How to Choose the Best BBQ Grill
Summertime in Australia is synonymous with outdoor barbecues. This incredibly flexible cooking technique enhances the flavour of any cuisine, whether you prefer burgers and hot dogs, chicken, steaks, BBQ, pork, fish, or veggies. Additionally, cooking outside on a deck or patio is always more enjoyable. We put different kind of grills against one another in order to help you choose between the many available charcoal, wood, gas, and pellet grills. Read on!
What is a BBQ Grill?
A barbeque grill or barbeque grill uses heat applied from below to cook food. It is often referred to as a barbeque or barbie in Australia and New Zealand. There are many different grills, but the majority of them fall into one of three categories: gas-powered, charcoal-fired, or electric. The word barbeque has roots in the native populations of North and South America; the Tanos people who lived on Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Cuba used the Spanish word barbacoa. Over an open flame, slow-cooking meat was referred to as barbacoa.
What are the major types of grills?
Summer is just around the corner. Now is the time to fire up the grill, toss some steaks on it, and watch them sizzle while inhaling their enticing scent. But let’s be honest: Nobody who truly enjoys barbeque has the patience to wait till summer to eat and enjoy flame-grilled meat. You may enjoy it all year round thanks to contemporary technologies! All you require is the appropriate grill for the task. In addition, it’s never too early to begin looking for a replacement if your old one has broken down. It may be rather difficult when deciding which barbeque grill to buy because there are so many different varieties available. To make your decision-making process easier, let’s explore the many grill styles available in the market according to The Meat Inn Place’s best butchers.
1. Open Grill
To put it simply, it’s a grill that, in many cases, is portable and has a grate on top that enables you to cook over an open flame. The simplest of all grills, it consists of a metal or stone box with a fire burning at the bottom, with food placed directly over the fire. The grill grates are not required and is up to you whether you want to purchase or not.
2. Covered Grill
Although it may seem like a small advancement, the covered grill gives you access to two more crucial live-fire cooking techniques: indirect grilling and smoking. Your grill becomes an oven when you cover it with a lid. The grill’s heat is trapped by the cover, allowing it to surround your meal. Pull out that cover if you have a particularly big steak that has been seared but isn’t quite done.
3.Vessel Grill
Using both direct heat from the coals and radiant heat from the side walls to cook the food, a vessel grill is a deep, thick-walled, ceramic grill. Instead of cooking the food on a grill grate, the food may occasionally be cooked directly on the walls (for breads) or on a vertical spit set inside the firebox. Tandoors are an example of a vessel grill.
4. Rotisserie Grill
A rotisserie is a unique type of oven that continuously turns meat while it cooks. Rotisseries are used by certain shops and restaurants to roast entire chickens. A huge piece of meat is held on a spit, long skewer, or metal rod in a rotisserie.
5. Smoker
This makes controlling the heat and refilling the fuel considerably simpler because you don’t need to move the food out of the way to add coals or wood to the heat source. A smoker grill is intended to smoke meat in a long, horizontal chamber that is placed besides the heat source rather than immediately above it.
6. Open Pit Grill
The term “open-air barbeque” refers to a piece of equipment for barbecuing food that is operated by a temporary food facility, a mobile food facility that is fixed during operating hours at a community event, or a permanent food facility. The food is prepared outdoors by cooking directly over hot coals, heated lava, hot stones, gas flame, or other method approved by the department, on equipment suitably designed and maintained for use outdoors.
Different Classifications of BBQ Grills according to Power Source
Everyone has a go-to grill, and some people have wasted money trying to figure out which kind of grill is best for them, either because it’s practical or because they like the flavour it produces. If you stick to this list, you’ll locate the ideal barbeque for your needs, preferences, and house.
Gas-powered Grill
Propane or natural gas is used to power a burner, or numerous burners, which are then used to prepare meals over an open flame. The chef regulates the fire’s strength up and down to manage the temperature as the food lies on a grate above the flame. The most effective gas grills mimic the cooking effects of an open flame without the hassle of charcoal. Instead, all you need to do is make sure you have a constant supply of gas. It is possible for gas grills to feature side burners, rotisserie kits, multiple burners, and gas-flame, which is used to cook food either directly on the grill or to heat grilling parts that radiate heat to cook food.
Kettle-style Charcoal BBQ
A kettle barbeque, often known as a spherical charcoal grill, takes its name from its unique form. The cooking grate, charcoal grate, lower chamber, upper and lower venting system, and legs make up the kettle grill. Some types make it simple to move the barbeque about your property since they have wheels and an ash collecting pan. Compared to gas-powered barbecues, kettle-style charcoal BBQs require a bit more skill to operate. Before gas-powered barbecues became common, charcoal grills, which are typically smaller, were one of the most popular options for BBQs. When imagining a typical American BBQ, the kettle-style charcoal grill also comes to mind.
Electric BBQ
An electric grill is a grilling device that generates heat continuously using an electric element. There is no flame involved, thus additional fuel, such charcoal or gas, is not required. You can cook anywhere you choose, on your own terms, using electric apartment grills since they give all the flavour you know and love without using an open flame. They employ an electric heating element behind the grill grates rather than a fire, as you would with gas, charcoal, or another common fuel source.
Pellet Smoker
Outdoor ovens, grills, and smokers that use wood pellets instead of gas or charcoal are known as pellet smokers. Typical uses for a pellet smoker include cooking low-and-slow classics like brisket and ribs as well as classic Australian BBQ favourites like snags and steaks. Compared to electric smokers, pellet grills are far more adaptable because to their wider temperature range. Many versions can reach 450°F, while more expensive models can go much higher. You can still efficiently barbeque using pellet grills, however it won’t always be the same as grilling over direct fire on most models.
Stick Burner
Stick burner smokers, also known as offset smokers, are barbeque grills that use only wood as fuel rather than gas, charcoal, or electricity. High-quality offset smokers are fairly costly and frequently constructed to order using durable materials like thick stainless steel.
How do you choose the best BBQ grill?
Not every barbeque grill is the same. There are a variety of makes and types that are available, often with a bewildering number of extras. Because of this, consumers may find themselves overwhelmed with options and unsure of what they require. You should take into account a number of criteria before investing so that you can choose the ideal brand and model for you.
- Cooking Style
- Components, Features, and Extras
- Brand Image and Reviews
- Warranty
- Materials used in manufacturing
- Power Source
- Price
- Mobility
- Size and Capacity
BBQ Grill FAQ
Barbecuing uses sauces or marinades often and cooks food slowly. Meat is infused with a smokey flavour and becomes very soft as a result. In the meanwhile, grilling produces a crispy, charred, caramelised surface and those picture-perfect grill marks since it cooks food rapidly and typically uses very little oil.
Summertime barbecues, often known as “barbies,” are quite common in Australia. Sausages, sirloin steak, and lamb chops are typical prepared meats (colloquially known as “snags”).
America takes the top spot for the country who does the most BBQ in the world!
According to CNN, 80 million Americans grilled last year, with Labor Day being the most popular day. The US is the world’s largest barbeque market. The only options for a conventional American-style barbeque are smoked Texan brisket or grilled chicken drumsticks.
When Columbus and the Spaniards arrived in the New World in 1492, they saw the Taino people roasting meat over a fire on a wooden structure supported by sticks. Spaniards who conquered other parts of the Americas and abroad quickly adopted the cuisine and brought it with them.
Few people would disagree that Texas is the greatest state in which to sample authentic American BBQ. Texas is exceptional in that there are several types of barbeque served all around the state.
