Science of Food | The Truth About Grilling With Charcoal

(grill sizzling)

[Narrator] Cue dreamy music.

Ahh, lovely.

Few things on Earth are as beautiful as grilling.

(dreamy music)

And few things get grillers more riled up

than arguing about gas versus coal.

Charcoal enthusiasts claim their fuel

infuses meat with special flavors,

and they're right about that,

but wrong about how it actually happens.

I'm sorry to say that charcoal,

itself, doesn't affect flavor.

Now the great thing about coal is that it burns hot.

Real hot.

Far hotter than a gas grill.

That's because coal is pretty much pure carbon.

That means lots of energy to burn.

When the juices from your steak

hit the briquettes they combust.

All those proteins and sugars and oils

turn into a plume and rise up into the meat.

That's what gives coal grilled food a unique flavor.

Doesn't have so much to do with the aroma of the briquettes

as it does the intense heat.

So make sure you keep it lit,

because when coal cools down it releases a bitter smoke.

So, happy grilling, and keep those drips dripping.