AM I GRILLING OR BARBECUING?

The word "barbecue" and "grill" or "grilling" get tossed around all the time but what exactly do they mean? Do I own a barbecue or a grill? Am I barbecuing or grilling? Do I care?

Well, there isn't going to be a test or anything, but there is actually a big difference between barbecuing and grilling. And trust us, this is leading to perhaps the most important thing you can learn.

GRILLING:

Grilling is all about high-heat cooking. It's done directly over flames and the food is cooked in a matter of minutes. It's the slap and sizzle. Cooking temperatures are around 500 degrees F (some restaurants get up to 800 or even 1000 degrees).

Grilling is best for thin or small, tender cuts of meat and other foods like steaks, burgers, sausages, kebobs, chicken pieces or boneless breasts, fish fillets, small shellfish and veggies. As a general rule, anything that takes less than about 25 minutes to cook.

Direct grilling is what sears the meat - it's what gives you that awesome crisp, caramelized texture and foods look great with that dark color and grill mark.

One of the good things about direct grilling is that the food is done quickly - the tricky part is timing is everything!

BARBECUING:

True Barbecuing couldn't be more different. It's a long, slow, indirect, low-heat method. "Indirect" means that the heat source is located away from the food.

Slow can mean very slow, like ribs being cooked for 10 hours or pork shoulder for even 16 hours. Sometimes the temperatures are as low 225 degrees. It's also good for tougher cuts of meat like brisket and spareribs. Traditionally, Barbecue was associated with the poorer parts of society as they couldn't afford the prestige cuts of meat and needed to use the long cooking time to tenderize it.

So most of the time, we're really "grilling". But, the secret to being a great griller lays in a kind of a hybrid of the two ideas: Indirect Grilling.

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