Charcoal, gas, or electric grill?

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Overall, I like the looks of that Char Broil; the latches are a very nice idea for taking it to the beach or land based picnics/camping. I do like the fold out shelves on the Weber (as I did the little shelf on the front of the Magma) and have come to really like the ceramic coated grill of the Weber. Grill area isn't appreciably bigger. The difference in price buys a lot of propane though.

I can never recall having the propane bottle installed and trying to grill something while in a seaway of any kind.
 
Gas all the way. No falling embers melting the gel coat. No "wet" charcoal that won't light. No charcoal lighter to store safely. No waiting for 20-30 minutes. Propane available everywhere.
 
grills

HeadedToTexas said:
The small green tanks or a full size gas grill tank?
Click to expand...

We have a nice little grill from West Marine. Small green propane tanks. They are cheap, last a long time, provide heat and can be used to fuel a small cabin heater in an emergency.
 
Group9 said:
I prefer cooking with charcoal, so the very first grill I ever mounted on a boat (1985) was a Magna charcoal grill. That was the last charcoal grill I ever put on a boat! Too much mess to deal with afterwards.

I Hank Hill it now, with propane!
Click to expand...

+1 Never again!

Propane all the way. Got tired of the small green tanks so plumbed to a 25lb tank (fiberglass so no rust to deal with) on my last two boats. IF I want wood smoke I add damp hardwood chips to a small SS box that sits on top of the grill.
~A
 
I just don't get all this fear-mongering about the "dangers" of propane. Millions of homes are heated with propane and natural gas with rare incidents. Electrical fires are far more common. I do not have a propane stove in my galley but would not hesitate one second buying a boat so equipped. However, my preference for cooking, and I cook a lot, is an induction cooktop. Second choice is propane.
 
catalinajack said:
I just don't get all this fear-mongering about the "dangers" of propane. Millions of homes are heated with propane and natural gas with rare incidents. Electrical fires are far more common. I do not have a propane stove in my galley but would not hesitate one second buying a boat so equipped. However, my preference for cooking, and I cook a lot, is an induction cooktop. Second choice is propane.
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I pretty much agree with you; we are avid cooks, but gas or electric was not important to us in buying our boat. Boat we bought had a beautiful all electric galley with full size household kitchen appliances, and it worked out just fine. Not having to schlep propane bottles was a minor nicety. But if that boat had come with a well installed propane system and a gas range and oven equally as nice, we would have bought it as well.
 
O C Diver said:
I currently use a Napolean stainless table top gas grill (no longer available). Considering taking that one to the house and buying a Blaze portable gas grill. Mine runs on 17 pound composite (fiberglass) propane tank.

You probably don't want to watch this.

https://youtu.be/UYkax4NYyoc

Ted
Click to expand...

I’ve been looking at the Blaze and it looks amazing. Then, I realized it’s 50 pounds, so I wouldn’t be able to rail mount it. How is yours mounted?
 
Steve91T said:
This thing is bad ass. Velocity grill. Uses a few chunks of hardwood and will get to 1000 degrees. Check out review on YouTube.

Gets super hot but is controllable and will also cook at a low temp.
Plugs into 110 or also can run off the battery pack (AA’s or something).
Base stays cool
The whole thing will be cool to the touch including the inside by the time you are eating.
What little ash it produces wipes up easily with a damp paper towel

The negatives are mostly my fault. I like to cook on high heat but that makes quite a bit of smoke. I swear people must have thought our boat was on fire at times.
It didn’t last more than 2 years from rust. I would sometimes put it away with a little ash in the bottom and this causes it to rust. I’m going to get another one and will be better about keeping it clean.



We also just got a foodi ninja grill/air fryer for the inside. It “grilled” burgers pretty well with no smoke. Also air fries and does a bunch of other things. Great multi tasker http://www.casablancahire.com.

I still prefer my 1000 degree blow torch of a grill though.
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Do you have experience with electric BBQ grills? Except for the Weber grill, what else do you recommend?
 
motteatoj said:
Do you have experience with electric BBQ grills? Except for the Weber grill, what else do you recommend?
Click to expand...
I don't want to have open flames onboard, so no charcoal and no gas. On top of that, I cannot get LNG or Propane easy in the Med, it takes a couple of days before the bottle is returned. And to make matters worse, they have different bottles in each and every single country, so a bottle for Croatia cannot be filled up in Greece or Turkey etc.
So I went for electric. Bought myself a professional electric grill plate, works perfect, draws about 80 amps (24 V) per hour, but usually don't use it much longer than 20 - 30 min (means 30 - 40 amps total).
 
I am a DieHard charcoal fan. Gotta Big Green Egg and a Hibachi at home. Yeah, there is hot coals and ash which is not good on a boat. But the flavor is the best - :) I also have a propane fired Patio Bistro that I converted to exclusive cast iron cooking. It does an excellent job also - :)

Boat has a Weber Q 1200 after much searching. Comes with the grill grates (of course) but there are also cast iron pans available too. Yeah, cooking on a heavy cast iron surface with a cover rocks!

So, I give some up with no charcoal for the steaks and burgers, but I get the cast iron pans for fish, bacon & eggs, smash burgers, fried rice, and on. There is much good in cooking with cast iron for sure. And there is also much good in removing the entre task from the rest of the meal prep going on below in the tiny galley below eh?
 
On our previous boat, a Magma circular gas/LPG bbq with cover produced a remarkably good char,as good as the solid fuel /briquette version Magma before it. Current boat is all electric incl the bbq, get it very hot before the steaks go on gives good caramelization. I`d replace it with a gas version, but significant other disagrees.
 
All toys. There is only one marine gas grill worth mentioning, and it is this one:

www.blazegrills.com

Blaze Marine Grade 316L Professional LUX "Take It or Leave It" Portable Grill - Blaze Grills

The Blaze Marine Grade Portable Grill is the perfect grilling tool for people who want to bring their portable grill on or off shore.
www.blazegrills.com www.blazegrills.com

I had one on my old Nordic Tug and I miss it. My current boat has a built in Kenyon electric, which is fine, but damn, the Blaze was great.
 
HeadedToTexas said:
I have been a lifelong charcoal user and that's what I want on my boat when the times comes. How many of you use charcoal compared to electric or gas? And how do you handle the ashes after the fire is out?
Click to expand...
I bought a Cobb grill. Really like it. Purchase the Cobblestones. They burn evenly, hot, and long. Minimal ash goes overboard.
www.cobbgrillamerica.com

Portable Grill & BBQ Accessories | COBB

Shop top-quality portable grill & BBQ Accessories » Best Grilling & BBQ Accessories for your portable grills & cookers » Shop Now
www.cobbgrillamerica.com www.cobbgrillamerica.com
Still a little more hassle than the other options but worth it IMO.
 
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