As the weather gets warmer, you may be able to smell the scent of barbecue coming from your neighbors' homes more frequently.  Many people break out their grills as soon as it gets warm enough to stand outside without freezing.  Outdoor cooking is a passion for some people and they may invest in large propane grills if they hold frequent cookouts.  However, many people still use charcoal grills to cook their steaks, hamburgers and chicken, and countess other delicious creations.

 

 

Taste - With the variety of charcoal and wood that is available for using with your grill, you can achieve much better flavors than you can with propane grills.  The smoke coming from the charcoal and wood will permeate the meat you're cooking and give it flavors that you will not get with gas grilling.

Cooking Methods - When you use a charcoal barbeque grill, using high heat will allow you to achieve wonderful tasting meats, but you can use indirect heat from the grill to bake potatoes, roasting vegetables and braising meat.

Availability - Charcoal briquettes can be bought in most grocery and department stores, which makes it easy to replace them if you run out of them on a trip.  If nothing else, you can use wood that you find at the lake or on your camping trip to keep the fire lit in your grill.

 

Although using a charcoal grill will allow you to make great tasting barbeque, there are disadvantages to using a charcoal grill instead of a gas grill.  These disadvantages include:

Time - When you use a charcoal barbeque grill, it can take some time for it to become hot enough to cook on, but you can heat up a gas grill much quicker and it is easier to control their temperature.

Cleaning - Grilling with charcoal is messier than using a gas grill and it can be tougher to clean them.  Many people opt for using gas grills because there are no messy ashes to dispose of after having a cookout.  

For most the downsides to charcoal are no big deal and the flavor they produce is worth the extra effort. No matter what kind of grill you choose, it’s the outdoor cooking experience that is most important.