Summer Grilling 2

Choosing Your First Outdoor Barbeque Grill 

There are thousands of options available to you when you are purchasing your first grill. It may seem overwhelming, but knowing the difference it each type of grill will help you may an easier decision.

Charcoal Grills

Charcoal grills are one of the most used types of grills. Charcoal grills utilize charcoal and lighter fluid to heat up and cook your food. Charcoal grills come in all shapes and sizes, and vary in cost.

Charcoal requires you to buy charcoal and lighter fluid each time you cook with it. It must also be cleaned out each time.

Charcoal grills come in small sizes, which are ideal for apartment dwellers or people with small homes. Once you have used your charcoal grill, you can clean it, and store it away.

Propane Grills

Propane grills are also useful for someone in small areas, since they can come in smaller sizes.

Propane grills use propane gas to cook your food. If you want to quickly cook foods while still maintaining a grilled flavor, you may want to consider Propane grills.

"If you’ve only used charcoal grills in the past, switching over to propane grills can seem a little confusing. However, when I talk to people about their grilling habits, propane grills are always touted as one of the most convenient ways to grill. If you’re interested in expanding your grill expertise to include propane grills, use these tips to ensure that you know what you’re doing!

Although propane is convenient and is ready in less time than traditional charcoal grills, it’s still important to preheat your grill. Twenty minutes is best since that will give your grill the chance to properly heat up. Before you preheat your grill, however, check to make sure that you have enough propane to last. You don’t want to get through preheating and then realize that your tank is empty!

You might be waiting not-so-patiently for dinner to be ready, but constantly flipping your meat over isn’t going to make it cook any faster. Instead, prematurely flipping your meat will peel off the seasoning — that is any marinades or rubs that you’ve applied. The heat helps caramelize the marinades or rubs with the juices of the meat and if you flip it too often, you’re going to lose the caramelization and much of the flavour.

Although it’s probably tempting to cut into the meat to see if it’s done, don’t! This releases all the juices, which means all the flavour will be running out of the meat and into the propane fire down below. Instead, become familiar with how properly cooked meat feels to the touch.

This last step actually takes place after the meat leaves the grill. Leave it alone. No matter what you’re cooking, let it rest for a few minutes after removing it from the grill. This gives the juices a chance to cool just slightly, meaning they’ll settle. This increases the flavour quite a bit so don’t forget this last step.

If you’re not used to cooking with propane grills, don’t be intimidated. Instead use these tips to make sure that you’re dinner comes out perfectly, every single time."

Natural Gas Grills

Natural gas grills are a little more complicated then smaller grills, so they require more room. Natural gas grills are meant to hook up directly to your home’s natural gas line, and can cook meat in record time.

Smoker Grills

Smoker Grills are used when flavor is the number one priority. Smoker grills use wood to slow cook your meat. Flavor can be controlled by using different types of woods

Things To Consider When Purchasing Your First Grill

A couple of factors should be consider when you go to purchase your first grill. Remember, each type of grill comes with its advantages and disadvantages, so you must weigh your options and decide what is right for you.

Cost

Barbeque grills can range from extremely cheap to very expensive depending on the type and features available on it.

If you are looking for a cheaper grill, then you should probably consider a charcoal grill.  While larger charcoal grills are available, smaller grills can be purchased for as little as $10 to $15 at your local department store. Propane grills are slightly more expensive, starting around $100 dollars. A smoker grill is slightly more expensive then a propane grill at about $130 each. Natural gas grills on the higher end of cost. Typically these types of grills start at about $300. Multiple fuel grills are the most expensive at about $450 and up. Multiple fuel grills allow you to grill using one or a combination of fuels.

Flavor

If you are concerned with flavor, you first choice should be a charcoal or smoker grill. Both of these grills allow you to replicate a true “smoked” flavor. Smokers are especially nice because you can also control the flavor by changing the type of wood or wood chips you use. This is good if you are wanting to slow cook your meat. If you are wanting to cook something a little quicker, you may want to stick with the charcoal grill. A Charcoal grill will cook quickly if you want it too, and it will still provide a good “smoked” taste.