Charcoal Vs Gas Grills | Which Grilling Method Is Best?

If you want to get kicked out of a bar in the south, take the argument of gas in the debate of charcoal vs gas grills.

I have had the privilege of witnessing a debate like this one too many times. The thing that amazes me is that neither side ever wins. The charcoal side will keep saying flavor, flavor, flavor, while the gas side keeps mentioning convenience, convenience, convenience.

Both sides are right. Charcoal grills offer nothing but the best in flavor. If your end goal is for your food to taste the best, than charcoal is the way to go.

If taste isn't that important to you, and convenience is, then gas is the way to go.

The purpose of you buying a grill, whether it be a charcoal or gas grill is to use it. I have seen to many charcoal grills go to waste because their owners never have the time to use it. If you find yourself getting home at 6, and wanting dinner to be done by 6:15, then you're likely not a candidate for having a charcoal grill.

If you can somehow squeeze out 15 more minutes, you can enjoy the many benefits of cooking with charcoal.

By forgoing a charcoal grill, this is what you're giving up. Charcoal can get hotter then most gas grills. Where this comes in handy is cooking that perfect steak. High end steak restaurants use very high temperatures for a reason when it comes to cooking steak, it's the best way. High temperatures are able to sear the outside of the steak, but yet keep the juices in the middle. This method combines for tender and juicy steak and hopefully makes your mouth watery.

The next biggest advantage of owning charcoal is price. A gas grills price is correlated with how high the temperature will go. The top end gas grills, I'm talking $3,000-$4,000 range can get just as hot as a charcoal grill. However, a $50 charcoal grill can get just as hot.

If you bought a gas grill, your expenses are pretty minimal from that point onward, mostly because you don't have to buy charcoal. However, does this big up front investment, pay dividends down the road. Overall, it costs about $.25 cents per use for a gas grill and about double that of charcoal. To me the big up front investment, in a really high end gas grill, isn't a better alternative.

One other experience I have to mention is the durability. Since a charcoal grill is a pretty simple contraption, very rarely will your charcoal grill ever need repairs. A gas grill is a little more complex. You needs knobs, burners, hoses, ignition switches all to be in sync. Something that I have rarely seen on any gas grill over a year old.

For anyone that enjoys the taste of food, the debate between charcoal vs gas over pretty quickly. Good luck in finding your perfect charcoal grill.