What’s best – a gas or a charcoal barbecue?
The sun’s out, the days and nights are warmer, and our minds turn to dining outside with friends and family? Our go-to for summer dining is the BBQ – but what’s best, a gas BBQ or a charcoal BBQ?
The question you really need to ask is “what’s best for me?”. Both charcoal and gas have their pros and cons, but these vary in importance from one person to the next, so you have to ask yourself what makes you happy, and go with that.
Gas barbecue Pros and Cons
Pro 1. Instant heat
Switch it on and off you go, no waiting around for coals to heat and smoke to dissipate. This makes it great for quick midweek meals, as well as a planned weekend event.
Pro 2. Clean and simple
No messy charcoal bags to lift and tip into the drum. No ashes to clean away afterwards.
Pro 3. You can control the heat at the turn of a dial
No excuse for charred sausages!
Pro 4. Low carbon footprint
It’s not rocket science – if you’re not burning carbon, you’re not adding releasing it onto the atmosphere, alongside microscopic pollutants. Research has shown that a gas barbecue has about one third of the footprint of a charcoal barbecue.
Con 1. Running costs can be high
A gas barbecue can cost a lot more than a charcoal barbecue of the same size, and bottles of gas are rising in price at a fast rate,
Con 2. There’s more to go wrong
As with any piece of technical kit, things can go wrong – the bottle connection might jam, the rings might not fire up… And when things go wrong, you have to pay to get them fixed. Sod’s Law also says they’ll wait to go wrong till you have friends round for some evening dining. (Yes, we speak from experience!)
Con 3. Gas barbecues are less efficient at retaining heat, so when you switch it off, it starts to cool rapidly, unlike a charcoal barbecue, which you can use to keep things warm, so a long, slow cook, or pop a pan of peaches and rum in when the sausages are done…
Con 4. You just don’t get that barbecue flavour
No smoke, no BBQ? It’s not just the facility to cook outside that we love about a barbecue, it’s that unmistakable chargrilled taste.
Charcoal barbecue Pros and Cons
Pro 1. Cost
You can find small and easily portable or large and capable of serving a large crowd barbecues at very sensible prices. Charcoal is also far cheaper than gas – and you can find charcoal at your local supermarket too, unlike bottles of gas.
Pro 2. Easy to plan
It’s really easy to be sure you have enough fuel to get your barbecue going, as you can see what’s in the bag. Running out of gas halfway through a party (the dials on gas bottles can be a little erratic) is a surefire way to kill the vibe. Also, if it’s a great weekend, you can be sure there will be a run on gas bottles and you may miss out, even if you know ahead of time you need gas.
Pro 3. Taste
Mmm, that unmistakable, irresistible chargrilled taste! Whether it’s the humble sausage, or a beef rib you have lovingly marinated and rubbed and are prepared to slow cook for hours, a charcoal barbecue adds a taste sensation you simply will never achieve with a gas barbecue. You can also play around with different types of wood chips to achieve different taste profiles – placing different wood chips in different places to create, for example. NOTE: you do need to use wood chips for that true barbecue taste. Without these, you’ll only get any smoke when the fat from the meat drips onto the coals, limiting the smokiness of the final flavour.
Con 1. You can’t cook in a hurry
Charcoal isn’t a provider of instant heat. You have to build the bed, light it up, and wait till it reaches the perfect cooking temperature. Experienced barbecue cooks know the best cooking point of their coals, but, as a guide, it’s only ready once the flames have died down, there’s no more smoke and all the charcoal bricks are an even white with an ashy, grey coating.
Con 2. You have less control
Learning your way around a charcoal barbecue may take a little time – the old joke about sausages being black on the outside while raw inside holds true for many a novice griller. You have the whole summer ahead to get wise to its tricks though, and many a YouTube video to help you on your way.
Con 3. Charcoal barbecues aren’t very environmentally friendly
As well as all the carbon and particulates you create when you burn your charcoal, there are no sustainability controls in place over where your charcoal is made and where the wood and biomass used to make it comes from, so you could be contributing to deforestation with no sustainable planting plan in place to make up for it. If this is of concern to you (and really, it should be) then you will need to source your charcoal from a company with sustainability at its core. There are a few in the UK to choose from, luckily, but your coals will cost a little more. We like this one: Sustainable British Lumpwood.
So, which is the best barbecue for you? Gas or charcoal? Here’s an idea – have both, for the best of both worlds.
Speak to Jim for a bespoke service on 07770 447375 today.
Eddie – Friday 9th June 2023 (Images used from Forton https://fortonleisure.co.uk).
