Smoke Your Own Fish and Meat - It Will Be The Best You Ever Eat!
Choosing an outdoor grill that suits your lifestyle can be tricky. GardenSite addresses the pros and cons of Gas and Charcoal fueled BBQs from pre-heating to cleaning and offers tips and tricks on how to get great flavour into your food when cooking outdoors.
Low and slow
cooking outdoors in the USA is Barbecue – in the UK barbecue is
cooking over charcoal – generally at high temperatures. In the USA
– this is called Grilling. These differences are starting to
synchronise now, as the UK starts to revert back to using charcoal as
a fuel and keep the temperature low for perfection of ribs, pulled
pork, brisket, and much more – mainly popularised through access to
social media videos, YouTube and excellent TV coverage of American
programmes on food.
Traditionally,
BBQ and Grilling used fuels from logs. The heat cooked the meat, and
smoke from the wood gave an additional flavour that is unmistakable
and the perfect flavour that is barbecue.
Over the years
the majority of BBQs or grills are charcoal or gas – this gives the
heat required, then people will use chips or chunks to create the
flavour of smoke.
In addition, with
a smoker, you will find people add very complex flavours using
spices, herbs, and oils – known as rubs or brines.
What is the best heat source for a bbq - gas, electric, wood, or charcoal?
It is not
straight forward – each type has its place and perhaps it is down
to personal choice and your own environment will dictate.
However...
Gas grills are
the most common throughout homes and gardens and offer good flavours.
Still, if you are restricted on space and only have a small garden
then a gas grill probably is not for you. Gas grills require a large
amount of space and cannot be used too close to any other structures.
One of the good
things about a gas grill is they require no pre-heating time, so once
you want to get cooking you can do! They offer side burners,
rotisserie kits, multiple burners and not to mention a whole load of
other features you can enjoy!
Charcoal grills, unfortunately, take longer to warm up and you’re roughly looking at
20-30 minutes from the time you light the charcoal until you will be
ready to grill. Plus, a charcoal grill cannot just be turned off like
the gas grill, so there is that to think of too.
Deciding which of
the two you want to purchase can be very confusing. Of course, there
is more to clean when you have a charcoal grill and the possibility
of the coals burning out mid-way through cooking.
With charcoal, it
is believed you are able to add more flavour and make a hotter fire.
However, others believe you can achieve the same great tasting food
by using various cooking methods, food preparation, and the use of
woods for a smoky flavour, which will achieve the same as a charcoal
grill.
So, which ones
best? It really does boil down to your lifestyle and how often you
plan to use the grill.