Cooking on gas
The charcoal versus gas debate has roared on for years – and will doubtless continue to do so for a good while yet.
However, amongst all the myths and steadfast beliefs, there are a few hard facts which stand strongly in favour of cooking on gas. So just how simple is it to cook up a storm on your gas barbecue?
Instant heat
Gas grills light at the touch of a button, and within ten minutes of pressing that button, you are ready to cook. Simply make sure you have enough gas and off you go! The Gas Trac® indicator on Patio GasTM cylinders tells you when you are running low on gas. This means you can plan ahead and purchase a gas refill in good time.
Do make sure to open the barbecue lid before starting the flow of gas.
With a charcoal barbecue, you’ll need to start the heating process around 40 minutes before you plan to start cooking. Wait for the coals to glow red, then rake them evenly underneath the grill. Wait a further ten minutes until the coals are covered in hot ash and only then put your food onto the grill. Don’t miss your chance to cook at the barbecue’s highest temperature; it's tough to get it this hot again.
Stay in control
The greatest benefit of a gas barbecue is the control. The heat of a gas grill will stay constant unless you decide otherwise – you have the power to turn it up or down with the turn of a dial.
A charcoal barbecue has a mind of its own, and as such is almost impossible to control. Unlike a gas grill, charcoal will cool down of its own accord, and the temperature decline is pretty unstoppable – unless you want to retrace your steps and start stoking the fires again.
Where there’s smoke
In times gone by, charcoal barbecuers held up ‘wood smoking’ as their trump card. They claimed, and rightly so, that smoking food was far easier and much more effective with charcoal.
However, new gas barbecues have redressed the balance, coming equipped with special smoker boxes that make smoking as easy as it is with charcoal. Even if you don’t have a smoker box in your gas barbecue, you can buy them separately.
Simply add wood chips, which come in a variety of flavours, into the smoker box and operate your grill on a high heat. If you need to cook on a lower heat, wait until the smoke billows before turning the temperature down.
The science bit
Contrary to popular belief, gas barbecues do create that coveted barbecue flavour. Put simply, the heat from the gas burners causes the dripped meat juices to vaporise back onto the food from the lava rocks or flavouriser bars, giving an authentic barbecue aroma and taste. Science lesson over!
Gas cleans up
Anybody who has ever tried to scrub a charcoal grill will appreciate another key benefit of cooking on gas – the clean up process. Done correctly, cleaning your gas grill is a swift and painless experience, and allows you to continue getting the best out of your barbecue time and time again.
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