Bar BQ Grills

How to Have the Best Barbecue Season With Grills & Smokers

By Jonathan Goodman

Grills and smokers are the perfect accessories to happy get together and lively outings. Getting the right type of grill can make all the difference. With the variety to choose from, it can be quite confusing. Let us take a look at the types of grills available so that you get a pretty good idea of what to look for when you go shopping for one, or want to upgrade the one you already have.

There are three basic kinds of barbecue grills based on the fuel they use:

1. Charcoal grills


2. Gas grills


3. Electric grills

Depending on how you plan to use your grill, you can also buy camping grills that are portable and convenient to carry along when you go on that picnic. There are smoker grills, turkey fryers and fish cookers as well as a variety of add on accessories to enhance your grilling experience.

Charcoal Grills

Charcoal grills used to be the only type used in cook outs decades ago. Even today, there are people who insist that a charcoal grill is the only one worth using because of the wonderful smoky flavor it infuses into the grilled beef dripping in basting sauce. Warm summer evenings during the holidays or mildly cool winter evenings were never complete without outdoor cooking combined with the aroma of logs from a wood burning fireplace. Charcoal grills make great outdoor cooking equipment.

Charcoal grills do take some effort when it comes to lighting them and cleaning up, though. You need bbq lighter fluid to get the briquettes going. It is possible to add special flavors to the charcoal. The coals take a while to cool off.

Gas Grills

The best thing to be said for gas grills is the convenience of use compared to all others. Just switch it on, and you are ready to go. These are very popular. You have a choice between natural gas grills and propane grills.

Natural gas grills are good for high heat. These cooking grills cook your food evenly and are easy to clean. Some can even auto clean themselves. About the only issue is the necessity of an outlet via which the gas must be fed to the grill. Also, you must position your gas grill in one place.

Propane gas grills use refillable metal tanks of various sizes. You have the flexibility to position them where you want. These also make ideal camping grills. Many tabletop portable grills are propane gas grills. The only thing is you will have to ensure that you have replacements at hand. The last thing you want to be is embarrassed at fuel running out of a wonderful cook out!

Fish cookers that are an inexpensive option when it comes to cooking and frying your fish and these are ideal as camping grills. Fish cookers come with a pot, a lid, a base, deep fry thermometer, an aluminum basket and even a recipe book. Connect a propane tank, catch your fish and you are all set for a delicious meal of fried fish.

Another good outdoor cooking option that runs on propane is turkey fryers that make the job of cooking turkey a breeze.

Electric Grills

These are just as convenient as gas grills without the hassle of refueling since all you need to do is plug in the electric grill and start using it. Electric grills are self cleaning. You can also regulate the temperature at which you cook. Compared to charcoal and gas grills, electric grills have a higher operating cost.

While choosing the right grill, the best thing to do is go with a dependable brand where replacement parts are not a problem. Once you decide on which fuel works best for you and how much you want to spend, there is a grill or smoker that will be perfect for you.

About The Author: Jonathan Goodman is the owner of Market Merchants an online retailer specializing in home and garden products. My passion for bbq grilling and fireplaces is the core focus of Market Merchants. I am a member of the Hearth Patio Barbeque Association (HPBA), the National BBQ group (NBBQ), and the Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS). We sell these products because we love them and are passionate about consumer living needs. So whether its furniture and decor, home improvement, kitchen and dining, or outdoor living Market Merchants brings a dedicated commitment to the customer and a passion for high quality products. Visit Market Merchants for a wide selection of grills and smokers

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Barbeque in the Dead of Winter!
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Bob_Alexander]Bob Alexander

Firing up the charcoal barbeque smoker or grill in the dead of winter is not always practical. Snow is still falling in the northwest, the northeast, southeast and parts of Texas. As any southern boy instinctively knows, you have to sometimes adapt to the conditions if you're going to enjoy good barbeque.

Barbeque has been a favorite way to spice up a party since man first discovered fire. Whether the meat was skewered on a stick and held over the fire and cooked like marshmallows or simply laid on a rock close to the fire, it was way ahead of eating a raw, bloody ham off of a dinosaur.

Electric barbeque grills and smokers never really caught on back in cave man days. There was no doubt, a big controversy as to which was the best way to cook the meat; whether it should be with a charcoal or an electric grill. That same argument still rages today.

For smoking a pork shoulder or a turkey in the snow, an electric smoker is much easier to use and the meat can tastes just as good, if not better than when cooked on the old charcoal rig. Just make sure the electrical connections are protected from the elements and are not lying in the snow.

Except for steaks and chops cooked on the gas grill in the winter, I use a smoker for larger chunks of meat. Once I have the meat on the grates, I toss in a few four inch by two inch chunks of hickory that I cut a couple of summers ago. Then I go inside and relax.

All I have to do is add more wood every couple of hours. The colder the day, the longer you have to leave the meat in the smoker. Most of the time a shoulder or a turkey will cook in about 10 to 14 hours depending, on the temperature. Ribs will be ready to eat in about 7 hours.

Wind is the main villain in keeping the heat level consistent in the smoker. In the winter most of our cold breezes are out of the north. Since I don't want to put the hot grill next to my house and take the chance of me winding up barbequed, I made a wind blind that works quite well.

To keep my grill or smoker out of the wind, I made a wind screen that has a dual purpose. Out of two scrap pieces of wood siding I found on the curb, I built a two sided "A Frame" structure that when turned on its side, makes a great wind break for my grills.

When I'm not cooking I turn the wind screen down with both ends on the deck and push it up against the house. This makes it a perfect home for my raccoon. Actually no one really owns a raccoon, but he uses this place to rest from his long nights of prowling through the woods looking for food.

Apartments and condos usually have fire codes that prohibit grills and smokers with an open flame from being used on their property, unless they're a certain distance from the buildings. Electric grills are usually exempt from these restrictions because they have no fire or flames.

The result of any barbequing experience is how the meat tastes when you're finished. Add a few wood chips or chunks to the electric wand ever so often and you will have excellent barbeque. One important tip is not to use wet wood to lay on the heating element. I did that once and the electric wand blew up.

Using an electric grill or smoker is an easy way to have great barbeque. I like easy!

Bob Alexander is well experienced in outdoor cooking, fishing and leisure living. Bob is also the author and owner of this article. Visit his sites at: http://www.bluemarlinbob.com http://www.redfishbob.com

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The Difference Between Barbecuing And Smoking
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=John_Phillips]John Phillips

If you've ever had the pleasure of tasting barbecued ribs cooked in competition, then you know what real barbecue cooking tastes like. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with the weekend warriors that fire up their weber charcoal grill to throw on a couple steaks. But for unparalleled flavor and tenderness, there is no barbecue grilling that can match the heavenly fare that comes out of barbecue smokers.

The main difference between barbecue grills and smokers is the time and the temperature the meat is cooked at. In barbecue smokers, meat is cooked all day; until it just falls off the bone. Grilling, on the other hand, is just using a fire to heat meat quickly. The difference is like night and day.

Smoking meat involves cooking the meat in a lower (very controlled) temperature for a longer period of time. In addition, different types of wood are added to the heat source to give the meat different flavors depending on the type of wood used. Examples of woods used are: Hickory (the most widely used), oak, and different varieties of fruit wood; apple, cherry, etc. But DO NOT use any wood from needle bearing trees such as pine or spruce, they will make you sick! For the same reason, don't use scraps from the lumberyard, as they may be treated in some way and give off noxious smoke.

Ordinary grills such as a weber charcoal grill can be used to smoke meat, but it involves incorporating an indirect heat. The charcoal is burned in a ring, and the meat is cooked above the center. This works fairly well with a two burner propane grill, but with a charcoal grill, because of the long cook time, the charcoal has to be constantly replenished, meaning the lid has to be raised a lot; and there is an old saying among seasoned smokers, "if you're looking, you ain't cooking!"

If you are serious about smoking meat, you can pick up a starter smoker grill to try your skill. Then if it seems like something you like to do, you can always move up to a larger, more expensive smoker.

John Phillips is owner of http://www.bbqsecrets.smmsite.com
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Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Difference-Between-Barbecuing-And-Smoking&id=1196258] The Difference Between Barbecuing And Smoking