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Across the Fence:  Charcoal grill vs. Gas grill---opinions, please!  |
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FebruaryViolet
True Blue Farmgirl
4810 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4810 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 18 2013 : 06:22:54 AM
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We had an ancient gas grill from the mid 80's that died years back and we went back to charcoal, one of the Weber Kettle grills.
That's finally caput, so I went to Lowe's last night and...well, I guess I haven't looked at grills in a long time because holy cow, some of them are as big as my house?!
It's just the 3 of us, and we rarely have folks over because of the way we're always running, so I don't believe we need one that is for the "outdoor kitchens" though I'd love that...but again, bigger than our house, so that's a little silly  , but I'm leaning towards the ease of a gas grill because my husband works in the evenings sometime, and I want to do a lot more grill cooking and I'm just not all that great with loading/monitoring the charcoal. There is a nice sized one with two grill surfaces for under $150 that I can cook pork tenderloin, grill kale, essentially our whole meal on, which is what I'm looking for.
I'd be interested in your preferences, why, etc. I love the flavor you get when cooking with charcoal, and as someone who loves to cook, that's one of the big holdbacks for me in going with gas.
"Hey, I've got nothing to do today but smile..."
The Only Living Boy in New York, Paul Simon |
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Penny Wise
True Blue Farmgirl
1903 Posts
Margo
Elyria
OH
USA
1903 Posts |
Posted - Apr 18 2013 : 06:45:44 AM
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i'm watching this one cuz i really want/need a grill-there are two of us on a regular basis but sometimes up to 12
however- my sweetie is a pyro so charcoal grills are dangerous-
that said- i dunno why but i am afraid of the gas grills...
so---will be watching!
Farmgirl # 2139
proud member of the Farmgirls of the Southwest Henhouse
~*~ counting my pennies; my dreams are adding up!~*~ |
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SarahJ
True Blue Farmgirl
198 Posts
Shreveport
Louisiana
198 Posts |
Posted - Apr 18 2013 : 07:57:39 AM
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I used to be a die-hard charcoal girl, but a few years ago, my dad got us a very nice weber gas grill. It has converted me for two big reasons: cost and convenience. He purchased us our own propane tank, so now, we just go exchange it when it gets empty (rather than having to put down a deposit everytime). It only costs about $20 for a refill, and lasts months. Charcoal is $5-$8 per use, so it's hands-down cheaper. As for convenience, I can fire it up and be grilling within 10 minutes, instead of waiting 30 minutes for the charcoal to be ready, and I can control the heat easily.
SarahJ
Farmgirl Sister #116
http://bayoumama.wordpress.com/ |
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Ninibini
True Blue Farmgirl
7577 Posts
Nini
Pennsylvania
USA
7577 Posts |
Posted - Apr 18 2013 : 08:14:22 AM
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There's nothing like the taste of food cooked over charcoal, and there is no better roasted marshmallow than one that has slowly browned over the coals, but I have to agree with Sarah - we love our gas grill, too. What I especially like is that our model has a gas burner on the side. I love that I can cook rice or anything else that needs a burner right there and watch it while grilling - no running in and out to the kitchen. I also like that you can use the gas grill as an oven. We've used it for pizza (on stones), and one Thanksgiving it served us well when the oven died. But you have to be very careful to watch the temp when using it as an oven, and the open flame can always catch your food on fire if you're not vigilant. And we can grill in the middle of winter, when there's snow on the ground, too; whereas getting a charcoal grill to light and stay warm in the snow isn't very easy or practical. What I really don't like is that in order to roast marshmallows (a MUST in this family!), we need to have the burners going. And once the igniter stops working, you need to light the burner with the match, which can be dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. That freaks me out a little bit. Then the only other drawback I see is that ours is so big and bulky that it wouldn't be practical to pack it up and take it with us to a cookout or anything like that. Other than those reasons, which are only minor drawbacks for us, the gas grill is definitely our choice! As my husband says, I can burn just about ANYTHING on ANY grill! LOL!
Good luck choosing, girls!
Hugs -
Nini
Farmgirl Sister #1974
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
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FebruaryViolet
True Blue Farmgirl
4810 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4810 Posts |
Posted - Apr 18 2013 : 12:16:36 PM
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This helps me a lot, girls--and it's pretty much in line with what I'm thinking. I don't turn on the a/c until we're stewing in our own juices at the house and the thought of cooking on a stove when it's so hot inside doesn't sound appealing. I've always wanted to cook more on the grill, but I think I'm a little gunshy of charcoal and the conveience thing is really important to me, especially when it's just me and Violet. Like last night--she wanted "smashed potato and chicken meat and green crunchy beans" (translates to: baked potato and pan seared or grilled chicken breast and green beans) and it would have been really nice to simply get it all ready and put it on the grill and have dinner on before I knew it.
I know that there is no substitute for charcoal for flavor, but I've been reading up on ways you can add smoke with various wood chips that are soaked and put in a box or foil packet before hand. That really appeals to me and with a little planning, I can make a yummy dinner!
"Hey, I've got nothing to do today but smile..."
The Only Living Boy in New York, Paul Simon |
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firefly0005
Farmgirl in Training
10 Posts
Danielle
Oregon City
Oregon
USA
10 Posts |
Posted - Apr 19 2013 : 10:23:35 PM
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We used to have a gas grill, until it died. It worked good most of the time, until it developed a few hot spots. It became annoying when food was cooking along just fine and then something would start to burn in one spot. We did some research and settled on a treggar. I will never own anything else again. You can smoke on it all day, cook a roast, burger's, or absolutely anything. Nothing burns and always comes out very tender and juicy.
Just something else you may want to look into.
Once a country girl, always a country girl. |
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kysheeplady
True Blue Farmgirl
1291 Posts
Teri
KY
USA
1291 Posts |
Posted - Apr 20 2013 : 04:18:46 AM
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I won't use a gas grill ... If I wanted food cooked over a gas grill I would just cook inside ... We LOVE the charcoal grill and the GREAt taste it adds ... there is NOTHING like it. And they make REALLY great charcoal grill ... propane vs charcoal ... no brainer for us.
Teri
"There are black sheep in every flock"
White Sheep Farm
www.whitesheepfarm.com |
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NixKat
True Blue Farmgirl
288 Posts
Kathleen
CT
USA
288 Posts |
Posted - Apr 20 2013 : 10:32:43 AM
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I always felt the same about gas, if I wanted to cook with gas I would cook in the kitchen. However, a few years back we found a grill that does both, gas and charcoal. For those times when I need more than one oven, I use the gas grill and cook a roast, or a few chickens; for flavor I use the charcoal. Love having the option. I think we paid about $150 for it.
Kathleen...... Farmgirl Sister #3447
http://hennypennyfarm.blogspot.com/
www.klbobbittphotography.com
/www.facebook.com/KlBobbittPhotography |
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Sue Feely
True Blue Farmgirl
1044 Posts
Sue
Buffalo
New York
USA
1044 Posts |
Posted - Apr 23 2013 : 08:59:21 AM
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| Oh I too, love using charcoal, but I am terrible at it, the charcoal will not stay lit, so add more fluid, out again, more fluid ugh not good. A couple of years ago I purchased a gas grill again and yes it is faster (if youdont run out of gas), but once in a while as in camping or picknicking I use charcoal one thing to make sure of that the charcoal doest get damp! |
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FebruaryViolet
True Blue Farmgirl
4810 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4810 Posts |
Posted - Apr 23 2013 : 09:23:20 AM
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Yeah, that's the thing--I'm really not so keen on all the fluid and again, when little ones want to eat, they want to eat right now!
So, I think I'll look some more and take my husband with and we can pick something out.
I agree that charcoal is so good to cook on for flavor, but maybe we'll just do that when we have a little more time.
"Hey, I've got nothing to do today but smile..."
The Only Living Boy in New York, Paul Simon |
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Across the Fence: Charcoal grill vs. Gas grill---opinions, please! |
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Charcoal grill vs. Gas grill---opinions, please!
