Buying Guide to Grills and smokers

Grills

Grills are used to cook meat and vegetables with direct heat at a very high temperature. Here the food is cooked with its own internal juices via thermal radiation. The food to be cooked is placed on a slotted gridiron to which the heat may be applied either from top or from below. This kind of grill is also popularly known as barbeque or bbq grill. The food can also be cooked using a grill pan or a griddle. Charcoal, wood, propane gas and electricity are the main fuels used in grills. Few models come with covers so that they can double up as smokers for barbeques and grill roasting.

Grills use three modes of cooking:

1) Radiation cooking with direct high heat is used for steaks. The meat is put directly on the heat source without any lid on top. This method of grilling is also known as barbeque grilling.

2) Convection roasting with indirect heat is used for cooking whole chickens and roasts with the lid on. The heat that comes from the side and the warm air circulating grills the food.

 3) Smoke roasting is done using indirect heat. Similar to convection roasting, here the food imbibes the smoky aroma of charcoal or hardwood smoke.

Charcoal grills are the types that grandma used. But yet people today swear by it and because of the wonderful smoky aroma that it adds to the meat. These grills use all-natural lump charcoal, hardwood pellets and charcoal briquettes as fuel. To burn the briquettes you need barbeque lighter fluid. These fuels when burned turn to embers and radiate the heat for cooking.

Charcoal grills are a bit cumbersome as they take some time and effort to light and later on to clean as well. Charcoal grills can be round, square or rectangular in shape and with or without a lid or a proper venting system.  There are variants in charcoal grills namely –Brazier, Pellet grill, square charcoal, kettle, cart, barrel, tandoor and portable charcoal.

Gas Grills are most convenient to use. Once switched on it is ready to use, unlike charcoal grills that take time. The food on the gas grill is cooked either directly by the gas flame or by the heated grilling elements that cook the food via radiation. From a small single steak size to a large industrial size, gas grills are available in many sizes and materials including stainless steel, cast iron, cast aluminum and sheet metal.

The gas grill is built on a wheel frame like a cart. This wheel frame supports two side foldable side tables and the propane tank. Food is cooked by heat supplied via gas burners in gas grills. These grills are easy are easy to light and the heat can easily be controlled by the knob-controlled valves for providing consistent results. There are two variants in the gas grills – natural gas grill and propane grills. Gas grills can be converted from one gas source to another. There are three types of burners – stainless steel, aluminized steel and porcelain-coated cast iron.

Natural gas grills evenly cook the food and cleans without much effort. These grills however lack an outlet for feeding gas to the grill. These types of grills are fixed in one place. Propane gas grills have refillable metal tanks of varying sizes depending upon the grill size and are filled with varying quantities of liquid propane (LP). Easily portable, these make ideal camping grills. Tabletop grills are often propane gas grills. If buying this one, ensure that you always have extra fuel in hand.

Infrared grills feature an infrared radiant burner at the rear of the grill to provide even heat across the burner of a horizontal rotisserie. This is an ideal way to grill smaller portions of meat such as beef roast, chicken or pork, on an electrically rotated metal skewer of a rotisserie.

Flat-top grill, cooks food on a flat griddle with no exposure to direct flame. To give a smoky aroma to meat, a metal smoker box containing wood pieces are placed on a gas grill.

Electric Grills offer the perfect ease and convenience in grilling. No refueling with fuels like charcoal or propane gas, this grill is ready to fire up when switched on and allow you to control the temperature according to the requirements of the dish. The heat is distributed evenly throughout so that the food is evenly cooked all over. Most electric grills are self cleaning and are hence easy to maintain. They come with a drip tray that catches all the run off juices from the meat while cooking. Electric grills are portable and can easily be used inside or outside the home. However, they are costlier and have a higher operating cost as compared to charcoal and gas grills.

Points to bear in mind before buying a grill:

A 400 sq. feet grill is the standard size for a household, but go for one depending upon the size of your family. Consider how often you barbeque and what all you cook. Grills often feature side burner, a smoker box, rotisserie burner, indicator lights etc. Check for all these features in a grill and see which one suits your requirements. Keeping the space in mind, buy a grill that is easy to store and operate. .Also check the temperature that the grill is capable of producing and sees if that meets with your requirements. Durability of a grill depends upon the materials, quality of parts and the thickness of metal used in the body. Check the number of burners that the grill offers and determine how many you actually require. Go for a grill made from a reliable brand like Weber Grills because popular brands provide good customer service and warranty.

Smokers:

A smoker, also known as a barbeque pit, is used to produce a smoky flavor in the food. The smoky environment created is temperature controlled. This kind of cooking is also known as barbequing. Smokers come in different sizes – from a small family size to a large industrial size that feeds hundreds. Like grills, smokers too are powered by different fuel such as electricity, propane or natural gas, charcoal, a variety of hardwood and pellets. In smoking, food is cooked at a low temperature using indirect heat.

Irrespective of the fuel used, the optimum temperature at which perfect smoking takes place is around 225 degree F. In traditional smokers, the wood burnt generated heat and smoke to cook the meat. In electric smokers too, wood is added in a heating chamber for producing smoke.

Water smoker and dry smoker are two variants of a smoker. A dry smoker is preferable because it imparts the perfect smoky flavor. However, maintaining the target temperature requires you to manage the firewood, which can be cumbersome at times.

Charcoal or Wood burning smokers - If you like the natural woody aroma, then there is nothing to beat this smoker. These smokers slowly roast the meat making it tender and succulent with an imbibed smoky flavor. These smokers are normally bulky and difficult to move around. Traditional wood smokers were made of steel drums while the newer ones use burnished stainless steel in the construction. Wood smokers have three sections namely the cooking chamber, the firebox and the smoke chimney.

Meat is put for cooking in the cooking chamber and the firebox contains the source of heat. The firebox is located at one of the sides of the cooking chamber thus food does not come into direct contact with the heat source. Instead food is cooked by the circulating heat and smoke inside the cooking chamber. Located on the opposite sides of the firebox, the smoke chimney retains within, the heat needed to maintain a constant temperature and allows a free airflow to keep the fire burning.

Wood smoker use different kinds of aromatic wood pellets such as cherry, mesquite, hickory, or processed bags of charcoal briquettes that produce different quantity of smoke for the purpose of barbequing. Lighter fluids are used to ignite the fire which may add toxic and unpalatable flavor to the meat if overused. 

Time savers, Electric smokers use regular electricity to fire instantly at the press of a button and are hence popular amongst bbq lovers. These have two digitally controlled heat generators that regulate the temperature in the cooking chamber and the other that ignites the wood that cooks and imparts flavor to the meat. Electric smokers allow one to cook cold meat cuts, marinated beef, fish, cheese dishes and vegetables evenly, slowly and steadily in a controlled manner. By removing the dome lid, electric smokers can be converted to electric grills. Since there is no wood or charcoal ash generated, these grills are extremely easy to clean.

Gas smokers use natural gas or propane gas as fuel. Natural gas smokers are fixed units while propane gas smokers allow easy portability. Gas smokers also feature a cast iron smoking box to store coal and wood as emergency fuel in case you run out of propane gas.  Adjustable dampers provide sufficient ventilation and a stack of chrome-plated cooking grids to cook different foods at one time.

Points to bear in mind while buying a smoker:

Always buy a non-rusting good quality smoker as it will serve you much longer. Ensure that your smoker has proper vents for heat regulation according to your needs. Smoking is a time-consuming process, thus ensure that the smoker you buy is large enough to cook all your food simultaneously. Opt for an electric smoker if you do not want to get into the hassles of managing the firewood. It is better to buy a smoker that has wheels, as it makes it convenient to move around. The smoker is not the only thing you will have to invest in; you also need to buy the appropriate cookware and tools.

Final word:

Grills and smokers are great for outdoor cooking. There are plenty of options when it comes to buying grills and smokers and hence it can get slightly tricky when it comes to figuring out the right grill/smoker that will work best for you. Use this guide to narrow down the choices and make an intelligent purchase.