"Warren" wrote in message
news:2uKEc.8595$IQ4.2639@attbi_s02...
Okay Mr. Science. But the flavor isn't from the heat. It's from the
smoke produced by the incomplete combustion of the wood in the
charcoal -- something you don't have with gas which is more fully
combusted.

If all I want is to heat the meat, I can use any source. But I like the
flavor of charcoal smoke in my steak. You can't get that with gas. The
best you can hope for is the flavor of the smoke from burning fat
drippings, which I prefer to avoid no matter what the heat source.

--
Warren H.

There is a big difference between barbequing and grilling. It takes many
hours to infuse meat with smoke flavor. True barbeque takes hours, is done
under low heat, and comes from meat hanging in a smoke chamber where the
smoke is derived from various hardwoods. The basic method for most grilling
involves searing the meat directly over the heat and then cooking over
indirect heat until the rest of the meat is done. When you are grilling,
the cook times are too fast to incorporate much flavor during the actual
grilling process. When grilling, adding flavor usually comes by injections
or marinades. Personally I can taste a slight difference between charcoal
and gas grilling, but the difference is not worth the inconvenience of
charcoal IMO. This difference can be overcome by using wood chips, but wood
chips are not worth the effort either as far as I'm concerned given the
too-short cooking times. There are also things you can do on a gas grill
that are impractical on a charcoal grill like rotisserie.

But if you like using charcoal and are pleased with the results, by all
means go with what works for you.