WHich BBQ Grill Should I go With? Charcoal or Gas?

For anyone who is considering buying a barbecue grill, are you wondering whether gas or charcoal barbecue grills are best? Actually, it's really a matter of your own personal taste, and the convenience you might or may not desire to embrace. Both gas and charcoal barbecue grills have their advantages and their disadvantages, and it's really your choice to pick the right one for you based upon your own personal needs and wants: Convenience, or flavor? It really does boil down to this (or should we say, "grill down to this"?) single question. If you are a grilling "purist," such that your barbecue grill's results have to have that authentic, smoky flavor, you'll want to go with charcoal. If, however, you just aren't really into "smoky" barbecue flavor that much, or you'd rather have the convenience and therefore are ready to skip the taste, gas barbecue grills will be the way to go.

Advantages of charcoal barbecue grills
Again, nothing beats the authenticity of authentic charcoal taste. Charcoal briquettes also light quickly and easily, especially if you use an electric starter. There is virtually no open flame, so that they are relatively safe to use (although you should still use charcoal grills only in the outdoors). They also provide a nice, even, slow cooking kind of heat that won't flare up.

Disadvantages of charcoal barbecue grills
The key disadvantages of charcoal barbecue grills are definitely the mess and fuss with the charcoal itself. Charcoal is messy, and you will need to be willing to put up with it and clean up after the fact. Still, if nothing but good "home smoked flavor" will work for you, it's a small price to pay. The other thing about charcoal barbecue grills you should keep in mind is that although they're generally less expensive for the unit itself as opposed to gas, they're actually MORE expensive to run, because you are constantly having to buy charcoal briquettes to fuel your cookouts. Expect to pay about five dollars per cookout with charcoal briquettes, versus about $.20 per cooking session with gas. Again, this is a small price to pay if charcoal is the only authentic flavor for you, but it is something to consider if you're worried about cost.

Advantages of gas barbecue grills
Gas grills are ideal for authentic grilling (no smoky flavor, but still a similar heat as compared to charcoal), and they are generally easy to get going. All you generally have to do is to flip a switch and change out the grill's gas tank every now and then once you begin to run low on fuel.

Disadvantages of gas grills
Normally, propane gas grills aren't any safer than charcoal grills for anyone who is seeking to grill in small spaces. (For that, choose an electric grill.) Gas barbecue grills can also be quite a lot more expensive than charcoal, although with charcoal, the cost of the gas grill is offset by not having to invest in charcoal briquettes anytime you want to grill. The final outcome? For that authentic charcoal broiled taste, choose charcoal barbecue grills. For convenience without the headache of charcoal grill cleanup, choose gas barbecue grills.

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