Beth

I've never cooked on a gas grill (but my brother in law stands by his). I'm charcoal all the way. Yes gas has a consistent temp, but taht is the beautiful of charcoal. You have to really know how to cook in order to use coals ;)

Anonymous

I have to vote for gas. It heats up to quick easy to use especially with a good grill. We made an investment purchase of a good one.
Now I am place food in the middle and do not use that burner. The heat then is very even and dinner is done in 30 minutes or less.

Chef Leslie (Food on the Table)

Charcoal will always be more flavorful. It's just the nature of the beast. However, a great way to add flavor to food on your gas grill is to add a smoke pouch! Simply soak some wood chips (can be bought at some grocery stores or almost any big box store - such at Home Depot or Lowe's). I like mesquite or apple chips. Soak the wood chips in water for about 30 minutes then place them in some heavy duty aluminum foil (about 1 cup will work for most anything that doesn't need a long cook time- make 2 pouches for a recipe that needs a longer cook time, such as beer can chicken and replace the first pouch with the second when it stops smoking). Fold all ends of the aluminum foil together to make a burrito-looking pouch. Turn pouch over and poke about 10 holes in the foil with a knife or a fork. Place under the grate of the grill over the "coals" and turn the grill to high. When it starts to smoke you're ready to cook!

Janine

My mom also had a GREAT COOL dessert that you will LOVE!!! My mom was a chef and made EVERYTHING from scratch, lol and this is a yellow cake, make from the directions and cool , then get LIME JELLO and make it and then poke holes all in the cake on top and pour the jello over the cake and then chill, eat the next day with a dollop of fat-free whipped cream, so MOIST !

Janine

My mom made the BEST FRUIT salad with a TWIST !
2 bananas
1/2 glass of those cherries, (optional)
2 small cans of the manderan oranges
1 cup marshmellow
1 cup walnuts
2 apples, cut up in chunks
and 1 cup cooked rice (thats the twist) you can also substitute those tiny tiny cooked round pasta with little holes in them, don't know the name, someone made it with that and it tasted like the consistancy of tapioca if you like that instead, and you pour sugar over the rice to sweeten it, not sure how much

Mix everything together except the marshmellow last with the whipped cream , fold those in and CHILL , OH MY GOODNESS SO GOOD !!!!

Janine

oh the cherries are called, marschino cherries

Ditto what Sandy said - Splenda is horrific. Brown sugar is added to rub recipes to enhance the ability to form a caramelized glaze or crust on the meat anyway and no chemical will do that like brown sugar, it will likely just burn and give you a burnt chemical taste and whatever toxins the chlorene and other chemicals in Splenda convert into when burnt. Sugar in rubs is controversial among BBQ experts anyway (just read some of Steven Raichlen's book or Smoke and Spice) so I would just leave it out if you are unable to handle real sugar in your body.

Chef Leslie (Food on the Table)

I like the idea of putting the rub in a container so you don't cross contaminate. Hungarian paprika, as well as smoked paprika, are staples in our rubs. Brown sugar would probably be more effective but I've used splenda (only when I HAD to) and it was just ok. Donna is right, don't slice into the meat. But putting the rub under the skin of poultry is a great idea. Another thing I like to add is some cumin. I love the smoky flavor it adds to a rub.

Shereen

I love a lamb burger with feta cheese and spinach. I have also made Thai chicken burgers that were really juicy and flavorful. Great to eat without a bun if you are trying to go low carb.

Ann Marie

Well, this is on topic with something you wouldn't normally do with a meal, but not with burgers: We recently had a "Mac and Cheese Cookoff" (yes, it was delightful and carb heavy) and I made one with Vermont white cheddar, Gouda, and fontina cheeses, buttermilk, and butter. Very nice combo!

Donna (Food on the Table)

That sounds great, Ann Marie! We've done similar things with my foodie group. Some nights have been pairings,like Port and a Spanish dish, one night was all Indian food, one all BBQ. One night we even did all kinds of regional variations on hot dogs...

Bridget

When we have large bbqs we would pick the meat to serve usually tri tip,chicken breast bone in (can get for 99c lb) and sausages and each guest brought a side. It was always a great get together. This way we were able to focus on the main event and spend less money by not preparing all the sides.We also always cut up the meat so nobody and to do it or take for example a whole chicken breast when they only wanted half. We always ended up with so much extra meat that we would freeze and have bbq with out the work in minutes any time.

Bridget

We would turn the bbq meats into other dishes like smoked chicken alfredo, tri tip enchiladas and whatever else sounded good. Our kids loved it too. We loved smoking meats enough that we would do much more at one time to have on hand anytime.

Bridget

When we have large bbqs we would pick the meat to serve usually tri tip,chicken breast bone in (can get for 99c lb) and sausages and each guest brought a side. It was always a great get together. This way we were able to focus on the main event and spend less money by not preparing all the sides.We also always cut up the meat so nobody and to do it or take for example a whole chicken breast when they only wanted half. We always ended up with so much extra meat that we would freeze and have bbq with out the work in minutes any time.