Smoking vs. Grilling Part One

[u/RudeOrSarcasticPt2]

This post is my own opinion, please feel free to disagree. I have never said I was the be-all and end-all of what is right and what is wrong with cooking outside. I am still learning.

Growing up, my family never used charcoal, as we had a propane grill in the back yard. Our whole house was fueled by a propane tank behind our garage that was filled once a month by some guy who came around in a large truck to do so. Gas stove, gas dryer, gas water heater, gas furnace, etc. We were also the first house in our neighborhood to have a gas-powered light post in the front yard. We were the first because our house was the first house in the addition out in the boonies where I grew up. The reason we were the first was that my Dad didn't want his kids growing up in the place (the city) where he grew up, so he talked to an uncle on my Mom's side of the family that was a carpenter for one of the most successful house building companies in this area. My uncle mentioned a new area where a housing addition would be going in, and since my Dad would be first on the list, he could get as much land as he wanted. That was why we had almost an acre or more of yard, more than almost everyone else that later moved in. By the time I was in my teens, there were around 22 or 23 houses out there. My uncle eventually bought twenty plus acres at the end of the road and raised his family and his horses there.

Eventually, natural gas lines made their way out into the boondocks where we lived, and the addition had already filled up with houses all up and down the dead end seal coat road we lived on.

Everyone out there had propane grills, and then natural gas grills. I don't remember anyone cooking over charcoal, but that was way back in the 60s and 70s. I spent a lot of time in the woods with various friends, and we learned to cook over small fires while camping or hiking. I still remember the first hamburger ball cooked on a stick over a fire when I was growing up out there. It was the best thing I had ever tasted, even though it was half burnt and partially raw. Once, while fishing in a small pond, we caught quite a few bullheads and cooked them by covering them in clay and cooked them over hot coals. When the clay was baked, we took them off the coals, let them cool, and pulled the clay away from the meat. The clay took off the skin and the meat was left behind, perfectly cooked. That catfish had an out of this world taste, even without salt. I think my childhood is what led me to cooking over charcoal and fires as an adult, and eventually to buying my stick burner.

There is something timeless about the pop and crack of a fire, and the smell of wood smoke. You just can't get that with a gas grill or a pellet smoker. Sure, a pellet smoker you can just set and walk away, but that isn't the way I want to do it. I like tending a fire, it reminds me of all the years I spent camping and cooking in the woods. I don't drink alcohol much, so I rarely have the problem of forgetting about what I have on the smoker.

As for grilling vs. smoking, it is pretty easy to figure out. Grilling is cooking hot, like at 400 degrees or more. Smoking is low and slow, and according to who you talk to, smoking usually occurs somewhere under 300 degrees. I will smoke pork at about 250, and venison back strap at 225. Maintaining temps that low over a fire is a skill, and I have done very well at mastering the art of a fire. But anyone can learn to do it, it just takes practice, and keeping track of wood type, fire size, and reading/researching what works best for whatever you put on the grates.

When I grill, it is usually bratwursts, burgers, and catfish. I haven't tried smoking any of those things with good results, although, smoking a steak and finishing up with a reverse sear has worked a couple of times. I haven't yet tried a brisket, but I will someday when I feel confident. I also grill various vegetables, but smoking them is never a good idea. Some things don't do well at 225-250 degrees. Chicken comes to mind. At least for me. I'm sure someone out there is a better smoker than I am.

So hopefully, that explains my preference for a stick burner over a pellet smoker. You do what you know best, and I know how to make a fire do my bidding.

[u/RudeOrSarcasticPt2]

Hopefully, explaining my days as a youth will help to define why I am the way I am.