Haven't gotten around to trying too many different methods. I got a charcoal grill cheap from somebody. I like the flavor and I enjoy the fire. I haven't gotten good around it enough to really cook meat to temp every time. Part of that is I haven't stayed steady on a type of meat or thickness. At chili's we had a pane grill. That was great for steady temps. The hot spot never moved so you could watch your temps pretty well. Now that we use a flat top, the grill marks are gone and the steaks cook according to thickness. Can't rush them with a hotspot and for some reason, butterflying steaks isn't supported so I wait till its a cube to go ahead with it. I'd like to have the steady heat of a pane grill at the house but I haven't tried a smoker box with it. I've smoked steaks and then charcoal cooked them. That was the best I've done. Having read above, I'd like to learn my grill and go steady on my steak sizes and choices.