Grilling - How to Prepare and Light Propane and Charcoal Grills

Hi. I am Bob Kiebler, chef at Morton's Steakhouse. We know little something about grilling. Today, I am going to show you the difference between a charcoal grill and a gas grill, the pros and cons of each, and how to light them and prepare them.

The gas grill, the main benefit of the gas grill, is that it's a lot cleaner than a charcoal grill; you don't have any ashes to deal with. It's a little faster than a charcoal grill; you light it and just allow to preheat. You don't have any long time waiting for the coals to get hot. On the other hand, a charcoal grill is generally a lot cheaper than a gas grill, and also, it also imparts that charcoally, smoky flavor that you cannot find with a gas grill. To light the gas grill, turn the gas on at the valve, turn the burner knob to on, and press the electronic igniter. Now, this is lit up. Now, if it failed to light, what you should do is turn the burner off, allow the gas to dissipate, so you don't have an explosion, slowly go through the steps again, but when you turn the burner on, light a match on the end of a wire, put the match down by the burner, and bingo, you have a lit grill. With the charcoal grill, you have many different options. You have ready to light charcoal, you have authentic wood charcoal, you have regular charcoal you use for lighter fluid. I prefer the real, authentic, wood, hardwood charcoal for grilling. Now, with the charcoal grill, its easy to use a charcoal starter, you place the charcoals on the top, crumpled up newspapers in the bottom, move the cooking grate. With the hardwood charcoal and a charcoal starter, you don't have to use lighter fluid, it's a little environmentally safe, tastes a little better, you don't have all those chemicals that you are eating. Build the starter up with your authentic hardwood charcoal, light the paper at the bottom, and in about 20 minutes, your coal should be ready to go, you just dump them out on to the cooking grate. Now, one thing your car and your grill have in common is, you need to check the oil. Using food grade oil, not motor oil, oil up a towel, rub down the grate of the grill, what this does is, it seasons the grill, and forms a protective film on the grate, so that your steaks will not stick. Well, that's how you prepare both the charcoal grill, and the gas grill. Now next, I am going to show you some great meat selections for grilling.