What's the deal with cooking on a gas BBQ? I just got one and

[henslee]

was wondering if they were in any way unhealthy. I know they're not as hazardous as charcoal but is there something insidious and under-reported about them?.... If not, I plan on getting some lava rocks tomm... That's what i need, right?

[TexasMexican]

1. Charcoal/Mesquite > Gas

Charcoal or Mesquite just plain taste better than gas.

[Syrinx]

3. I second that!

I'm sorry salesmen of propane and propane accessories. :)

[trof]

8. Well, that explains it.

Always thought there was something kinda "gassy" about you.
;-)

[INTELBYTES]

6. A fellow Texan will second that!!

Grilling is the best way to cook food, but if you want the real flavor to come out, charcoal with Mesquite chips is the best.

[bubblesby2002]

2. I like my gas bbq

We always bbq'd with a hibachi - even in the winter - we'd bring it inside and put it on the floor of the fireplace. But my husband always wanted a gas one. I didn't like it at first, but I really do now. Someone wanted to buy it from me the other day, but I said no.
I don't think they are any worse for you than charcoal.:shrug:

[burrowowl]

4. Nothing like

getting a good wood fire go to embers and BBQing. The rest is erzatz!
By the way, a good hardwood or mesquite, some woods are too resinous and some toxic (diareah anyone?) to cook on. Although, once reduced to embers, usually OK.

[trof]

5. Gas vs. Charcoal

Guys, they are BOTH odorless fuels.
The flavor of grilled meat (or veg) comes from the drippings hitting the heat source and vaporizing back up onto the food. That and the marinade (if used) and the charring of the surface of the food.

I guarantee you I could grill a steak on charcoal and one on gas and you won't be able to tell the difference.

I only use charcoal for actual barbecuing. Long slow cooking of a brisket or ribs, using fruit or nut wood (but NOT oak!) for smoking. Real wood burned down to coals works fine, too. Just takes a little longer.

I use a gas grill for everything else. The problem with gas is that most grills aren't hot enough. You need at least 40,000 BTUs to do a steak to my taste, medium charred on the outside and pinky-red in the middle. Lower temp grills give you baked steak.
The benefit of gas is the ability to maintain an even temp for long periods of time.

Lava rocks - I bought a new grill last summer. None of the grills I looked at have lava rocks any more. All have metal "shields" over the gas flame, which serves the same purpose. If you have one that uses the rocks, it may be a close-out of an old model. I was skeptical of the metal, but it seems to work fine. If you want some smoky flavor with the gas grill you can use Liquid Smoke/Liquid Hickory on the meat, or get one of the little stainless steel boxes that you fill with wet wood chips and place directly on the "coals".

BTW, the flavor of smoked foods will vary with the same wood, depending on whether it's green, dry/aged, wet, or dry. Green and dry gives a more intense flavor.

Happy grilling, and you can google for some more tips and great recipes.

[INTELBYTES]

7. Yes, but if you have charcoal with wood chips in them, such as mesquite...

(and who wouldn't add wood chips?)The flavor comes from the smoke more so that the drippings.

[Robb]

9. Yah, but that's smoking

really, and something you can reproduce accurately on a gas grill with a small cast-iron skillet with chips in it.

My gas grill has these (no laughing) "flavorizer bars", basically extra little inverted-V-shaped channels of metal below, for the drippings to hit, spread out on, and smokey-smokey-smokey.

Yummers. Plus, I'm ready to go pronto with LP. I'll never go back.

[trof]

10. Ah, "flavorizer bars".

That sounds so much better than shields.
And yer right, cookin' is cookin' and smokin' is smokin'.

[Robb]

11. I think anything

"--izer" or "--ator" is better than anything else. I have re-christened my kitchen tools accordingly.

The knives are now the Cutinizor Strips.

The range is the Cookinator Platform.

Mixinizer, Heatinator, Blendinizer, etc. etc. etc. ;)

[NashVegas]

12. Let's See You Do This On a Gas Grill

:)

As for the everyday stuff, my friends and I have decided gas grills are "unmanly."

[trof]

13. SISSY-BRITCHES!

Whaddahyah mean "unmanly".
I'l stack my manly up against yours any day!
;-)
Cooking with that potential bomb of a 20-lb. propane tank next to your right leg ain't for the scaredy cats or the faint of heart.
<macho man>

Gas grills are grills, they ain't gas "barbecues", and no, I wouldn't do 2 dozen briskets or butts on a gas grill. I'd do them on a barbecue pit.
nyah nyah nyah
:-)