I am considering switching from gas to charcoal grilling but have a
few questions many of you can probably answer. I have been cooking on
Weber Gas grills for some time and have enjoyed it but I feel, after
reading this group, that I am missing out on charcoal grilling flavor.
Many of you do a lot of smoking, but I would rather hold of on smoking
until I get my feet wet with charcoal grilling. I dont want to sound
"arrogant" but money really isnt an issue for me so I am looking for
what the best charcoal grill out there is. Although I have owned Weber
I have no "brand loyalty" and any brand is open for me. Plus I looked
at the Performer and felt the cooking area wasnt quite large enough,
but maybe that is the standard size.

So on to the questions...

1. Is there a specific brand/model you would recommend? (that you have
actually used or seen in use)

2. Are there specific features I should look for that would help me
make my decision? (I have seen many with adjustable grate heights for
adjusting from "hot" for searing steaks to "cool" for slower cooking).

3. Since I am coming from gas, I see charcoal and see it as being a
hassle (yet from what I read it is a rewarding hassle!) to fill up the
charcoal, light it, wait 20 minutes to get it going, cook, then figure
out what to do with hot charcoals when done. It seems like it can get
pretty messy. Are there any charcoal grills out there that have any
features to make all this easier? I saw the gas burner ignitor on the
Performer and thought that was a neat idea. Any other brands have
similar "ease of use" functions?

Well that pretty well sums it up. If anyone has more to add I would
greatly appreciate it!! I dont want to jumop into this blind.

Thanks!!

Todd

The All Wise and Precognitive DUWOP predicts!

Many people responding with something starting with the letter...........no,
yes, K!


So as it was, so shall it have been.

DUWOP

"Todd" wrote in message
om...
I dont want to sound
"arrogant" but money really isnt an issue for me so I am looking for
what the best charcoal grill out there is.

Another approach is to get a fantastic gas grill such as a $2500 TEC and use
the handy wood chip tray for smoke flavor. Best of both worlds. I sugget you
visit a Barbecues Galore store or the website and look at charcoal and gas
grills, then look at Kamado to see what you like.

I'd also suggest you look into a smoker to make traditional BBQ.

Todd wrote:

1. Is there a specific brand/model you would recommend? (that you have
actually used or seen in use)

Kamado is a very flexible, aesthetically pleasing, and competent piece of
grilling, smoking, and baking equipment:
www.kamado.com

You might also look at the Hasty Bake lineup:
http://www.hastybake.com/

Dave

Todd wrote:


3. Since I am coming from gas, I see charcoal and see it as being a
hassle (yet from what I read it is a rewarding hassle!) to fill up the
charcoal, light it, wait 20 minutes to get it going,

A lot of people use a charcoal chimney, which can get enough charcoal
burning hot enough in 5-10 minutes to grill most anything (and at a
hotter temp than your gas grill might ever get). But even if it's 20
minutes, you usually don't know you're going to cook 20 minutes before
you're ready? I never understood this objection. For best results,
even a gas grill should be pre-heated, so the difference in "wait" time
is pretty insignificant.

cook, then figure
out what to do with hot charcoals when done.

What's to figure out? Were you going to use the grill as a bird bath
after cooking? You close the lid, that puts out the fire (so they're no
longer hot) and the next time you go to cook, you either re-use the
charcoal that was left or keep it in the grill and throw new lit
charcoal from your chimney on top of it. (It should be noted that most
of the time people here speak of "charcoal", they mean "lump charcoal"
and not "charcoal briquettes").

It seems like it can get
pretty messy.

Yeah, you might need to wash your hands after loading the charcoal in
your chimney or your grill (or keep a pair of gloves around) but if
you're cooking, preparing meat, rubbing meat, cutting up vegetables,
etc., chances are you'll have to wash your hands a number of times anyway...

On Mon, 14 Jun 2004 17:44:57 GMT, wrote:

Todd wrote:


3. Since I am coming from gas, I see charcoal and see it as being a
hassle (yet from what I read it is a rewarding hassle!) to fill up the
charcoal, light it, wait 20 minutes to get it going,

A lot of people use a charcoal chimney, which can get enough charcoal
burning hot enough in 5-10 minutes to grill most anything (and at a
hotter temp than your gas grill might ever get). But even if it's 20
minutes, you usually don't know you're going to cook 20 minutes before
you're ready? I never understood this objection. For best results,
even a gas grill should be pre-heated, so the difference in "wait" time
is pretty insignificant.


IMHO, the chimney is the way to go.

cook, then figure
out what to do with hot charcoals when done.

What's to figure out? Were you going to use the grill as a bird bath
after cooking? You close the lid, that puts out the fire (so they're no
longer hot) and the next time you go to cook, you either re-use the
charcoal that was left or keep it in the grill and throw new lit
charcoal from your chimney on top of it. (It should be noted that most
of the time people here speak of "charcoal", they mean "lump charcoal"
and not "charcoal briquettes").


I would have sugessted a Webber Kettle at his original post, but he
said money is no object. With the kettle you close the lid & the top
& bottom vents and the charcoal will be ready for the next use.

It seems like it can get
pretty messy.

Yeah, you might need to wash your hands after loading the charcoal in
your chimney or your grill (or keep a pair of gloves around) but if
you're cooking, preparing meat, rubbing meat, cutting up vegetables,
etc., chances are you'll have to wash your hands a number of times anyway...


I always keep a pan of 'dishwater' ready for the hand washing. I use
an old coffee maker for hot water (if needed). My 'gloves' consist of
a pair of cheap brown jerseys for handling the charcoal; regular elbow
length mitts; and a pair of OVE GLOVES for handling food etc. The OVE
GLOVES are washable.

wrote in message
et...
A lot of people use a charcoal chimney, which can get enough charcoal
burning hot enough in 5-10 minutes to grill most anything (and at a
hotter temp than your gas grill might ever get). But even if it's 20
minutes, you usually don't know you're going to cook 20 minutes before
you're ready? I never understood this objection. For best results,
even a gas grill should be pre-heated, so the difference in "wait" time
is pretty insignificant.

I have both and waiting for charcoal is significant when my Weber gas grill
is ready to go in 10 minutes with no fuss at all. When you have a family and
a career and all you want is a quick and tasty steak on a Monday night after
work ... 10 minutes saved is appreciated and the gas grill is what you're
going to reach for every time. With a gasser you turn a knob and press a
button, and in 10 minutes you're ready. Simple. With charcoal you get the
bag, pour it into the chimney, put paper or whatever in to light, etc, etc,
etc.

A gas grill is so much more convenient it's not even debatable, and for
smoke flavor you can easily toss some wood chunks in there. I save the
charcoal for weekends when I want to BBQ.

"Jason in Dallas" wrote in message
. ..
wrote in message
et...
A lot of people use a charcoal chimney, which can get enough charcoal
burning hot enough in 5-10 minutes to grill most anything (and at a
hotter temp than your gas grill might ever get). But even if it's 20
minutes, you usually don't know you're going to cook 20 minutes before
you're ready? I never understood this objection. For best results,
even a gas grill should be pre-heated, so the difference in "wait" time
is pretty insignificant.

I have both and waiting for charcoal is significant when my Weber gas
grill
is ready to go in 10 minutes with no fuss at all. When you have a family
and
a career and all you want is a quick and tasty steak on a Monday night
after
work ... 10 minutes saved is appreciated and the gas grill is what you're
going to reach for every time. With a gasser you turn a knob and press a
button, and in 10 minutes you're ready. Simple. With charcoal you get the
bag, pour it into the chimney, put paper or whatever in to light, etc,
etc,
etc.

A gas grill is so much more convenient it's not even debatable, and for
smoke flavor you can easily toss some wood chunks in there. I save the
charcoal for weekends when I want to BBQ.


Kamado with gas option delivers the best of both worlds. Instant gas start
lights the lump, takes the Kamado up to 500+ degrees in under 10 minutes.
Shut down the gas and cook on real charcoal and real wood chunks.

Jack Curry

Jason in Dallas wrote:

wrote in message
et...

But even if it's 20
minutes, you usually don't know you're going to cook 20 minutes before
you're ready? I never understood this objection.


When you have a family and
a career

Oh, a dig at my employment status! Hey, chief, I used the charcoal
grill even before they closed my plant! g

and all you want is a quick and tasty steak on a Monday night after
work ...

Well, yeah, I guess if that's ALL you want. My point was that there's
usually something ELSE to do when you're making dinner- rub the steak
with fresh garlic and fresh black pepper, peel potatoes, make a salad,
etc. while the chimney's starting. And that's not even mentioning
having to spent time BUYING all the above, so the time to wait for a
chimney of charcoal seems, to me, insignificant.

10 minutes saved is appreciated and the gas grill is what you're
going to reach for every time.

Well, not me. I always said I'd never own a gas grill until I moved
into a house with only an electric stove and oven. I use it exclusively
for side dishes and hot dogs and hamburgers. I would NEVER cook a steak
on it.

I suppose, again, for me, the point is, if I want "convenience" or
something "easy", why not just buy something pre-made or go to a
restaurant? If I can't wait 10 minutes for better tasting food, why
bother?

"Jack Curry" Jack-Curry deletethis @cfl.rr.com wrote in message
om...
"Jason in Dallas" wrote in message

A gas grill is so much more convenient it's not even debatable, and for
smoke flavor you can easily toss some wood chunks in there. I save the
charcoal for weekends when I want to BBQ.


Kamado with gas option delivers the best of both worlds. Instant gas
start
lights the lump, takes the Kamado up to 500+ degrees in under 10 minutes.
Shut down the gas and cook on real charcoal and real wood chunks.


Sure you have an ultimate setup. The gg makers have seen the light and are
now offering the same capability. Kennmore being the most recent and
charcoal pans are on the accessory list more often these days. I can do the
same thing using the 160K burner on a chimney of lump but you still have to
deal with cleanup of the previous nights burn. In many cases a gg is so
much better to deal with: ie a storm is on the way. With an easy minor mod I
now have hood temps of over 725degrees as fast as you get your K to
500-600.

As for taste difference, depends on how long its over the heat. I've never
heard a complaint about Ruth Chris steaks not being grilled likewise a gg
will suffice given the proper searing heat. The longer its there the more I
notice the difference. And a smoker box works for grilling but on most ggs
it won't do for q.

-CAL

In article , "Duwop"
wrote:

The All Wise and Precognitive DUWOP predicts!

Many people responding with something starting with the letter...........no,
yes, K!


So as it was, so shall it have been.

DUWOP

ALL HAIL THE PROPHET NOSTRA-DUWOP!

monroe(or wazzat 'aw hell')

wrote:
Well, not me. I always said I'd never own a gas grill until I moved
into a house with only an electric stove and oven. I use it exclusively
for side dishes and hot dogs and hamburgers. I would NEVER cook a steak
on it.

Which GG do you own?


I suppose, again, for me, the point is, if I want "convenience" or
something "easy", why not just buy something pre-made or go to a
restaurant? If I can't wait 10 minutes for better tasting food, why
bother?

As I've stated before, nobody complains about Ruth Chris's steak. They
are done with an overhead infrared gas burners and do not faulter on
quality and flavor. Given the short cooking time of a steak and the
minimal smoke of lump, you shouldn't notice much difference in flavor.
If you are, then your gasgrill probably isn't hot enough (need to do a
full warm up for approx 15-20min unless you have monster heat
output/retention)

-CAL

cl wrote:


wrote:

Well, not me. I always said I'd never own a gas grill until I moved
into a house with only an electric stove and oven. I use it exclusively
for side dishes and hot dogs and hamburgers. I would NEVER cook a steak
on it.


Which GG do you own?

A cheap one, on which I only ever intended to cook dogs and burgers (I
also have a Kamado). But, why should that make a difference? I just
don't like the idea of cooking a steak over gas, whether it's coming out
of a $100 Fiesta or a $1000 stainless steel monster. I own a nice
enameled steel Le Crueset dutch oven but I'm still not going to boil
ribs in it.


I suppose, again, for me, the point is, if I want "convenience" or
something "easy", why not just buy something pre-made or go to a
restaurant? If I can't wait 10 minutes for better tasting food, why
bother?



then your gasgrill probably isn't hot enough (need to do a
full warm up for approx 15-20min unless you have monster heat
output/retention)

AH! We've come full circle! That was my original point, after all,
that waiting for a chimney of charcoal isn't really all that
time-consuming when compared to a gas grill.

JK-still perplexed over the beating I'm taking in alt.food.barbecue for
preferring charcoal to propane...

wrote:
cl wrote:

JK-still perplexed over the beating I'm taking in alt.food.barbecue
for preferring charcoal to propane...


No worries Jess, it's just the temporary resident bonehead. Most of us don't
see his posts except in other peoples replies. You've been doing fine with
your arguments that don't need any help that I could see, been enjoying it.

--

wrote:



Which GG do you own?

A cheap one, on which I only ever intended to cook dogs and burgers (I
also have a Kamado). But, why should that make a difference?

A cheapo doesn't always sear fast enough to cook a steak to
medium-medium rare to get enough flavorful crust.


I just
don't like the idea of cooking a steak over gas, whether it's coming out
of a $100 Fiesta or a $1000 stainless steel monster.


Well part of the discussion is speed of heatup. A 20KBTU will not
normally come to temperature as fast as a 50Kbtu unit of similar
dimensions. Ultimately you can do a btu per sqinch (volume would be more
accurate) comparison and the $100 specials are equitable to using a S10
v6 jimmy to pull a big ole honking trailer.

Simply, don't judge the entire spectrum of gas grills based on the
experience with a single inexpensive unit.


I own a nice
enameled steel Le Crueset dutch oven but I'm still not going to boil
ribs in it.

We hope you don't boil the ribs at all




AH! We've come full circle! That was my original point, after all,
that waiting for a chimney of charcoal isn't really all that
time-consuming when compared to a gas grill.

That is only a portion if it. Your forget having to clean the ash,
remove the grate, find the charcoal, pour it in,, crumple the newspaper,
light it (relight if something goes wrong), washhands, wait 15-20min,
pour into cooker, put grate on, wait 10-15min to come to temp then cook

Or turn on gas, open hood,push igniter and turn knobs close hood, cook
in 10-20min.


JK-still perplexed over the beating I'm taking in alt.food.barbecue for
preferring charcoal to propane...


I'm sorry, I wasn't beating. I don't think we are saying gas is better
(i'm not), it is less hassle and depending on what is being cooked, as
good as being cooked on charcoal.

There is an undeniable convenience to using the gas and when using a
smokerbox/pouch with wood (and/or lump) in it you can have the same
flavors on many grilled items as you get over fire.


I too have a kettle that I use the hell out of when grilling as I just
recently readded a gasgrill to my lineup for the convenience factor.
Trust me I can get a fire up really fast with the 160k burner, lump and
a chimney. When the lump is stacked up, I get temps as hot as your k at
the grate/top off but I still find a gas grill capable of 800+deg at the
grate a very nice thing to have (and there are no compromises in food
quality)

-CAL