Not Going Back to Gas Grilling

[FlyinHeadlock 459]

Found this old aluminum charcoal grill my Dad had from the 50's. Needed some work but I finally got it functional. Very similar to the aluminum PK grills they still make. Takes about 40 mins to really get it going but the flavor, using wood chips...amazing. Misquite, cherry, applewood. Really didn't know what I was missing. So far I perfected chicken and burgers. Steaks are a little harder. Grill just needs to get extremely hot. 

This is just basic grilling. It could probably smoke meats but it would take much attention...checking on the temp, adding coals. Probably won't be doing that but my gas grill has become a dust collector. Something about those charcoals and wood. The flavor is mouthwatering. 

 

[supermike80 1,285]

Meh...40 minutes is too much time for me to get a grill going as a general rule.  Maybe on  Sunday when I feel like investing the energy.

Outside of that, I'm turning the knob on my propane tank and doin my grillin

[BiffTannen 651]

Gas grills 

Big Green Egg takes about 10 minutes to get lit using lump charcoal. 

[FlyinHeadlock 459]

Wood chips can be used with gas grills. Some say soak them in water but others say you don't. I see no value in soaking unless it's slow cooking for hours. All I know is since I started using wood people think I'm some pitmaster. The difference in flavor is substantial. 

[listen2me 23 1,537]

I have a charcoal and gas.  Yes charcoal is better but sometimes you need just a quick grilling session throw a few dogs or burgers on.  I use the charcoal on weekendd if Im doung something substantial 

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

I have a smoker and a gas grill. Each serves its own purpose 

[TimmySmith 2,782]

With a chimney, coals take 10 minutes.  Obviously still more of a production than gas. 

[listen2me 23 1,537]

5 minutes ago, TimmySmith said:

With a chimney, coals take 10 minutes.  Obviously still more of a production than gas. 

And the fact a big bag doesnt last very long.  Ive planned to fire up the charcoal several time where I go to get the bag of charcoal and realize I dont have any left.  Not to mention if you leave an opened bag out anywhere for too long the coalslose their ability.  I keep it in the garage.  Had a half a bag that hadnt been used in a month and the coals just dont stay hot as long and burn different.  The humidity got to them.

[TBayXXXVII 2,107]

I love watching this guy's videos on YouTube.  He doesn't use gas at all... I don't think.  These things don't seem to take a long time to get going.

[FlyinHeadlock 459]

4 minutes ago, listen2me 23 said:

And the fact a big bag doesnt last very long.  Ive planned to fire up the charcoal several time where I go to get the bag of charcoal and realize I dont have any left.  Not to mention if you leave an opened bag out anywhere for too long the coalslose their ability.  I keep it in the garage.  Had a half a bag that hadnt been used in a month and the coals just dont stay hot as long and burn different.  The humidity got to them.

I put mine in a plastic tote. Never had issues. I use the time it's heating up to prep the food so really no time lost. I have that coal canister and a little hand air blower. Once it starts going I start prepping food, drink a couple beers, good tunes. Not some big ordeal.  

[BiffTannen 651]

20 minutes ago, listen2me 23 said:

And the fact a big bag doesnt last very long.  Ive planned to fire up the charcoal several time where I go to get the bag of charcoal and realize I dont have any left.  Not to mention if you leave an opened bag out anywhere for too long the coalslose their ability.  I keep it in the garage.  Had a half a bag that hadnt been used in a month and the coals just dont stay hot as long and burn different.  The humidity got to them.

Switch to lump charcoal. You can top off and reuse around 10 times before you have to completely burn off and start new.

[Reality 2,710]

Love charcoal, no doubt about it.  What I also love, my natural gas grill has a line to my house.  I never have to fill a tank or wait on charcoal..  I love that more.

[MTSkiBum 1,593]

59 minutes ago, listen2me 23 said:

And the fact a big bag doesnt last very long.  Ive planned to fire up the charcoal several time where I go to get the bag of charcoal and realize I dont have any left.  Not to mention if you leave an opened bag out anywhere for too long the coalslose their ability.  I keep it in the garage.  Had a half a bag that hadnt been used in a month and the coals just dont stay hot as long and burn different.  The humidity got to them.

I use hardwood lump charcoal and a bag in the garage does not go bad. This is even though I live in a fairly humid environment. I buy the big bags from Costco and it takes me a couple months to go through a bag.

 

[NorthernVike 2,080]

Pellet grill and a Blackstone griddle for me.  Haven't taken the cover off the propane Webber in over a year.  Time to put it on the curb.  

[listen2me 23 1,537]

1 hour ago, MTSkiBum said:

I use hardwood lump charcoal and a bag in the garage does not go bad. This is even though I live in a fairly humid environment. I buy the big bags from Costco and it takes me a couple months to go through a bag.

 

Ill keep that in mind.  I only ever get the big bag of kingsford briquette.  I usually use them up before they sit around too long but Ive had it happen a few times where al.ost whole bags became crap.

[MTSkiBum 1,593]

Just now, listen2me 23 said:

Ill keep that in mind.  I only ever get the big bag of kingsford briquette.  I usually use them up before they sit around too long but Ive had it happen a few times where al.ost whole bags became crap.

Kingsford is awful, once you try hardwood charcoal you will not go back. I did try one bad brand of hardwood charcoal, and I do not remember what it was. However most brands are pretty good.

 

I have been using Royal Oak recently because it is reasonably priced and it burns hot and long.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Royal-Oak-Lump-Charcoal-All-Natural-Hardwood-Charcoal-15-4-Lbs/54065925?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=5449&&adid=22222222227000000000&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=42423897272&wl4=aud-430887228898:pla-51320962143&wl5=9027781&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=54065925&veh=sem&gclid=CjwKCAjw9vn4BRBaEiwAh0muDGEWHPRH_AK6SLkLSRkPA86IrbWn3IIP53XER-2gZiO32dSDpDXByBoCLQoQAvD_BwE

 

[JustinCharge 2,397]

Just start a fire, toss some food on aluminum foil.  Roll it up into a ball and toss it into the fire for 10 minutes.

[5-Points 2,716]

4 hours ago, supermike80 said:

Meh...40 minutes is too much time for me to get a grill going as a general rule.  Maybe on  Sunday when I feel like investing the energy.

Outside of that, I'm turning the knob on my propane tank and doin my grillin

Same. It's a convenience thing.

Properly seasoned meat, cooked to the proper temp is delicious off of a gas grill.

Plus I cook pizza and other things on it that would make using charcoal pointless. 

[Djgb13 2,338]

Buddy in Tx had a wood grill with a smoke stack. The flavor from cooking on that was AMAZING. I like the ease and convenience of the gas grill but you can’t beat the flavor from that

[Cloaca du jour 2,064]

1 hour ago, NorthernVike said:

Pellet grill and a Blackstone griddle for me.  Haven't taken the cover off the propane Webber in over a year.  Time to put it on the curb.  

Griddle is the bomb...I seasoned mine before winter...covered it and got a few rust spots when I opened it.  Wire brush on the drill and good to go.

[tanatastic 2,061]

Heard from a grill master that wood pellet grills are the only way he will go after trying them 

[NorthernVike 2,080]

4 minutes ago, tanatastic said:

Heard from a grill master that wood pellet grills are the only way he will go after trying them 

I have two of them. One at the lake and one at home.  Absofuckinglutely love them.  I went with the Campchef brand.  

[NorthernVike 2,080]

12 minutes ago, Cloaca du jour said:

Griddle is the bomb...I seasoned mine before winter...covered it and got a few rust spots when I opened it.  Wire brush on the drill and good to go.

I'm going to get a second one for at  home.  Breakfast, smash burgers to hibachi grill.  They are the best.  

[IGotWorms 3,302]

It’s easy.

Charcoal is way better but also a bit of a pain in the butt.

Gas grill very simple but not really grilling, just cooking outside.

[5-Points 2,716]

54 minutes ago, Cloaca du jour said:

Griddle is the bomb...I seasoned mine before winter...covered it and got a few rust spots when I opened it.  Wire brush on the drill and good to go.

We have an old Coleman camp griddle. I throw it on the grill to cook bacon and burgers all the time. 

We have an electric griddle as well. Use it in the kitchen for omelettes, corn beef hash...

My wife's office wanted to have a 4th of July party one year. She wanted to cook hotdogs but she didn't want to nuke 'em and obviously an open flame grill was out of the question. I suggested the griddle. Worked like a charm. 

I want the Blackstone one NV mentioned above. It's just a big flattop. 

This one would work

[Cloaca du jour 2,064]

20 minutes ago, 5-Points said:

We have an old Coleman camp griddle. I throw it on the grill to cook bacon and burgers all the time. 

We have an electric griddle as well. Use it in the kitchen for omelettes, corn beef hash...

My wife's office wanted to have a 4th of July party one year. She wanted to cook hotdogs but she didn't want to nuke 'em and obviously an open flame grill was out of the question. I suggested the griddle. Worked like a charm. 

I want the Blackstone one NV mentioned above. It's just a big flattop. 

This one would work

I have the 36 inch...it is awesome!!

[Bier Meister 1,512]

Love my propane grill.  Most of my cooking is pretty quick these days.  I will still smoke some items (soak chips for an hour plus):

ribs: about 5-6 hrs

wings or bone in chicken: about 2-3 hrs

 

edit: griddles are very handy and versatile.  We have a small electric which i use for pancakes.  Bigger ones are great for almost anything.

Edited July 27, 2020 by Bier Meister

[NorthernVike 2,080]

2 hours ago, 5-Points said:

We have an old Coleman camp griddle. I throw it on the grill to cook bacon and burgers all the time. 

We have an electric griddle as well. Use it in the kitchen for omelettes, corn beef hash...

My wife's office wanted to have a 4th of July party one year. She wanted to cook hotdogs but she didn't want to nuke 'em and obviously an open flame grill was out of the question. I suggested the griddle. Worked like a charm. 

I want the Blackstone one NV mentioned above. It's just a big flattop. 

This one would work

https://blackstoneproducts.com/collections/griddles/products/rangetop-combo-with-deep-fryer

 

This is the one I'm eying up.  

[5-Points 2,716]

52 minutes ago, NorthernVike said:

https://blackstoneproducts.com/collections/griddles/products/rangetop-combo-with-deep-fryer

 

This is the one I'm eying up.  

[Meglamaniac 380]

On ‎7‎/‎27‎/‎2020 at 8:42 AM, listen2me 23 said:

And the fact a big bag doesnt last very long.  Ive planned to fire up the charcoal several time where I go to get the bag of charcoal and realize I dont have any left.  Not to mention if you leave an opened bag out anywhere for too long the coalslose their ability.  I keep it in the garage.  Had a half a bag that hadnt been used in a month and the coals just dont stay hot as long and burn different.  The humidity got to them.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Kingsford-Charcoal-Dispenser/102223646

 

[FlyinHeadlock 459]

Unless cooking for a large gathering don't need that many coals if you know how to use them. Get them away from the walls of the grill, more in a pile and let that grill get super hot on one side and know how to work the vents. Open on bottom and slight opening top vents. 

Seeing old guys as a kid, they'd dump the coals in then lighter fluid. Food always tasted like gasoline and totally over cooked. Similar to lighting a cigar. Want a slow slow burn. Barely get it going.      

[Meglamaniac 380]

57 minutes ago, FlyinHeadlock said:

Unless cooking for a large gathering don't need that many coals if you know how to use them. Get them away from the walls of the grill, more in a pile and let that grill get super hot on one side and know how to work the vents. Open on bottom and slight opening top vents. 

Seeing old guys as a kid, they'd dump the coals in then lighter fluid. Food always tasted like gasoline and totally over cooked. Similar to lighting a cigar. Want a slow slow burn. Barely get it going.      

The damper(s) on the top of any grill should always be wide open, the only time they should closed at all is when you are putting the fire out.

 

[FlyinHeadlock 459]

1 minute ago, Meglamaniac said:

The damper(s) on the top of any grill should always be wide open, the only time they should closed at all is when you are putting the fire out.

 

I was watching a PK grill master using a standard aluminum grill. He was leaving the vent about 1/4 of the way open when getting the grill going on top, open on the bottom vents. Think he opened it up though when it got going. Have to go back and watch it. Those vents though are important. A lot of people don't know how to use them exactly right including me. I think it also depends on what is being cooked...slow, indirect cooking, direct. 

[edjr 5,547]

Flame thrower FTW.  Melts the ice and snow on the house and car too

[Meglamaniac 380]

9 minutes ago, FlyinHeadlock said:

I was watching a PK grill master using a standard aluminum grill. He was leaving the vent about 1/4 of the way open when getting the grill going on top, open on the bottom vents. Think he opened it up though when it got going. Have to go back and watch it. Those vents though are important. A lot of people don't know how to use them exactly right including me. I think it also depends on what is being cooked...slow, indirect cooking, direct. 

Doesn't matter what is being cooked at what rate or what temp.  The bottom dampers are for controlling the amount of air intake and the top damper is for flow and should always be fully open.

Heat/smoke rises if you restrict the flow at the top then you are setting your self up for overly smoked bitter tasting food as the heat/smoke will circulate back into the chamber and will stifle you fire giving you what they call a 'dirty burn'.

White smoke bad, blue smoke good

 

[FlyinHeadlock 459]

Good basics on charcoal: