Gas Barbecues

In message , KGB writes

Sorry about your cat. We took on two rescue cats in March 2003 and they are just about settled down now.

ukf+d has a great group of posters. Most of us are friendly and helpful.

I notice you like real ale. Our local pub has closed down for 2 or 3 months for a much-needed refit. I drink Courage Best (not by choice, although if it is kept well it tastes OK) and was not aware that it is classed as real ale until the Real Ale Society started having their committee meetings in the pub.

Ours is a metal tube with a handle (things have improved), holes near the base, and the base itself is just open wire to allow a draft. Put a piece of crumpled newspaper at the bottom, followed by knidling[1] in order of increasing size, then the charcoal. Light the paper, hope the knidling catches and then, when it does, leave the charcoal until there's lots of grey/white showing. Empty into the BBQ and you're almost there -- we think it's brilliant. No need for firelighters if your kindling is good, so no smell of petroleum in the BBQ.

regards sarah

That's how I light our barbecues, except that I do it without any extras if you see what I mean. I use some newspaper, some kindling and bit of wood and when that's burning well I put some charcoal on top. You only need firelighters or other 'artificial aids' if you're trying to light charcoal directly without any kindling/wood.

Surely if you have a chimney shape, it will be quicker?

In message , sarah writes

That sounds like ours.

Me too!

In article , June Hughes writes

Anyone know a source of cheap gas barbees? I'm looking for one to convert to roasting coffee...

Kev

I find it faster and more certain than the firelighters we used to use. But we don't barbecue that often.

regards sarah

If mine were any quicker they would disappear before we get around to cooking any meat on them! Speed of lighting really isn't a problem for us anyway.

sarah wrote: . Smell of hot charcoal ...but there *IS* no smell of hot charcoal - you've burnt it all away. All you've got left are glowing coals, the aromatics burnt off long before then.

I repeat the above, it's glowing coals, same as on a gas barbie.

Gas is just gas. If you're going

Again , I'm cooking on the glowing coals, same as you. The gas is tasteless & odourless and is a means of heating and maintaining the coals at the required temperature.

The unique tastes of a BBQ, wood, gas, charcoal, electric, whatever are *nothing* to do with the fuel (assuming you're correctly cooking on coals, and not on unburnt, smoky fuel). They're to do with the fats, liquids, marinades, etc of the foods dropping down onto the hot coals, volatising, and flavouring the food above.

Aromatic woods, additives etc which are added prior to and during cooking excepted of course, but these can be added to any type of BBQ.

KeithS

We'll have to disagree. I doubt that most charcoals are so well-prepared that all aromatics are driven off to leave only carbon. Certainly when I burn charcoal indoors it has a distinctive woody odour even before I put frankincense on it. In general we barbecue using the indirect method in a Weber kettle, which minimizes the fat reaching the coals. Undoubtedly a little does spray out of the container or off the meat, but the outer surface of the (unmarinated) roast itself smells and tastes most strongly of woodsmoke rather than hot/browned fat.

regards sarah

I'm all for simple barbying. I can't understand why one would want to add all those polycyclic, carcinogenic hydrocarbons from added smoke. BTW, a local French restaurant does "cigar smoked duck breasts". The chef chucks a cigar on the coals a few minutes before the magrets. Graham Graham

I recall the hams hanging from the ceiling in a welsh pub last autumn, golden with tobacco smoke. I doubt it's a major problem :-)

regards sarah

Blind tastings conducted on unknowing tasters do not support this contention.

KeithS