Five reasons to chuck your charcoal and grill with propane

Stop us if you’ve heard (or experienced) this one: It’s a hot, late-spring afternoon in the Hudson Valley and your family is psyched for a barbecue when you reach for the bag of briquettes –only to realize that there’s not enough to cook the thick hunk of meat that’s been marinating in your fridge for the last two hours.

So you run to the store to buy a new bag (assuming there are any left at your local hardware store), then race home tongs in hand – only to realize you’ve forgotten lighter fluid.

Half an hour later you’re frantically dousing your hibachi hoping to get it started so your family can eat (you know, the family that’s now on the internet eyeing pizza specials). You finally get the briquettes lit, but keeping them lit evenly is another problem altogether. By the time you have done your fire dance and the grill is ready for action, Domino’s is already at the door, much to the delight of your starving family.

If you’re tired of scenes like that one, don’t give up grilling – just move on up to the “light it and get cooking” simplicity of a propane.
Swap your briquettes for a propane tank and you’ll get:

1. Greater convenience – Unlike a charcoal barbecue, a propane grill lights instantly and reaches cooking temperature quickly, with no lighter fluid mess or ash and briquette clean up.
2. Better health – Charcoal briquettes are loaded with chemicals to help them ignite more easily – chemicals that can find their way you’re your food (and, eventually, you).
3. More precise heat control – With a propane grill, you can control cooking temperatures to within a few degrees – a big reason why most professional chefs choose to cook with gas outdoors (and indoors, for that matter).
4. A smaller carbon footprint – Not only does propane burn cleaner than charcoal, but drippings from your food are more likely to flare-up on a charcoal grille and release smog-creating chemicals.
5. Better taste – Using quality ingredients in your meats, veggies and marinades is the key to making good tasting food on any kind of grill. But food tastes better when it’s cooked right – and cooking it right is about having control over the cooking environment. That control is much easier with a propane grill than it is with a charcoal barbecue.

Need fuel for your propane grill? Get propane tank refills from the pros at Bottini. Contact us today to learn more.