I must interject here.
First of all, I know and understand the merits of charcoal vs gas. Unlike most people who use one or the other almost exclusively, I use both over the course of the year for various reasons.
Charcoal I use exclusively at every tailgate. No exceptions. Historically we used real lump charcoal, but the last two seasons we've gravitated towards your typical briquett (Kingsford type) as I have been less involved with that aspect of the tailgate.
At home, I use gas for one reason alone: convenience. Sure, I'll fire up the charcoal grill when I'm doing an all day cookout. But gas is king because time is precious.
Using both, I prefer charcoal.
But it should not be considered a sin to use gas, as many purists will have you believe both here and elsewhere.
The differences are there, but the end results are indeed pretty similar.
A properly tended gas grill makes great burgers and steaks, and I've found it much easier to cook the beer-butt chicken and turkey breast because the controls are more precise.
Both methods are great, and nobody should be embarrassed to use a gas grill.
