It Smells Like Barbeque
It's Independence Day in The United States and Barbeque = Freedom!
I’ve said this before but putting fire to meat is an ancient practice that nearly all of our early ancestors relied on to cook their food, and it’s still one of my favorite ways to get the job done.
Early man needed some version of an open fire pit for warmth, to scare off predators, and to cook.
Although the invention of the electric oven has greatly reduced the need to keep a large fire going all day long, it hasn’t eliminated the primal spirit inside of us that yearns to put flesh to flame.
In the 1950s Americans began barbequing in their backyards using charcoal or wood-fueled grills or smokers.
These kinds of grills came in all shapes and sizes, from your basic bucket BBQ, which is just a metal bucket with a grill on top and charcoal at the bottom, to the backyard charcoal rotisserie grill made by J.C. Penny in 1959.
The backyard charcoal rotisserie as I’m calling it, was the Cadillac of outdoor cooking implements, it came complete with an electric roasting spit and glass window so your guests could see the spit turning inside, amazing!
As cool as those vintage grills were, we have come a long way down the barbeque trail since then.
Let’s take a look at some of my favorite outdoor cookers.
The Old School Charcoal Grill
Charcoal is probably my favorite way to grill, why?
Charcoal grills are relatively cheap and they get the job done. Plus, I like that added smokey flavor imparted just by using charcoal.
Sorry Hank Hill but if a smokey barbeque is what you are going for, and you’re on a budget, the charcoal grill is your best friend. After all, even the cheapest grills of this variety will do a great job.
Cooking with charcoal isn’t just for meat anymore. Vegetables, fruits, marinated tofu, and even vegan burgers can be cooked using charcoal.
Have you ever grilled watermelon? If you haven’t, you should do so, over a charcoal grill.
The Pellet Grill/Smoker
A pellet grill uses an electric ignitor to slowly burn compressed hardwood pellets instead of using gas or charcoal.
These types of grills combine the best features of a conventional oven and a traditional grill. They can be used to smoke, grill, bake, or sear just about anything that needs to be cooked.
The pellets are fed into the heat source via an electric auger, it’s these pellets that deliver the perfect amount of smoke to flavor your food.
At this point the grill acts like a convection oven as a fan circulates the heat and smoke providing consistent, even cooking.
Although more expensive than a charcoal grill, pellet grills make grilling or smoking about as easy as it can be, and the results are amazing!
The Propane Grill
Aside from a charcoal grill, propane or gas grills are some of the most common grills on the market. Taste the meat, not the heat!
Some would argue that a propane grill produces the cleanest-tasting product, as you shouldn’t be able to detect the heat source in the flavor profile when using a gas grill.
If your food tastes like propane, something has gone wrong.
Gas grills give you a good amount of heat control as well, they usually have low, medium, and high settings. Indirect cooking is super easy as you can shut off one side of the grill and use the other side for a slow and low cooking experience.
Gas grills are easy to operate and not as messy as a charcoal or pellet grill but you need to make sure that you check your gas line for any leaks.
You can do this by spraying down the hose that runs from your propane tank to your grill with soapy water and turning on the gas. If you don’t see any soap bubbles that means no visible leaks and you should be good to go. If any bubbles appear or you smell an excessive amount of gas then replace your hose immediately.
The Kamado Grill or Ceramic Grill
When I first saw the “Big Green Egg” I was intrigued.
It was emitting smoke, smelled like BBQ, and it kind of looked like a grill, but it was unusually shaped and had a dimpled coating around the outside.
I soon found out that it was called a Kamado-style grill.
What’s the difference between a Kamado grill and every other grill?
Most Kamado grills are made of thick ceramic which retains heat and moisture for longer periods than a standard grill. They are also airtight which aids in even, continuous cooking.
Kamado grills are extremely efficient when it comes to managing heat and fuel.
The heat in a Kamado grill comes from charcoal, and a little goes a long way as these egg-shaped ceramic grills can retain heat from a small amount of charcoal for up to 18 hours. That is extremely fuel-efficient!
I have heard these grills are well worth the money, but they can get fairly expensive, some even come in at around $10,000, that’s a hefty investment for a grill.
Cooking outside on your grill of choice is, and always will be, one of the most American things you can do. We certainly didn’t invent cooking over fire, but we may have just perfected the art of Barbeque. Enjoy!
I like the history and the way it connects to today. You're right about there being something primal and satisfying! I've grilled lots of vegetables, but I need to try watermelon the next time I have the chance.