The Gas Grill Review and Gas Grill Rating Guide - Helping you choose the Best Gas Grill

Why Is Gas Barbecue (aka Gas BBQ) Considered The Wrong Way To Go?

Use this search feature to quickly find the information you're looking for.

Why do barbecue experts think gas barbecue is the wrong way to go when grilling your meals? There are several options out there for grills: infrared, coal, propane, and natural gas. Is there a difference between them that would actually affect the outcome of a meal?

While gas grills can be a good investment, the benefits can be outshined by other types of grills. Sure, a gas barbecue has the advantages of push button lighting, controllable flames and multiple burners, but is that really everything that counts toward having the perfect grill?

With the gas BBQ grills, you also reportedly have diminished flavor since gas itself does not incorporate any additional taste into the meats. That's also the plus, if you wish not to have anything added to the naturally occurring taste of foods. Unless the gas grill comes with an attached smoker box, or has multiple burners, it can be hard to smoke foods. So, if you're looking to purchase a gas barbecue, and you want to do more than just crank out the heat, make sure you know what you're looking for in advance.

On the other hand, when you wish to go charcoal BBQ you can have a hotter fire, burn wood for flavor, smoke foods easily and, hey, you even get to play with fire. Of course, after you're done grilling on a charcoal fire, you do have a pretty little mess to clean up.

You'll also need to man the fire a bit more on a charcoal grill since the flame is a natural flame rather than a knob you turn for high and low. When you're ready to purchase a charcoal grill, you simply need to watch for a good fitting lid, as well as top and bottom vents for good airflow.

Let's admit it. Our caveman instincts can still come to the surface as we light the fire with those coals, see the ballet of the flame dance about the food, and just take in the aroma of cooking meat. We yearn for more and mesmerize ourselves with the flame. You cannot get that with the gas grill's pretty blue flame. Not only that, but a natural gas barbecue isn't very portable because you need to be hooked into the gas line. Propane is portable, but dangerous since the gas is flammable. Coals you can take anywhere.

Succulent, moist, and tender those steaks are just crying out to you as you smoke them, marinade them and bring fire to them. It's beginning to make your mouth water as you take in the aroma of the wood chips. These things just don't burn that way on a gas grill. There you'll find you need to use additives to the food rather than the cooking process. Grilling with charcoal is the closest thing you can get to simply cooking straight over the open fire.

The purists and traditionalists will always go for the coal over the gas. There are more grilling techniques available; therefore, there are more flavors available. They are easily portable while the gas grills are not. Also, since you don't need to be hooked up to a gas tank or a gas line with charcoal BBQ, you have less worries or running out of fuel or having your fuel source turned off.