Barbecuing or Grilling?

What is the difference between grilling and barbecuing?

When you get invited to a barbecue you never really know what you are going to get until you arrive.  I have been invited to “barbecues” before.  When I show up I see that hamburgers, hotdogs, and sausage are being “grilled”.  Yes, that is right, “Grilled”.

Grilling involves cooking meat over high heat on direct heat.  Plain and simple!  Grilling is usually done within 20 minutes.  There is nothing wrong with grilling food on the pit.  In fact it is a proven fact that grilling is a healthier alternative to cooking on the stove and/or oven.  Also with grilling you are going to get that great grilled taste if you prepared your fire correctly. If you have a gas grill you should not have that problem.

Barbecuing is a different animal!  Barbecuing is cooking bigger and thicker cuts of meat over indirect heat at lower temperatures.  Barbecuing is cooked using hardwood (i.e. Mesquite, oak, pecan, hickory, maple, etc) for long periods of time.  When I say long periods of time, which can be from a few hours all the way to over a day.   

The longer you barbecue (smoke) a piece of meat, the more flavors it will have.  The meat will also get a lot tenderer.  A lot of times the meat gets so tender it just falls apart.  Meats that are barbecued for long periods of time are so flavorful.  This is because the meat already has a rub or marinade on it.  Then you get the smoke flavor from the wood you barbecued with. 

When I smoke a piece of meat in the smoke box I try to maintain a constant temperature of 200 degrees.  That is low and indirect heat.  That is what you want.  Try to keep from opening the lid so much too.  The more you open the lid or door, the longer it takes to cook.  The heat and smoke need to circulate in the meat chamber uninterrupted.  Manning the fire and maintaining the temperature can sometimes be a chore, but it is worth it in the end.

So, when someone asks you if you are barbecuing or grilling you should now know what to say.  Remember: Grilling is cooking over direct and high heat for a short period of time.  Barbecuing is cooking on indirect low heat for long periods of time.  Always remember to have fun while you grill or barbecue. It never hurts to have some Texas Country Music playing while you barbecue or grill.