Barbeque Grills

Barbeque Grills are a summer staple for people all over the United States and abroad. And really what’s better than firing up the grill, throwing some meat on it, kicking back with a nice cool beverage and hanging out with friends? I can’t think of a better way to spend a summer day.

Grills can come in all kinds of different shapes, sizes, designs and styles. Gas and Charcoal are the two most common forms of grills.

Gas-fueled grills typically use propane (LP) or natural gas (NG) as their fuel source, with gas-flame either cooking food directly or heating grilling elements which in turn radiate the heat necessary to cook food.

Gas grills are available in sizes ranging from small, single steak grills up to large, industrial sized restaurant grills which are able to cook enough meat to feed a hundred or more people. Gas grills are designed for either LP or NG, although it's possible to convert a grill from one gas source to another.

The majority of gas grills follow the cart grill design concept: the grill unit itself is attached to a wheeled frame that holds the fuel tank. The wheeled frame may also support side tables and other features.

A recent trend in gas grills is for the manufacturers to add an infrared radiant burner to the back of the grill enclosure. This radiant burner provides an even heat across the burner and is intended for use with a horizontal rotisserie.

A meat item (whole chicken, beef roast, pork loin roast) is placed on a metal skewer that is rotated by an electric motor. Smaller cuts of meat can be grilled in this manner using a round metal basket that slips over the metal skewer.

Infrared grills work by igniting propane or natural gas to superheat a ceramic tile, causing it to emit infrared radiation that cooks food. The benefits are that heat is uniformly distributed across the cooking surface and that temperatures reach over 500 °C (900 °F), allowing users to sear items quickly.

Infrared cooking differs from other forms of grilling, which use hot air to cook the food. Instead of heating the air, infrared radiation heats the food directly. The benefits of this are a reduction in pre-heat time and less drying of the food. Grilling enthusiasts claim food cooked on an infrared grill tastes similar to food from char-grills.

This is because charcoal, when burned, emits infrared radiation, the same as an infrared grill, but the difference is that char-grills cook with only about 25% infrared heat and the remaining 75% from convection (hot air).

Charcoal grills use either charcoal briquettes or all-natural lump charcoal as their fuel source. The charcoal, when burned, will transform into embers radiating the heat necessary to cook food.

There is contention among grilling enthusiasts on what type of charcoal is best for grilling. Users of charcoal briquettes emphasize the uniformity in size, burn rate, heat creation, and quality exemplified by briquettes.

Users of all-natural lump charcoal emphasize the reasons they prefer it: subtle smoky aromas, high heat production, and lack of binders and fillers often present in briquettes.

There are many different charcoal grill configurations. Some grills are square, round, or rectangular, some have lids while others do not, and some may or may not have a venting system for heat control.