>>>I was a Weber charcoal kind of guy for years but must admit the gas grill has seduced me. Fire it up and five minutes later you're cooking. And there is no discernible difference in taste, at least not to me.
>>
>>Bet you'd taste the difference if you tried them side by side. We have a Weber for grilling and an electric smoker for barbecuing.
>>
>
>I really think this is a myth. You're cooking with fire both ways, aren't you?

It's the subtle chemistry between the fat that drips on the fire and creates the smoke. If not for that, the meat would be the same as in a pyrex pan in an electric or gas oven... which is also very good, but that's not the barbecue. "Ko se dima ne nadimi, taj se vatre ne ogreje" - who's not smoked up by smoke, is not warmed up by fire.

>Maybe my taste buds are shot from too much fiery chili and whatnot.

So should be mine... though I don't think we're in the same league. Anything marked "mild" is below my threshold. Marked "hot" is my mild. I wish I had some really poisonous chilis my father grows in his vineyard. I've seen a Hungarian (and these guys are pretty much in the same league with, say, Peruvians) change between pink and pale green, hot and cold sweat, after eating about 4mm of one :).