Night barbequing - at last its summer (well almost)

hedgeh0g

Did our first night bbq Sat night. (neighbours think we are mad and rightly so) You have to be more careful the food doesnt burn though.

Ive heard that hickory wood chiping give a really nice flavour - where to get some?

muckety

I saw them in Atlantic homecare last year (doubt they have them in yet, unless they have them in storage from last year!).

Noffles

Nice idea, I'm looking to get a new BBQ, gas one this time, anyone know of good bargains?

Plus I'm looking around for a Chimnea, same as above?

emc2

I saw these in woodies on the naas rd (by the red cow).

As for the gas BBQ I got one of the Webber Grills last year and love it!

olaola

emc2 wrote: »

As for the gas BBQ I got one of the Webber Grills last year and love it!

I'm also a fan of Weber, I haven't stopped using mine all winter. We use it at least once a week - saves on the washing up

hedgeh0g

Ive never used a gas one. I know its more work with sticks and charcoal but is the flavour not worth it?

Davexirl

I wanted to have a BBQ on Saturday but I couldnt find any charcoal. Anyone have any idea where I might pick some up this time of year?

olaola

hedgeh0g wrote: »

Ive never used a gas one. I know its more work with sticks and charcoal but is the flavour not worth it?

There is no real difference in the flavour. The fat drops down onto the drip tray and creates the smoke, the same as if it dropped on the coals. And you can control the heat more accurately, so the food doesn't get burnt. I used to be a coals-only nazi until I discovered the gas BBQ. They are also more economical and you can use them at the drop of a hat.

neuro-praxis

I really disagree. I think food cooked on gas barbecues tastes like it was grilled in the kitchen, or on a griddle pan.

Food cooked on coals tastes wonderfully smoky. There's no comparison really.

Running Bing

I have come to the conclusion that the only way is to have two BBQ's, a gas and a charcoal.


Gas BBQ cooks the food better than anything in the kitchen so I do a lot of cooking on that during the week. Just fire it up and cook a couple of steaks or a few sausages.


Having said that you cant beat a charcoal job on a nice summers weekend. Nice bottle of cold beer in the hand, getting the coals going...nothing like it....and I definitely dont think they taste the same (although there is not that much of a difference as some make out)

hedgeh0g

BBQ fish seems like a great idea ..... I might get more adventurous this year

http://www.barbecue-smoker-recipes.com/barbecue-salmon-recipes.html

muckety

olaola wrote: »

There is no real difference in the flavour. The fat drops down onto the drip tray and creates the smoke, the same as if it dropped on the coals. And you can control the heat more accurately, so the food doesn't get burnt. I used to be a coals-only nazi until I discovered the gas BBQ. They are also more economical and you can use them at the drop of a hat.

I can't agree, the flavour from charcoal is much better and you can add flavour such as the hickory chips the OP mentioned. Though I can't imagine there was much 'night barbequing' going on last night!

emc2

muckety wrote: »

I can't agree, the flavour from charcoal is much better and you can add flavour such as the hickory chips the OP mentioned. Though I can't imagine there was much 'night barbequing' going on last night!

I think we'd all agree that charcoal is better but you can't really pop on a charcoal BBQ whenever you like so that were the Gas ones come in. I try to use the gas BBQ once or twice a week from here until november. Charcoal bbqs I use a couple times over the course of the summer (you'd need to have a couple of hour to get a good one going).

rubadub

olaola wrote: »

The fat drops down onto the drip tray and creates the smoke, the same as if it dropped on the coals.

That is the whole idea of BBQs (besides the sunny day thing). Far too many people use a BBQ "wrongly", in that there is no sense in using a BBQ when a grill would do.

neuro-praxis wrote: »

I think food cooked on gas barbecues tastes like it was grilled in the kitchen, or on a griddle pan.

Depends on the food. e.g. my brother has a gas one, he will uncover it, fire it up, spend ages warming it up, and then puts on a skinless chicken fillet in some marinated sauce! a complete waste of time & effort. This is going to be the same grilled. There is no fat dripping onto the coals so no fatty smoke or flame. Same with people doing fish on its own, or potatoes, or completely lean steak etc.

neuro-praxis wrote: »

Food cooked on coals tastes wonderfully smoky.

And too many will put the food on far too quickly, when the coals are still on fire and the food is charred by burning charcoal flames & smoke. The coals should look like the BBQ is gone out! completely grey with no flames. The only smoky flavour (besides specifically added stuff) should be from flames/smoke generated from the fat, which will happen on a gas one as long as you use enough lava stones to absorb and hold the fat.

I would sooner have a burger off a charcoal BBQ if it was used correctly, but if I was blindly offered 2 burgers, one from a gas, and one from a charcoal one I would go for the gas one. It is difficult to mess up a burger on a gas BBQ, while I have actually seen way more people using a charcoal BBQ incorrectly, than using it properly. I think it is also far more likely that people get poisoned from undercooked food on charcoal ones, since people adding food too soon ends up in it being burned and charred outside, so they think it is cooked.