What are grills? Grills are used to cook food with dry, radiant heat either from above or below. Technically, grilling is when you cook food using high heat over an open flame. Cooking from above is referred to as broiling in the U.S. – but it’s still called grilling the rest of the world over. The difference between grilling and barbecuing is that barbecuing uses lower heat and a closed lid.

The advantages of cooking with a grill include:

• Cheaper cooking costs
• Cooler cooking environment
• Better tasting food
• Faster cooking time
• Easier to remove fat from the meat

Cooking on an outdoor grill is also more social; you’re not stuck in the kitchen while everyone else is outside enjoying themselves on your deck or patio. Besides the social aspect, grilling outside in the summer is also more comfortable; it’s better than being cooped up inside, where a hot oven or stove might make your home uncomfortable. Grilling is growing increasingly popular because it’s fun, fast, easy and produces more flavorful food.

Grill Types

There are several different types of grills on the market:

• BBQ grills, outdoor grills and propane grills. These names are often used to describe the same type of grill. A BBQ grill or an outdoor grill could be heated by gas, charcoal or propane; a propane grill would be an outdoor grill that uses only propane as a fuel source. They usually have a burner on the bottom and a lid.
• Smoker grills. These grills are completely covered and allow the cavity to fill up with smoke. It cooks at a low temperature of 140 to 210 degrees of dry heat.
• Rotisserie grills. These may resemble a regular grill, but with a rotisserie attachment and a motor that rotates the meat over low heat for slow, even-cooked goodness.

Many things affect the price of a grill, including the number of features, BTUs (for propane powered grills) and lastly the materials used. While you can expect to pay more for grills made of stainless steel with higher BTUs, you can also expect them to last longer and enhance your grilling experience.