Propane is one handy fuel, i’m not arguing that for a second. But i’ve come to realize that for outdoor cooking, the convenience of lpg is offset by the lack of of value-add it offers to food. The convenience factor is high, “what if you want to cook a hotdog?” but again i’ve come around to realize it’s better to invest the time and make cooking more of an event.

One of the first things Annette and i bought after we closed on the Boise house was a Weber Genesis Silver propane fired grill. I completely agree with the review Cooks Illustrated carried: “Grillers on a budget can stop right here.” It was, and probably still is for our Boise tenants, a great grill. I added the electric rotisserie and cooked dozens upon dozens of chickens very quickly for an assortment of dinners.

We also cooked bushels of veggies, mostly red and orange peppers, until they were blackened to perfection then skinned and pureed for inclusion in various sauces.

But everything i list above gets all that much better when cooked over, or next to, a wood fire.

The key is to not use those horrible briquette things sold in supermarkets, especially ones doused in diesel and kerosene “starter” fluid. There is an increasing assortment of “gourmet” briquettes available and while they’re better than the ghetto briquettes they’re still not as efficient as plain old lump charcoal.

For my money the finest charcoal available widely in the US is Lazzari. It’s a bummer the only variety sold in grocery stores is their mesquite product, but that’ll be the subject of another post. There are numerous boutique charcoals out there, but the big problem is getting them to your door; shipping is often twice the price of the product.

For anybody who claims lump charcoal is difficult to start, i say “hogwash.” Just get a chimney starter, stuff two full sheets of newspaper in the bottom then fill with charcoal. Light the paper then go do something else for 15 minutes. Yes it will smoke, but it will smell of woodsmoke, not petrochemical starter fluid. Upon return you’ll find a turbo-charged inferno burning in the chimney starter. Dump the burning coals out on the fire rack and voila! There are tons of videos about this… this one is kinda fun.

But the next best thing about lump charcoal is you can put it out when you’re done cooking. Unlike briquettes that, more often than not, are just about at their peak of heat output at the time people are ready to eat and then burn for hours into the evening, lump charcoal can be smothered (just close the vents on the grill), and saved in place for the next firing.

So, while i’ll still rely on propane for the stove and the hot water heater in my trailer, i’m going to donate my gas smoker and grill and devote my outdoor cooking to wood (in the oven) and charcoal (for the smoker/grill).