An electric grill is not gas. No, food will not taste the same.

Thank you!

Propane start charcoal grill, why grill without the added flavor of the charcoal? The propane is only to get the fire started, no effect on the food.

No you won't get the charcoal/grilled flavour.

I do have a grill/griddle that I use on the balcony for some things. It's nice to cook out there, and I do it for convenience, keep any smoke out there, etc.

Let's straighten out the terminology.

There are charcoal BBQs, propane grills, electric grills (which tend to be quite small because they're limited to 110V - 15 amp, not enough to power much more than a small coil).

Just like broilers, gas models have an open flame that's usually partially shielded and electric models have heating coils that turn red. Electric broilers in ovens and ranges are usually connected to beefed up 220V circuits and can have larger and hotter coils than small portable electric grills.

I have gas and electric broilers and gas and charcoal BBQs and my experience is - cooked food that browns (the Maillard reaction) develops more pleasing and interesting flavors. Any cooking device will do that when hot enough. Electric and gas broilers are about the same, gas ones produce less odor when vented by a cooking exhaust system (as mine is).

Propane grills are quick and convenient to use. My experience also is that the price paid for having the convenience is that the cooking results are inferior to using a charcoal BBQ, in terms of flavor and heat placement alternatives. I can do things on my Weber charcoal BBQ that I still struggle to do on my gas grill. Maybe it's because of having more charcoal experience. Flavor outcome, no contest. Using a gas grill is like using a broiler. Nothing wrong with that and I use our broilers often, but propane grills just don't produce the BBQ flavor people expect from outdoor cooking. The downside of a charcoal BBQ is that they're a bit messy and take time to get going but I find it worth it when I can plan to use it. Using the charcoal model can't be a spur of the moment decision when hungry, while using a broiler or a propane grill can be.

A friend of mine always used the charcoal grill method, then he switched to a gas grill. He liked the gas but switched back to charcoal for one reason - he was so used to the charcoal burning itself out after cooking that he kept forgetting to turn off the gas grill. His hamburgers got to be very expensive.

Is it an electric start gas grill or something else? Whatever it is when I purchased my gas grill years ago I also purchased a heavy box metal with holes in it. The box was to place soaked chips or chunks of wood in it when you were doing a long slow cook. The purpose was that the chips would slowly char providing a smoke flavor. You placed it either on the grill or directly on the heat diffusion bars that mine had. It must have been fairly cheap if I purchased it. I believe there were some that had holes in the bottom but I selected the one I did because it could be lifted out when cooled for easy clean up. I do not know if they are even still made but it might help replace some of the flavor you are missing.

Both gas and charcoal grills have their uses. For me burgers, brats, steaks, chops always go on the charcoal grill because as Elmer said the results are far superior. Things like wings and a few other things that I prefer to cook low and slow are cooked over gas because I have more control on the temperature. I also do most of my veggies over gas especially if I am doing a veggie medley where there is some variation of cooking times.

I use my electric smoker a great deal for ribs, brisket, sausage, pork butt, whole or split chickens, and pork belly burnt ends. I can get pretty good results smoking meat on the Weber too but it takes more tending/watching. With the electric smoker I can put the meat on and ignore it for X hours depending on the meat/cut.

We can have only an Weber electric grill on our condo balcony--no flames. It's better than nothing. I find that even shaped items like burgers, steaks, hotdogs and sausages work the best. We have discovered Perdue Perfect Portions chicken breasts, and they are okay, but they need marinating. In our house, we had a Weber charcoal grill that fired up with a small propane tank. That was the best. We could do turkey breasts and whole roast beef on that grill. Broke my heart to downsize and give it up.

"I do not know if they are even still made but it might help replace some of the flavor you are missing."

Yes, they still make and sell metal perforated containers for wood chips for gas grills. I bought one, tried it a few times, and tossed it. It's a wannabe solution that I found didn't work for me, strictly for wishful thinking. My gas grill complaint is the nature of the heat, how it's controlled, and the aroma of the heat producing material. I occasionally use word chips in a Weber but how they work and what they provide is completely different from when placed into a propane grill.

Good gosh Elmer, you really do think everyone's dumber than a box of rocks don't you.

To the original poster, I bought one at a garage sale for $10 bucks. Looked brand new and the seller said it was only used once, and helped me load it with a smile, what a deal I thought. Fast forward a year; I sold the same electric grill in a garage sale for $10, the buyer thought he was getting a steal. Jokes on him.

Hey LoneJack, I'm coming to visit you!!!

I have a Char Broil Tru Infrared electric patio grill and I don't really like it. If you want bbq'd food this isn't the grill you want. It heats up really fast but as soon as you open the lid the heat escapes. It is like a large George Foreman, meat seems to steam. I don't mind using it for vegetables or chicken but not for beef or anything that needs searing. I only paid $50 for it, glad I never paid full price. I am going to get a small hibachi and some charcoal.