Just wondering what folks prefer when cooking on a grill.Charcoal is my choice I think because I was a plumber and after working with propane all day that's the last thing I wanted my food cooked with.We don't even put starter fluid on our charcoal.We use a chimney where you put paper in the bottom with charcoal above ,light the paper & 10 minutes later the charcoal is ready to go.Don't get me wrong when we go to someone's home for a cookout I will eat the food cooked with propane but as stated it's not my first choice.What's yours?

[TednRobin]

Propane for the convenience.

[Chi-Town]

Indirect cooking - charcoal is the best. Direct cooking - it doesn't make any difference. I found the best way to start the charcoal was with an electric starter. Easy, clean and nothing to burn. With propane there is no smell or aftertaste like lighter fluid. Using a Weber gas grill, the E-320 I think, and it is a dream to cook with.

[bestmickey]

I use propane for convenience but I also add a few charcoal briquets (?sp) to the flame, for preferred taste.

[redwitch]

Definitely charcoal.

[Pat_RI]

Hard wood charcoal....with some smoke.

[Luv2travel]

I agree charcoal is the best for infusing flavor but it is only heat you are after then the gas grill is best, no flavor is added to food, at least none from my grill. I have both types of grills and I use a charcoal chimney to start the coals by placing it over the gas single burner on my gas grill. I am good to go in just a few minutes, of course the charcoal has to burn a bit but it lights up great.

[kathy and al]

I use "Flame Discs" which allow for instant lighting and a constant 40 minute flame with incredibly easy cleanup. No muss no fuss and cooks like a charm. No charcoal or propane problems to worry about. Available at Home Depot.

[eweissenbach]

Charcoal is absolutely my choice, unless time prevents me from using it. I always soak hickory chips in water and put on the hot charcoal to add hickory smoke flavor. I own a large charcoal smoker/grill with a rotissarie, which I use to cook for a large group, a small kettle grill for 4 or fewer (which I like best as it uses little chacoal and really holds the smoke for flavor), and a three burner propane gas grill, again for convenience.

[Shimpy]

The experts will tell you that the BBQ taste will come from the drippings, not whether the heat source was charcoal, propane, nuclear or whatever.
I can't see messing with dirty charcoal and ashes when the taste, to me, is the same.

[handyman]

Originally Posted by Bosoxfan

Just wondering what folks prefer when cooking on a grill.Charcoal is my choice I think because I was a plumber and after working with propane all day that's the last thing I wanted my food cooked with.We don't even put starter fluid on our charcoal.We use a chimney where you put paper in the bottom with charcoal above ,light the paper & 10 minutes later the charcoal is ready to go.Don't get me wrong when we go to someone's home for a cookout I will eat the food cooked with propane but as stated it's not my first choice.What's yours?

Been cooking on charcoal every day that was possible ,for over30 yrs, I would not consider anything but my trusty Weber,If you think it tastes'the same then you need to check out one of my pork roasts ;-)

[StarbuckSammy]

Thanks Kathy and Al for the tip regarding the Flame Disks. This is a new product that I had never heard of in the press. Thanks for the heads-up.

[jackz]

Been using a kettle weber with charcoal for years.

I have never used lighter fluid or any devices other than to wad up some pages of newspapers into balls and put them under the charcoal, light the paper and ready to cook in approx 15 minutes.

Love cooking a 10-12 lb turkey on the weber with indirect cooking with a drip pan that contains some water with wine, bay leaves, lemon wedges and herbs. Also presoak hickory wood chips and use them on the burning charcoal.

[collie1228]

I love the results from charcoal, but I just don't have the patience to wait for it to burn, and I hate having to clean up the ashes. I've found a pretty good middle ground. We bought a Weber Q100 portable propane grill for use on our boat, and we simply love it. It has a really heavy coated cast iron grate, which is so much better than the wire cooking surface found on most gas grills. It does a great job on a steak or a burger, and gives perfect grill marks. The problem with the portable model is that it has a single burner, so it's useless for indirect cooking foods like chicken or ribs. In the spring we are buying the full size version of this grill, the Q300, which has two burners and almost 400 square inches of cooking surface. It's easily the best cooking gas grill I've ever owned, and I've bought a lot of them.