Quote:
Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay
Charcoal isn't something I had considered. I like the sounds of it and my brother swears by his but how much more work are they?
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I'd like to say "not too much", but in reality they are quite a bit more effort. And this is coming from someone who grills with charcoal exclusively.
For starters, you need to make sure you budget enough time to get the coals hot, which is usually 20-30 minutes or so, depending on how much you are cooking. Also, getting the charcoal ready takes a few extra steps then gas as you can't just push a button or two to get the thing going. That's probably around 5 minutes or so too.
Afterwards, you'll have to wait for the charcoal to die, and then do a quick cleanup on the grill. Not a hard step, but you usually have to wait around an hour or so for the coals to die and the grill to be cold before you do the final clean and cover.
Charcoal is also pretty messy so you'll need gloves and wear something you don't mind getting smoky.
All that being said...
I think charcoal is the only way to go. I would not consider myself an expert griller by any means, but anything I put on there comes off great. Meat, veggies, pizza, garlic breads, you name it. It just seems to cook everything so evenly, without drying anything out. It's also quite flexible in the sense you can sear some steaks at a high heat, can more slowly cook a pork tenderloin with a balance of direct and in-direct heat, or you can go for long cooks like ribs with indirect heat only and some smoke. You avoid the "gas" flavour that some gas grills come with.
And the fact that it takes a while to get ready is a plus for me. Almost everything in life is done as quick as possible, it's nice to fire up the charcoal, and sit out on the deck with a beer, enjoying the day, while the coals slowly heat up. Call me cheesy, but its almost like forced meditation.