the place I just moved into has a nice outdoor area and came with a (pretty busted but functional) propane grill. we're thinking of replacing it but maybe it's worth considering charcoal? Bwaaa

    • GrouchyGrouse [he/him]
      ·
      2 months ago

      Charcoal represents a big time investment. Yields better results but the prep time and safety requirements are higher.

  • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
    ·
    edit-2
    2 months ago

    Vegetables taste way better grilled over charcoal, like holy shit. Broccoli especially, the fleurettes trap the smoke and taste amazing with some oil and salt.

  • nat_turner_overdrive [he/him]
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    2 months ago

    both have their place, charcoal as others have said is a bigger time investment but I have found as long as I use a charcoal chimney and decent charcoal I can get the coals hot in and in the grill ready to go in like twenty minutes

    Also smoking stuff is way easier with charcoal. I've smoked various things but possibly the best thing I ever did was a complete accident, I wanted to smoke some salsa ingredients as an experiment but I waaaay overdid it and the resulting salsa verde was overwhelmingly smokey. The revelation is that I put the incredibly smokey salsa verde into a silicon ice cube tray and froze it and kept a bag of turbo smokey salsa ice cubes. Making beans and want a smokey hit in them? Chili? Soup? Stew? Toss in a spicy salsa verde smoke cube and you're going to flavortown.

      • nat_turner_overdrive [he/him]
        ·
        edit-2
        2 months ago

        extremely strong recommendation on that, genuinely any kind of salsa ingredients in a tray in a smoker or charcoal grill with the tiniest bit of heat and some smoke

        for verde, you want roughly the bulk to be tomatillos, with maybe two thirds that much onion, and jalapeno or serrano peppers with honorable additional mention of habaneros (i'd still do some jalapenos and serranos if you're gonna add habs) and some garlic but no need to smoke the garlic, also salt and pepper if you're just making salsa and not doing overboard smoke

        edit: adding this note because it took me personally a very long time to come to real grips with this but recipes aren't math and you can adjust everything and you're even encouraged to so like do whatever when it all shakes out

    • bdonvr@thelemmy.club
      ·
      2 months ago

      My dad used his charcoal grill more than the stove (and was the only one to cook)

      Of course, he made the kids prep and clean the thing. It's really not so bad.

      But I definitely smelled of mesquite smoke a lot

  • LanyrdSkynrd [he/him]
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    2 months ago

    Charcoal is much better in my opinion.

    I realize a big part of the experience of grilling is just cooking outside, but to me grilling on propane is basically the same as using the broiler on my oven.

  • Vingst [he/him]
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    edit-2
    2 months ago

    I do like hardwood lump charcoal but propane is much more convenient. I'd avoid briquettes because they can have nasty additives.

    Also you can cook stuff directly on charcoal, it's not sooty like letting fat drip onto the coals from a grill suspended over it. I think soot has something to do with exposure to oxygen and incomplete combustion.

  • bbnh69420 [she/her, they/them]
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    edit-2
    2 months ago

    Regrettably I’m echoing everyone else - propane is way more convenient but functionally adds nothing but grill marks to your food. Charcoal, or even worse a smoker, take longer but make a tremendous flavor difference. Also echoing @nat_turner_overdrive@hexbear.net that a chimney takes half of the time by superheating the coals in 20 min, so if you aren’t super committed to day-long smoking, it can be a couple hours

    • nat_turner_overdrive [he/him]
      ·
      2 months ago

      Chimney really is a game changer, and if you're cooking for one you can even get creative with just the chimney itself - I've done kebabs on mine for a quick(ish) work-from-home lunch with my work phone ringing off the hook