Charcoal VS Gas BBQ: Can you taste the difference?

Рет қаралды 3,555

3 ай бұрын

Is gas or charcoal superior - and is it possible to taste the difference between them? In this experiment, we put it to the test.
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Gas and charcoal BBQs both have their pros and cons, but one definitely tastes better than the other and provides far more options - but not without its own drawbacks. Watch this experiment where we cook chicken thighs over both a gas Weber grill and a charcoal ProQ grill to see which is better and why.
Question
What experiment would you like us to run next on the channel?
Equipment I use in this video:
Weber Grill: amzn.to/3IgFDu0
ProQ Smoker: amzn.to/3P2UDPR
Chimney Starter: amzn.to/49zmmQn
Meater: amzn.to/3SW2aRF
Thermal Imager: amzn.to/3Thlp9M
Heat gloves: amzn.to/49xPN5w
About BBQ Experiments
Hey 👋 I'm Marcus and each week I run an experiment testing something BBQ-related to help you level up your BBQ knowledge. From busting BBQ myths and using my background in data science to decipher optimal ways to hit the juicy, tender and flavourful trifecta, this show is unapologetically for the nerds of BBQ.
This video is NOT sponsored and all products I use or recommend are genuine (and paid for with my own money). Some of the links in the description may contain affiliate links, which means if you buy something we receive a commission which helps fund my butcher's mortgage.
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Пікірлер: 38

@BBQExperiments 2 ай бұрын

Watch this video next where I test 11 ways to get crispy chicken skin (cooked over gas) including dry brining, using a hairdryer, duck fat and more: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/sMBnqaulz8uoj4k.html

@allanjones4283 3 ай бұрын

BBQ charcoal or wood fired cooking is a no-brainer 🙂 The flavour is so SO different between them all. We always cook charcoal or wood wherever possible. Cook with what you have, it'll always be flavoursome!

@BBQExperiments 3 ай бұрын

You're right it's pretty hard to beat that wood fire taste, but yea... at the end of the day it's whatever will get you outside and they all have their place on the patio!

@JohnSmith-zw8vp 16 күн бұрын

Hank Hill: Taste the meat, not the heat!

@myname6386 3 ай бұрын

You should test the tube smoker things for gas grills and see if it is a decent middle ground for spending 400 vs 10 for people who don't want a dedicated smoker or can't do charcoal

@BBQExperiments 3 ай бұрын

That’s a great idea, I haven’t used the tube smoker but do have one of those little boxes for adding smoking chips but I question whether they allow enough heat in to get the chips smouldering - the tube smokers seem much better. Will see if I can do that test over the summer!

@Get0ut 3 ай бұрын

I have a 3 chamber smoker and a gas grill. I have been looking at a birch barrel due to the flexibility of getting to do direct and indirect cooking, easy fire maintenance, adjustment, and so I can try hanging meats

@BBQExperiments 3 ай бұрын

Haven't heard of the birch barrel but that looks pretty cool - I like that the grates can be raised/lowered like a santa maria BUT can also cook lid down.

@jasonpakkala9015 3 ай бұрын

This is true for indirect, slow cooking like chicken or pork. But, a steak over high heat and short times I bet you won't notice a difference.

@BBQExperiments 3 ай бұрын

Good idea for an experiment! I think it could be noticeable if we started introducing wood chunks - with steaks I find the trick is having a really hot surface to get that nice sear and my gas grill sucks for that. If I'm just doing one or two steaks, I really rate them on the chimney starter (a la kzfaq.info/get/bejne/hdp9iNqSm8i2eWg.html) over either charcoal grill or gas... but this doesn't work great if cooking for a crowd 😅

@jochenfeuerlein5007 Ай бұрын

Honestly, if you use a better gas grill than the one in this test here, a grill that gets hotter and has way larger space covered above the burners, you'll never be able to taste the difference between gas and charcoal. Those Weber's, as good as they might be build, won't deliver such. Look at all the premium gas grills, something like a Firemagic, and how their solution looks, and you'll understand that those middle class and entry level gas grills won't achieve same results. Both burn the same fuel, but taste results will be quite different. Only middle class gas grill that can compete with the high end is Broil King, their Regal or that other thing, I think they named id Imperial, have the same features, have still cast aluminum on the sides but the rest of the cooking chamber is stainless steel for the heat, the grill grates are much more massive and available in cast stainless steel. If you don't wanna get one of those, you're certainly better off with a good charcoal grill. There is Weber again a brand I would recommend, those are very good and you'll get easily replacement parts even after 20 years

@ebrente Ай бұрын

No gas grill will EVER compete with charcoal. Juices dripping into live coals creates a superior taste no question. To say nothing of the ability to cook indirect with wood chunks. I’m not anti gas. I have both and probably use each close to 50/50. But spending lots on a high end gas grill is a fool’s errand.

@jochenfeuerlein5007 Ай бұрын

@@ebrente See, that's what I mean: If you would have a good gas grill, one that gets very hot, one where the burner covers cover 95% of the grill, then would you not be able to taste ever the difference between gas and coal. And the wood chunk stuff works on the gas grill as well. It doesn't have to be a Firemagic Echelon, check out a Broil King Regal for example.

@ebrente Ай бұрын

@@jochenfeuerlein5007 not a chance.

@alf3553 3 ай бұрын

Bought a LG Big Green Egg in 2008 & still use it all the time. I’ve had many Gas Grills & over the years I found that new is good for a couple years, then it’s a major cleaning & maybe new burners & heat deflector. Years later it’s out with the old & you go get another one, seems to be a pattern regardless of price. The ceramic just lasts, yes I’ve had a few issues over the years but nothing to make me buy another gas grill. 🔥🥩🍕🇨🇦🍺

@BBQExperiments 3 ай бұрын

Funnily enough I've got a BGE arriving in two weeks - any tips or experiment suggestions welcome! 😄very excited to be adding ceramic to the arsenal!

@Chzydawg 3 ай бұрын

Well made video, good angles, high quality production. Never seen this channel before, algorithm do be algorithming as of late. I’ve pretty much completely given up on gas, the only use I have for my gas BBQ at home is with the gas stove it has on the side of it I use to light the binchotan for my Konro. Woodfire and charcoal makes everything taste better, not to mention woodfire also has this effect of creating a very natural communal space, people like to hang around near a (controlled) woodfire. I have a dual fuel pizza oven, almost never use the gas as the woodfire burns hotter and is much easier to control temperature in. I live in a very warm country, our winter’s temperatures barely ever drop below 15C, but I suppose if I lived somewhere properly Baltic it would make sense to have something to set and forget and then go back inside to stay warm.

@BBQExperiments 3 ай бұрын

Such a baller move lighting charcoal on the gas side burner 😄 Thank you! And totally agree about the wood fire. You also touched on my biggest frustration with gas that I didn't really touch on which is the temperature limit - I really struggle to reach those higher temps on the Weber gas grill. It does quite well at reaching high convection temperatures (450-500F) but the radiant/IR heat from the burners is so weak compared to burning wood/charcoal. I think the more modern gas grills have cottoned onto this and most now have sear zones, IR burners etc but it still doesn't come close to burning wood.

@FatMeatsFireBBQ 3 ай бұрын

Charcoal is always better 🔥

@myname6386 3 ай бұрын

Hank Hill would disagree. In all seriousness l agree on charcoal.

@BBQExperiments 3 ай бұрын

"Here, I brought you 7.5 gallons of PROPANE" 😆

@stephencahill7821 3 ай бұрын

Thanks very much for this video! I've never thought to do a side by side comparison, so this is helpful. By the way, have you ever considered doing blind tests where you don't know which one you're tasting?

@BBQExperiments 3 ай бұрын

That's a great idea! I probably need to rope in a helper or work out a way to do it so I didn't know which one was which - very good idea though to take out any bias

@stephencahill7821 3 ай бұрын

I also watch Ethan Chlebowski, and he's got a pretty good system where (it looks like) he can do it on his own. He labels the dishes and mixes them up enough to forget which is which. If he's comparing just two options, then he'll often do a triangle test where he'll prepare two plates of each dish, mix them up, then take one away. That way, he's forced into considering whether the differences that he tastes are really significant enough to pick out the different option.

@BBQExperiments 3 ай бұрын

I'm a big fan of his videos though hadn't picked on how he does his blind tests - that's a really good idea. Love the triangle test approach. I'm filming an experiment with wings on Thursday so will try that out! Thanks for the suggestion 🙏

@darrenclarke3677 3 ай бұрын

I guess the gas is the easiest to clean though?

@BBQExperiments 3 ай бұрын

Much! Some days I feel like a large portion of my life is spent shoveling ash 😄

@BjørjaBear 3 ай бұрын

I have a gasser, a kettle and a wsm. In general, charcoal makes the more tasty food. That being said, gas is very convenient, and at times that convenience takes precedence.

@BBQExperiments 3 ай бұрын

Definitely, I like having gas as an option especially for small cooks where it wouldn't be worth the time to light up some charcoal - and cooking on a plancha surface where the fuel source isn't really relevant

@crashbandicootmate3312 3 ай бұрын

Charcoal and fatsmoke = 🤤🤤🤤, also burning herbs can create a nice perfume for the meat too

@BBQExperiments 3 ай бұрын

I was testing whole fish on the grill last week and did one on a bed of herbs - the smell was incredible!

@Daz555Daz 3 ай бұрын

I never just cook lean meat like chicken on its own on my gas BBQ (I have a charcoal one as well). I make sure to cook lean meats alongside fatty foods like burgers, sausages, pork belly etc so you get the BBQ full of the smoke from the fats from those other foods. If you are just going to cook chicken on a gas BBQ then you might as well just stick it in the oven.

@BBQExperiments 2 ай бұрын

That's a great point... nothing beats that smell of fat smoke!

@AutoGibbon 3 ай бұрын

I just got an offset smoker last week for just over £400. Something about the fact it looks like a choo choo train appealed to me! First thing I'm doing is smoking a duck see how it turns out :)

@BBQExperiments 3 ай бұрын

Very fun, It’s hard to beat an offset! Let us know how the duck goes - I’m hoping to give it a go on the channel this summer!