OT. Gas BBQs?

[Flat 6]

Boo me off if this is just too far off forum.

I have long been an old skool bbq guy, charcoal all the way.

But kids are away now and I want to be able to cook the odd evening outdoors without having to wait for charcoal to get ready.

But will I get along with a gas bbq?

OK, I appreciate that there will be less proper smokey taste, maybe I can live with that. One thing I can't get my head around is whether these things cook by flame or do the angled metal pieces heat up and they do most of the cooking? Simple questions but no-one I know uses one!

Some people talk about flavour bars...are they just the angled metal pieces between the burners or what?

And I see you can buy a hybrid with gas under a grid that you put charcoal in. Any good?

Maybe I should just go and buy that lawnmower instead. 

Al

[Beaky]

As a Greek I have to say stick with the Charcoal, there is defo a difference in taste and texture. Use a chimney to speed up getting the coals ready

[Nige]

Use a smaller table top type BBQ, they soon get up to temp.

[Phill]

You should use lava rock with a gas bbq. The flame heats the rock and that is then what cooks the food. Basically the same as charcoal once the rock gets soaked in all the fat and juice etc etc. (you reuse it every time) I had this and ended up with just as much annoying smoke and inconvenience as a charcoal bbq. I finally realised that I have a perfectly good oven, grill and hob and that it wasn’t necessary to go back to the Stone Age and cook outside, getting smoke in my eyes and annoying the neighbours 

[njpcarrera32]

10 hours ago, Nige said:

Use a smaller table top type BBQ, they soon get up to temp.

+1

[PeterK]

Just my $0.02 worth.

I swore by charcoal until a Kiwi mate returning home left me his gas one.  The flames heat the bars and the bars burn the food 😇

It is fairly quick to get going, certainly less time to get the bars hot than to get a good charcoal base, even with the chimney approach, as you really need the charcoal to have gone to ashes rather than flaming.

 

I find what I lost in charcoal flavour I could replace by marinades and I guess that as I didn’t replace the charcoal one when there was finally not enough left to weld back together, shows that I prefer the convenience of the gas unit.

 

I’ll get my coat ……

Edited April 29, 2023 by PeterK

[Ian Comerford]

Point of order here.  There is no such thing as a gas bbq, it is an outdoor gas cooker.  BBQs use charcoal and are for real men.

[Nige]

☝️👍💪

[Beaky]

2 hours ago, Ian Comerford said:

Point of order here.  There is no such thing as a gas bbq, it is an outdoor gas cooker.  BBQs use charcoal and are for real men.

This 

[Flat 6]

I hang my head in shame at having considered such an abomination of an outdoor cooker. 
 

Even more so cos I bought one today and have just had some nicely cooked burgers and sausages.  In 30 mins from lighting to plate. For two only. Which is the point. 
 

I will rebuild my manly credentials by lighting the real fire the next time the family is together. 
 

I have already put on my coat and am a fair way down the road so no point in shouting now…

 

[Ian Comerford]

Good.  Can the moderators close this meaningless post please!

[Flat 6]

Light hearted chat about bbq, but from one long term IB’er to another…

WHO THE feck ARE YOU TO DECIDE WHAT IS MEANINGLESS ON HERE?

Get your coat. 

Edited April 29, 2023 by Flat 6
Typo

[GaryH]

1 hour ago, Ian Comerford said:

Good.  Can the moderators close this meaningless post please!

Yes, more talk about Porta Potti's please !

Edited April 29, 2023 by GaryH

[World Citizen]

Has this forum turned into Dadsnet 

Only asking for my elderly neighbour 😉

 

Edited April 29, 2023 by World Citizen

[hmg]

All of this talk about Gas vs Charcoal is irrelevant…regardless of where the food is consumed surely if it’s cooked indoors on the hob/grill then no Manly responsibility for cooking or cleaning ensues. Win Win. 

Edited April 30, 2023 by hmg

[Fred]

Bbq is about the flavours you get out of the charcoal and the fat burning on it. Gas do not provide those flavours. The only thing which is ok if you really don't want to use charcoal for ethical reasons is to use a "synergy grill". 

[Phill]

11 minutes ago, Fred said:

Gas do not provide those flavours.

Unless you use lava rock.

[Fred]

42 minutes ago, Phill said:

Unless you use lava rock.still

Still, you don't get that smokey flavour a charcoal provide. One thing we do sometime is to add certains types of wood with the charcoal to bring a specific flavour which I believe you might be able to add with lava rocks? 

[Flat 6]

There is definitely a lot less of the smokey bbq flavour off the small Weber I’ve bought. I’d describe it as an upside down gas grill. The food is cooked by a combination of the heat in the cast iron grill plate and the heat generated by keeping the lid closed, which seems to be the way Weber want it used. 
 

Keeping the lid down does generate a hot smokey space that does give flavour to the food but nothing like a charcoal bbq. 
 

So better than cooking indoors but completely different from BBQing on charcoal.