dude, 200 too low. I do london broils around 300-350. I like my burgers rare with char broil sear. I still think propane is the way to go, call me Hank Hill if ya want. I respect the fact some people like charcoal, I mean you can make a pretty awesome brick oven/bbq with charcoal and have good food, just a preference for me because I'm pissy about temp/time. Nothing beats charcoal flavor, but just a warning... Studies show the more food you eat cooked THAT way kills nutrients and the flavor has cartoigens (sp?)

Thats right folks, rare/medium rare is more healthier :O
Click to expand...

If you are not cooking on a low temp there is not much sense to using wood chips, even soaked they will just burn out. 200* for a few hours=nice smokey flavor. Not talking about grilling burgers or a steak, but ribs, biscuit, violated chicken. When I cook burgers/steaks etc. I just open the vent and the daisy wheel to let some air in, temp will stay at 300-350 all day long. Start a big fire get the temp up to about 500*, throw some tri-tips on for a minute or so on both sides and then choke the air back to get the temp back down.
Only thing I use propane for is lighting my burn pile. Why cook outdoors on a petroleum product? I swore by it for years.....until I was near a shop that sold Green Eggs that was doing a demo on one. Got hooked on the smell of it as it was cooking. Have turned several folks onto real wood cooking......
Seeing this thread reminds me....I need to go out and give the Egg a quick cleaning....
For every study that says cooking on real wood alters the nutrients ( I would really like to see THAT) there is one that will no doubt say cooking on propane does the same.
I am far form a health nut. I do exercise and watch what I eat but for me eating is about flavor. Cooking on propane dries food out. If dried out food cooked over a petroleum product is "healthier" for you than I guess I will chose to eat "unhealthy" food. I really feel part of the reason the world is in as bad as shape, physically, can be blamed on today's garbage food. If cooking on a real wood fire was good enough for my ancestors it is good enough for me.....

FYI.....if I remember correctly the reason certain smokers use a water tray is to put the moisture back into the meat that cooking removes. With a Green Egg no additional moisture is needed as the Eggs design traps all the moisture inside itself.....keeping the meat moist with it's own juices......

Hate to be the bearer of bad news....damn near everything we do causes cancer or some other serious health problem. If the thought of increasing the risk of cancer due to the way you cook your food is a concern, perhaps you should not live in an area where damn near everyone uses wood for heat during the winter.....surely you have seen the reports that state burning wood for a heat source increases the risk of cancer....
 
Been gas grilling since, well, forever. Going to get a charcoal grill soon. Not getting rid of the gas grill ( that will be used during the week for speed). Charcoal for the weekends.



I didn't vote due to not knowing the taste difference........ Yet!
 
Asktoro said:
Yuck dude, 200 too low. I do london broils around 300-350. I like my burgers rare with char broil sear. I still think propane is the way to go, call me Hank Hill if ya want. I respect the fact some people like charcoal, I mean you can make a pretty awesome brick oven/bbq with charcoal and have good food, just a preference for me because I'm pissy about temp/time. Nothing beats charcoal flavor, but just a warning... Studies show the more food you eat cooked THAT way kills nutrients and the flavor has cartoigens (sp?)

Thats right folks, rare/medium rare is more healthier :O
Click to expand...

I would never eat a hamburger that was anything but well done.
Screw carcinogens.
Having food poisoning is no fun, but do what you want.
 
I know it's not one of the listed options so don't nail my hide to the door, but the only way to properly cook anything on the pit or in a dutch oven is mesquite. Charcoal is imitation wannabe wood and if you're gonna cook on a propane stove you might as well just stick it in the oven.

I had brisket and sausages, beans, 'tater salad, pickles peppers onions, and toast for lunch, with a dutch oven peach cobbler for desert. Cooked it up last night, about hurt myself today. Gonna cook up some mesquite smoked fajitas next. Pretty dadburn tasty.
 
redlined, for 40 plus years I cooked on nothing but a stick burner. Two years ago I had the chance to cook on one of the Ceramic cookers, the BGE. I liked everything about it but the round shape. When I do Briskets I like to do several big ones. I found the BGE just didn't do it for my so I went to the Primo XL. I can do two 18 lbers on it. You are correct about Charcoal briquets not being very good, I use nothing but Lump charcoal (Oak or Mesquite) and hard wood lumps for the smoke. 15 lbs of Lump with 5 or 6 chunks of hardwood smaller than your fist gives me a 24 + hour burn with a temp that is steady I can get 6-7 hours of sleep, something I could never do with thestick burner. It has also given me a new added dimension of cold smoking. That is where I keep the meat cold 32-33 degrees right up to the time it goes on the pit. I have the pit temp set at 160 (something I could not do with the stick burner). I cold smoke until the meat temp gets to around 145 or around 4-5 hours, then bump the temp up to around 190 for the next 10-12 hours and finish it at 215-220 until the meat reaches a internial temp of 200-205, pull it wrap it and let it rest for a couple of hours. My normal cook is around 20-22 hours. I buy my lump in bulk for $15 for a 40 lb bag and that will get me 3 cooks. Long round about saying Lump Charcoal.

:cheers:
 
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