Selecting A Grill

The most basic equipment you will need to get started is the grill. Contrary to what most people expect, selecting a grill is as not as simple as walking into a store and picking up something that the salesperson persuades you to buy. A fancy looking or pricey grill does not necessarily mean that it is the most efficient one and may end up not meeting your purpose or fitting in your space.

Before you start looking at and evaluating the various grilling equipment in the market, it is very essential that you carry out some research on your requirements first.

There is an amazing array of grilling equipment and accessories in the market today ranging from fairly cheap hibachis to thousands of dollars worth three-tiered gas grills. Instead of looking for fancy and thus pricey grilling equipment and accessories you should probably spend more time in researching what your needs and constraints are. Some of the most important considerations for you to bear in mind would be as follows:

• The very first issue you will have to examine and examine carefully is where you intend to carry out your grilling. What kind of space do you have available? If you live in the suburbs of a city, you may have access to a big lawn or even a backyard where you could carry out your grilling. In which case, you could look at some of the bigger grilling equipment. On the other hand, if you live in an apartment on the twenty-first floor of a high-rise building and the only space available to you for grilling is the two feet by two feet fire escape, then your decision has been made for you. You most certainly need to get the smallest equipment possible.

• Next, you have to realistically assess how often you intend to grill. You may be very excited at the idea of holding regular barbecue parties in your swanky new apartment but you have to consider if you will really have the time and energy to hold major parties so regularly. If you are sure you will be able to hold a special ‘Barbecue Friday’ every weekend, go ahead and invest in fancy grilling equipment. If you believe that you will probably end up doing it only occasionally, say on the Fourth of July, then you should look for something cheaper.

• You may start with the intention of inviting all your friends and family to your special barbecue parties. However, you will eventually find that even after all the time and money spent in trying to get it perfect, the meat was undone, the vegetables over cooked and you ended up burning your favorite wicker chair. Again, be realistic about the number of people you think you can handle and whose company will make the experience memorable. If this number is really small, go in for smaller grilling equipment. If you sincerely feel that you would much rather have larger crowds than risk leaving anyone out, you should go in for larger grilling equipment.

• If you would like to invite a large group of friends to your grilling parties, then obviously you will need to be cooking larger portions of food on your grill which in turn means equipment with a large grill area. However, if your parties are small and more of the burger and hot dog kind, then standard sized grilling equipment should suffice.

• If you plan on holding frequent barbecue parties, you will be making substantial use of your grilling equipment. It then makes a lot of sense to have some additional workstations or shelves preferably on the grilling equipment. This may add to the total cost of the equipment but there is no denying the utility of having quickly accessible places that can hold various utensils, seasonings and even the meat.

• Finally, the kind of equipment you will be buying depends a lot on what your taste preferences are. Some feel very strongly about their grilled food having an authentic smoky taste, which most charcoal grilled food will have. Others feel equally strong about not having such a strong smoky smell and instead prefer the subtle flavor that gas grills provide. Though the final decision will be yours, it should be mentioned that even if you choose a gas grill, you could always provide your recipes with that smoky accent by using a combination of wood chips and herbs.