Starbucks 'Trenta': How The New Size Compares To Your Stomach
Famous Death Row Last Meals
When it comes to cooking, grills are no more than tools. As long as the tool you have is functional, it's how you use it that counts when cooking. A taste test between rib-eye steaks cooked on a $1,600 Firestone Legacy grill and a Big Green Egg charcoal grill/smoker that was less than half of that price confirms this theory: almost all tasters preferred the meat cooked with the Egg.
Of course, the reason that tasters preferred the Egg steaks was because they had a slightly smoky/woodsy flavor from the charcoal, which was not present with the larger gas grill, and the tasters liked their meat that way. The point is that both grills performed well, cooking the steaks evenly despite their differences in price. The specific flavor preference of the tasters, while an interesting addendum to the gas vs. charcoal debate, has nothing to do with the functionality of the grill.
I'm sticking with my gas grill because I like the way it works and am not a huge fan of charcoal flavors in my everyday foods. But whether you like charcoal or gas, as long as you buy a well-made grill and not necessarily an expensive one, you are bound to have more than a few good meals.
Jane Seymour's Modest And Modern Style
Broke Stars: 11 Celebrities Who Went Bankrupt
LOOK: Amazing Underwater Photos Of Dogs
Adele Five-Year Break? Singer Plans to Focus on Relationship, Write 'Happy Record'
Social Security Is Failing Even Faster Than We Thought
PHOTOS: How You Can Get The 'Miracle' Dress
Man Says Starbucks Discriminated Against Him Because He Has Half An Arm
Chris Brown, Grammys 2012: Embattled Singer Slams Critics
Janice Dickinson's Outrageous Style
Ford's clever Sports Illustrated Swimsuit ad features phantom model
3 Economic Misconceptions That Need to Die
Photos Of Dead Lacrosse Player's Injured Body Shown To Jury
Trace Adkins Reunites With College Crush, 30 Years Later
Van Gogh's Starry Night modded into beautiful interactive light and sound show (video)
PHOTOS: Model Falls At Dennis Basso Show
'Hooker Teacher' Forced To Resign, Now Can't Find Work
Lauren Scruggs Goes On Ski Vacation
WATCH AND LAUGH: Cops In 2-Hour Standoff With Empty Car
New Clues, Details Emerge In Powell Case
Woman's Dead Fiance Is Behind Her Disappearance: Cops
Stephen Wiltshire Draws Cities From Memory
PHOTOS: Remembering The People's Ballerina
We Meant There WERE Nukes In The Fire
8-01-2006 @10:20AM M. Markrush said... It seems to be that half of $1600 ($800?) seems a bit much for a charcoal grill. My Weber(charcoal grill) was about $75. The food always tastes better than any restaurant food and I don't have to worr;y about keeping propane tanks near the house. Mark/Johnston, RI
Reply
8-01-2006 @10:39AM Nicole Weston said... I agree with you on the price of the Egg, since there are mush less expensive and equally good (if not better) grills on the market. It might not have been the best illustration of an inexpensive grill, but at least it served its purpose.
Reply
8-01-2006 @11:26AM John Frost said... I grew up with my family grilling on one of those ceramic egg grills. It doesn't just grill the meat, it convection cooks it at the same time, so all the juicy flavor is trapped inside. It cooked meat so well we stopped going to the steak houses and just ate at home. Back then the only store we knew that carried these oriental Kamado cookers was in the Bay Area. So one year when the Kamado broke in a move, we made a special side trip and brough the Kamado back home with us to Oregon like a third passenger nuzzled between my brother and I in the back seat of the station wagon. My mouth is watering for some Kamado cooked stuffed pork-chops right now and my Kamado is 3000 miles away at my Mom's house... ugh
Reply
8-01-2006 @11:38AM Mike said... I second that comment... this is an odd jumping off point. The Green Egg is the most expensive of the widely available charcoal grills and its steaks taste the same as your $75 Weber. Speaking of Weber, I would wager a week's salary that a $300 Weber gas grill would match the $1600 model in question is the taste department.
I use both charcoal and gas, but I find that gas users have some odd misconceptions about charcoal. Take the "charcoal taste". The tastes that people (including myself, moons ago) associate with charcoal come from either lighter fluid or from charcoal that has not been given a chance to burn down. Both are mistakes the charcoal owners learns to avoid rather quickly.
Reply
8-01-2006 @11:58AM bbum said... No -- the steaks on a BGE do not taste the same as the steaks off of a Weber. There are three distinct kinds of grills mentioned in the article and in the comments.
Gas: Metal grill that uses gas to power it. The higher end models, with extremely high BTUs and short cooking times, are about as close to cooking in the kitchen as you can achieve outdoors.
Weber or Metal Tub Grill: These are the thin walled metal grills. Typically the cheapest of the lot, but that doesn't mean they are bad! Typically, you cook at a relatively high temperature simply because said grills cannot maintain a lower temperature. Excellent for grilling, but you have to be careful not to dry out the food for any of the longer cooks.
BGE or Ceramic Cooker: This is a completely different grill than a Weber. Typically, a BGE or Kamado (the two name brands -- there are also knockoffs) has a much better seal than a metal grill -- gas or charcoal. As such, the ceramic grills tend to burn fuel much more effeciently because they hold the heat in much better. They also hold the moisture in much better. There is no way you can slow cook a chicken for four hours at 200 degrees on a typical gas or metal grill and yield anywhere near as juicy a bird as you can on a BGE or Ceramic cooker (the one exception being one of the specialized metal smokers -- but those are both very expensive and high maintenance cooking processes).
None of this is to say which is superior. I own and actively use a Weber, a gas grill and a BGE. Now that I have the BGE, I cook on it almost exclusively. The meats turn out juicier and more flavorful. I made salmon and trout over the weekend that were mind blowingly good. The Weber still gets used for baking potatoes, doing corn, and as a backup when the BGE is full. And the gas grill still gets used for moments of laziness or to cook sausages or hot dogs.
I agree that choosing between gas and a BGE just by cooking ribs is unfair! Ribs on the BGE are amazing and a lot of it has to do with being able to cook them for 6 to 8 hours at 210 degrees without having to open the grill (thus losing flavor, causing a temperature spike, and losing moisture).
http://www.friday.com/bbum/2006/05/29/smoked-ribs/
Reply
8-01-2006 @12:02PM bbum said... I forgot to add: You can easily build a ceramic smoker that is either electric or hardwood lump charcoal fired using nothing but large ceramic plant pots. Total price can come in less than $40. My friend built one and has done some brilliant rosemary smoked chicken, amongst other things.
http://www.chicagofoodies.com/2005/06/flower_pot_cera.html
Or you can use a metal trash can for a low temp smoker:
http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/06/diy_smoker.html
Reply
8-01-2006 @12:19PM MJ said... Get you a low casot grill adn fire that baby up! you do not need a fancy grill if you know what you are doing! can not believe what some people spend on a grill and they buy cheap toilet paper! After all that BBQ you will need the good stuff! LOL..........
Reply
8-01-2006 @1:09PM Mike said... bbum,
I too own far too many grill/smokers than one should and love nothing more that a great 18-hour cook. But my comment about steaks tasting the same, I'll stand by. Assuming the use of the same charcoal and/or the wood, there is no perceptible difference when grilling a steak- a 10 minute process, give or take. Now a pork shoulder, brisket, ribs, chicken... I'm with you, literally. I'll bring some sides.
Reply
8-02-2006 @8:59PM Alanna said... Bar none, the best grilled EVERYTHING I've ever eaten has come off a Big Green Egg. It can be used as a "regular" grill ... but then why would you want to do that when you can be used as intended, as a Big Green Egg?
Reply
8-03-2006 @1:48AM bbum said... Mike-- So far, there has been a distinct difference, even when cooking the same cut side-by-side on the two grill types. But, I have to admit, I have never tried to cook a steak on the BGE the same way I do on a Weber... the BGE does great slow cook and, frankly, is brutal for doing open grilling (which is why I keep the Weber around -- that, and it is a Homer J Simpson 10th Anniversary Commemorative Edition ;-).
Reply