Barbecue Grill

A barbecue grill is perhaps one of the most iconic American cooking fixtures. While Americans can’t claim to have invented barbecue, we seem very ready to start a fight over what part of the country has perfected it. From the Appalachian Mountains all the way to the Southwest, everyone has their preferred cooking method, but most of them have one thing in common: the grill.

Unless you’re smoking your meat, which is technically a different process, you need a barbecue grill to cook on. There are a variety of grills that you can choose from, in a bewildering variety of styles, but the main source of contention between cooks will be over what you’re using to cook your meat. They’re not concerned with your brand of grill; so much as they want to know what the source of your flame is.

Barbecue grills have a few main fuel sources. They can be charcoal grills, electric grills, or gas grills. Each has adherents, and each offers a different claim to fame. What grill will work best for you depends primarily upon your tastes, and in some cases, your upbringing. Charcoal grills are for purists. Charcoal provides a smoky flavor that you just won’t find anywhere else. They can take longer to ready than gas, and are less adjustable in nature.

Gas grills are prized for the ease of use. They fire up on demand and are fully heated in minutes. Their flames are fully adjustable. While that may not seem like a big deal to the uninitiated, it’s a huge saver to be able to go from searing stakes to delicately cooking fish with the turn of a dial. You just can’t do that with charcoal or electric grills. Electric grills are the easiest grills to clean. There’s no actual flame in these grills, which makes it much harder to char the excess juices into the blackened concrete many grill owners are familiar with. They fire up more readily than charcoal, but they’re less instantly responsive than gas.