Kinds of Grilling Equipment

To know which equipment best fits your needs; let us take a quick overview of the different kinds of equipment in the market today and what requirements they best satisfy.

• If you are just an occasional griller and have a very select group of people to cater to, chances are you will also be cooking smaller portions and smaller cuts of meat. Small picnic grills or hibachis, which are small, fairly portable charcoal grills, may be ideal for you.

• If you intend to host a larger group of people and have year-round grilling, with a preference for larger cuts of meat, then you may be better off going in for a large covered grill.

There are two types of covered grills – the covered charcoal cookers and the gas grills.

(a) Covered Charcoal Cookers: These cookers have now become a very familiar sight in almost every household. Portable and extremely versatile, these covered cookers are perfect for both city balconies as well as in country porches. These kettle-shaped cookers allow you to cook your food the way you want it, in practically any season of the year. You can just as easily smoke, steam, roast or even cook entire meals using these cookers. The temperature of the grill can be regulated through controls present on the lid as well as in the base. You can also regulate the heat by closing or opening the lid. When the grill is kept covered, the inner sides of the cooker reflect the heat evenly. This not only helps cook the food evenly, it also helps in keeping the food moist. When the lid is lifted off the cooker, added air circulation makes the charcoal burn more fiercely and they become hotter.

(b) Gas Grills: Though charcoal grills were very popular and are still commonly found in many households, gas grills are fast overtaking them in popularity. With a gas grill, you can perform almost all the cooking functions that you can with a charcoal cooker but with far greater ease and convenience. Starting or regulating a fire in a charcoal cooker is never easy. Gas grills involve a very easy start, temperatures can be regulated far more accurately and food is cooked more evenly. Further, you can use gas grills almost all year round. They are also much easier to maintain and less messy to clean up.

Gas grills use a bed of ceramic coals or lava rock to get the cooking power – no charcoal is used. When meat is placed on the grills, fat from the meat will slowly drip on these ceramic coals or lava rock. The burning fat creates smoke that gives the cooked meat a smoky flavor. Many prefer a smokier flavor for their food and use hickory chips or fruitwood chips in their grills for that purpose.