america's secret recipes1Barbecue—It Ain’t Grilling

The summer is a great time for barbecuing and grilling. Often people will use the terms barbecue and grill interchangeably. But the fact is that one has very little to do with the other. Let’s take a look at each to see how you can best utilize each type of cooking method.

Barbecue Vs. Grilling

Here’s the difference between barbecuing and grilling. When you barbecue foods you cook them over an indirect heat source and at a low temperature. Additionally, barbecuing tends to involve using smoke generated from the burning of certain types of wood, such as mesquite, to add flavor to the food. Barbecuing takes hours—often four to eight. The beauty of this method is it slowly infuses flavor and it makes meats and poultry extremely tender. Often rubs are used to flavor meats prior to putting them on the BBQ.

Grilling is done at high temperatures and directly over the heat source. Grilled food is cooked rapidly. Searing and plank cooking are two popular methods of grilling food. Searing involves cooking meats at extremely temperatures that quickly blacken the outside, cook the inside to medium and seal in the flavor. Not all grills are capable of reaching temperatures high enough to sear foods.

Plank cooking, which was popular amongst Native American tribes in the Northwest, utilizes a slab of wood. The food is placed on the wood and then put directly on the grill. This is sort of a quick way of infusing wood flavor into a meal. This technique is especially effective with fish.

The Barbecue Vs. the Grill

Most of us end up buying some form of grill for summer fun and fall football tailgating festivities. The fact is some grills are just that—grills. They can only be used for high heat cooking.

If you want to barbecue, there are grills that can be outfitted with a wood box and, in effect, turned into a barbecue. The wood box is put into the bottom of the grill and wood is loaded into box and slowly burned. The grill is put on a low setting and the meat is placed away from the heat source.

Another device, known as a smoker, can be used to barbecue foods but not grill them. Smokers are really traditional barbecues and they are designed to utilize wood smoke to its fullest.

Which Do You Want?

If you’re like me, you want both. The fact is that meats, poultry, seafood and vegetables will simply taste differently depending upon which method you use. Both are great! Grilling is especially effective if you’re in a hurry, whereas the BBQ is wonderful for one of those long, lazy summer days.  By the way, if you want versatility, buy a grill that you can add a wood box to, allowing you to turn your grill into a barbecue. That way you can have the best of both worlds.

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