Pundits can bicker over Donald and Hillary, but a far tastier blue state/red state battle rages between backyard chefs — over grills. Gas models outsell charcoal nationwide on Amazon, even though they tend to be pricier. And, not unlike the typical electoral map, there’s a deep regional divide: Charcoal rules the South and parts of the Midwest, while gas is king in the Northeast and West.

To make sense of the territorial breakdown (and get some tips on our ’cue), we caught up with grillmaster Meathead Goldwyn, author of the No. 1 best-selling Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling, ranked as the best cookbook of 2016 so far.

Gas grilling is popular, but some people still look down on it. Why?

It's pure unadulterated snobbery. Charcoal devotees can also be charcoal snobs, and it really aggravates me. Whenever I post a tip on Facebook that relates to gas grills I get bombarded with snobs saying things like, "You might as well be cooking indoors." And my answer to them is this: OK, if you think charcoal is traditional, then I presume you have a hole dug in your backyard that you burn wood in? Sure, I think there is a slight qualitative advantage to charcoal, and I do like it and use it. But I also use gas.

Amazon sales show that charcoal dominates the South. Why is that true, and why is Florida an exception?

Southern barbecue, the whole low and slow thing, is a culinary style that almost requires charcoal — you have dishes like smoked ribs and brisket, and it's definitely a little easier to do smoking with charcoal. You can do it with gas, but charcoal is more classic and more traditional. Now for Florida, this is just my own theory, but I lived there for years and through many hurricanes, and when the power goes out, you still need to cook dinner, so you go out back and fire up the gas grill and away you go.

And charcoal on the beaches of Hawaii just seems like the right fit.

Yeah, you're not going to roll your 300-pound gas grill down to the beach. You're going to take your hibachi or dig a pit in the sand. And even when you're doing a big festive event like a whole kalua pig, you're probably going to start the fire with charcoal.