What fuels your fire?

If you're shopping for a bbq pit, part of your decision making process will be to determine what type of fuel you'll use to fire the pit.  You basically have 3 options to consider and each have pros & cons.

1. Hardwood - Many folks believe that it's not really BBQ if it isn't cooked over wood coals.  I don't personally subscribe to that line of thinking, but maybe that's because my experience with a stick burner was really awful.  I had an offset cooker that I tried to burn wood in and I just never could get it right.  One of the things to consider about using hardwood is whether you have a consistent source for fuel and do you have a place to burn it to coals prior to shoveling it into your cooker.


2. Propane - Sometimes called Lazy-Q, many gas powered cookers are pretty close to "set it and forget it".  I've cooked on a propane smoker with great results.  However, one of the things that alwasy concerns me a little bit is leaving a roaring burner of propane overnight.  Propane, like everything else has gotten a little more expensive as well.


3. Charcoal - This fuel type could be divided into a couple of categories;  briquettes & lump.  Either way, this fuel is readily availble and still surprisingly affordable.  I won't get into the debate of briquettes vs. lump here, but suffice to say that I'm a lump charcoal guy.

So leave me a comment and tell me, what fuels your fire?

Cheers,
Braddog

Comments

[hardwood lump charcoal | Digg]

[...] Vote What fuels your fire? [...]

[Popane Powered Ribs | Grilland]

[...] realize a propane fueled smoker must be the barbeque equivalent of extract home brewing.  However, like malt extract [...]

[DobroD]

I'm currently using a propane smoker. Easy and convenient (like extract brewing and microwaveable oatmeal) gets the job done, but not as satisfying and starting from scratch.