Barbecue Wars: Gas or Charcoal

Barbecuing is indisputably the best way to cook meat, this is a universally accepted point and there is little contestation over it. Among the barbecuing buffs of the world, though, there is one dispute that burns like hot coals... pun intended! That debate is of course, charcoal or gas? With strong advocates on both sides, it can be hard to get good, impartial advice on which one you should pop on your patio. In this blog we thought that we would fill this advice void, pitting both options against one another on the most important barbecue points to see which comes out on top. First on this list of comparisons is of course the most important one... flavour. Flavour Ask a barbecue lover which option yields the best flavour and you will generally get a mixed back of results with a roughly 50/50 split. It is often argued that a gas barbecue simply can’t give you the smoky flavour that a charcoal barbecue can and it is indeed true that this flavour can be hard to impart from a gas barbecue. One problem with this smoky flavour though, is the fact that it all too often leads to that other traditional barbecue flavour... burnt! The fact is that cooking over coal is far more unpredictable and you have no control over the temperature. With a gas barbecue on the other hand, you can control the temperature perfectly, cooking too quickly? Wind it down! Cooking too slowly? Crank it up! And if you manage to burn it, well then you probably weren’t paying attention. Just for the ease of creating succulent and tender meat the gas barbecue takes it here, but it was a close one! Usability Lighting a charcoal barbecue can be a bit of a hassle, especially if the barbecue bowl has been wet or the day is windy. Sometimes the thing just doesn’t want to light and even once it does, the coals burn unevenly and cook terribly, not ideal when you have friends over. Even when the barbecue lights perfectly first time it takes at least 25 minutes for the coals to be ready to cook which can scupper your plans for a spontaneous barbecue. Gas barbecues on the other hand light in seconds and it takes all of a couple of minutes for it to be up to temperature and ready to cook. The worst that can happen is that you are running low on gas but thankfully, as expert suppliers of Calor Gas in Kent you can rely on us to keep you barbecuing for as long as you fancy. Another win then for gas barbecuing and there is only one round left for the charcoal barbecue to gain any ground back, let’s see what it can do. Cleaning Let’s start with the gas barbecue this time, firstly you have to disconnect the tank then remove the grills and soak them in hot soapy water. Whilst the grills are soaking you can clean underneath and empty out the drip tray. Once all of the elements of the barbecue are cleaned, dried and put back together, your barbecue is ready for another round of grilling. The first thing that you need to do in the charcoal cleaning process is allow the ash to cool, this is very important as the embers can remain hot for more than 24 hours. Once they are completely cooled you can empty them out into the bin and start cleaning the rest of the barbecue. As with propane the grills are easiest to clean once soaked thoroughly, hot soapy water is a must. Once it is all cleaned, dried and put back together then you are ready to put the barbecue back to use, or in to storage. With these two processes being pretty much the same we can only call this one a draw as neither of the cleaning processes are especially difficult. Well there you have it! A final, definitive answer to the question of gas or charcoal! With two of the 3 rounds clearly going to the gas barbecue we have to declare it the winner and award it with the crown of barbecue king. So next time you stand in the garden centre deliberating over the two just remember back to this blog and the conclusion that we came to. If however you have already made the right decision and got yourself a gas barbecue and want to make sure that you have enough gas for the whole summer don’t worry as we’ve got you covered. Contact us on 0800 195 4445 or via email at sales@adamsgas.co.uk today to find out our full range of tank sizes and gas types.

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