Fat Burner

There are multiple varieties of grills, with most falling into one of two categories: gas-fueled and charcoal. There is a great debate over the merits of charcoal or gas for use as the cooking method between grillers. Electric indoor grills have also recently become popular.

Grilling is a pervasive tradition in the United States. There are many cook-offs for steak grilling and barbecue (midwestern and southern style) around the United States with serious cash prizes involved in most. Almost all competition grillers use charcoal, most often in large, custom designed brick or steel grills. They can range from a few 55 gallon oil drums sawed lengthwise on ther sides to make a lid and grill base, to large, vehicle sized grills made of brick, weighing nearly a ton.

History

E.G. Kingsford was the prime force behind the American grilling tradition. Kingsford was a relative of Henry Ford who saw that Ford's Model T production lines were producing a large amount of wood scraps that were just being discarded. Kingsford pitched a simple idea to Ford: Set up a charcoal manufacturing facility next to the assembly line and sell the charcoal, with the Ford name, in Ford dealerships. Ford, knowing a good idea when he saw one, immediately implemented Kingsford's idea. After Kingsford's death, the company was renamed Kingsford Charcoal Co. in his honor. Today, Kingsford charcoal is the dominant brand used by charcoal grillers.

Another personality in the charcoal grilling camp is George Stephen. The stereotypical American charcoal grill is a hollow, metal hemisphere with three legs and a small metal disc to catch ash, with a lower grate to hold the charcoal and an upper grate to hold the food to be cooked. George Stephen created the hemispherical grill design, jokingly called "Sputnik" by Stephen's neighbors. Stephen, a welder, worked for Weber Brothers Metal Works, a metal fabrication shop primarily concerned with welding steel spheres together to make buoys. Stephen was tired of wind blowing ash onto his food when he grilled.

One day he had an epiphany: he took the lower half of a buoy, welded three steel legs onto it, and fabricated a shallower hemisphere for use as a lid. He took the results home and within weeks was selling the grills first to his neighbors, then to customers, and finally started the Weber-Stephen Products Co. Weber grills come in many sizes, again, in small 14 inch diameter grills up to a full size 24 inch diameter grill.


Gas Grills

A single-burner propane gas grill that conforms to the cart grill design common among gas grills.Gas-fueled grills typically use propane (LP) or natural gas (NG) as their fuel source, with gas-flame either cooking food directly or heating grilling elements which in turn radiate the heat necessary to cook food. Gas grills are available in sizes ranging from small, single steak grills up to large, industrial sized restaurant grills which are able to cook enough meat to feed a hundred or more people. Gas grills are designed for either LP or NG, although it's possible to convert a grill from one gas source to another.

The majority of gas grills follow the cart grill design concept: the grill unit itself is attached to a wheeled frame that holds the fuel tank. The wheeled frame may also support side tables and other features.

A recent trend in gas grills is for the manufacturers to add an infrared radiant burner to the back of the grill enclosure. This radiant burner provides an even heat across the burner and is intended for use with a horizontal rotisserie. A meat item (whole chicken, beef roast, pork loin roast) is placed on a metal skewer that is rotated by an electric motor. Smaller cuts of meat can be grilled in this manner using a round metal basket that slips over the metal skewer.

Another type of gas grill gaining popularity is called a flattop grill. According to Hearth and Home magazine, flattop grills "on which food cooks on a griddlelike surface and is not exposed to an open flame at all" is an emerging trend in the outdoor grilling market.

A small metal "smoker box" containing wood chips may be used on a gas grill to give a smoky flavor to the grilled foods.


Infrared grills work by igniting propane or natural gas to superheat a ceramic tile, causing it to emit infrared radiation that cooks food. The benefits are that heat is uniformly distributed across the cooking surface and that temperatures reach over 500 °C (900 °F), allowing users to sear items quickly.

Infrared Grills

Infrared cooking differs from other forms of grilling, which use hot air to cook the food. Instead of heating the air, infrared radiation heats the food directly. The benefits of this are a reduction in pre-heat time and less drying of the food. Grilling enthusiasts claim food cooked on an infrared grill tastes similar to food from char-grills. This is because charcoal, when burned, emits infrared radiation, the same as an infrared grill, but the difference is that char-grills cook with only 25% (see New Advances below) infrared heat with the remaining 75% from hot air. The result is that food cooked on infrared grills seems juicier. Also, infrared grills have the advantages of instant ignition, better heat control, and a uniform heat source.

This technology was patented by a company called TEC Infrared (Thermo Engineering Corporation of Columbia, SC - a company owned by scientist and founder Bill Best), but the patents have expired as of the year 2000 and other companies have started offering infrared grills at lower prices. Since then, many restaurants have begun upgrading their kitchens to infrared technology due to the significant reduction in cooking time, lower operational cost, and lower environmental impact. Infrared grills grill more food in less time, and use less fuel (natural gas or propane) over the entire grilling cycle. This results in reduced greenhouse gases and less heat released into the atmosphere.

Sear-grilling has become a common term for an infrared grill's unique ability to instantly sear meat, unlike any other cooking technology.

Advantages: Fast preheat time 2 to 3 minutes, reaches temperatures of 900 degrees Fahrenheit, uniform heat distribution, cooks meats from outside-in, sears outside of meat so juices stay locked in, instant ignition, uniform heat pattern, easier clean-up as drippings instantly vaporize from the extreme heat, less chance of flare-up.

Disadvantages: Typically more expensive than similar-sized conventional gas or charcoal grills, although recent changes have made prices drop considerably. Inexperienced users can easily overcook meat/food due to the high temperatures.

New Advances: As of Early 2008, companies continue patenting new 100% infrared technologies (the old technology only achieves a maximum level of 50% infrared.)

Charcoal

Charcoal grills use either charcoal briquets or all-natural lump charcoal as their fuel source. The charcoal, when burned, will transform into embers radiating the heat necessary to cook food.

There is contention among grilling enthusiasts on what type of charcoal is best for grilling. Users of charcoal briquets emphasize the uniformity in size, burn rate, heat creation, and quality exemplified by briquets. Users of all-natural lump charcoal emphasize the reasons they prefer it: subtle smoky aromas, high heat production, and lack of binders and fillers often present in briquets.

There are many different charcoal grill configurations. Some grills are square, round, or rectangular, some have lids while others do not, and some may or may not have a venting system for heat control. The majority of charcoal grills, however, fall into the following categories:

Brazilian rodízio

The Brazilian Rodizio Machine Gas Grill, is a heavy duty spitroast machine for making the popular Brazilian "rodízio". It works with top radiant gas burners which roasts the meat in rotating spits.

Brazier

A brazier grill loaded with fresh charcoal briquets.The simplest and most inexpensive of charcoal grills, the brazier grill is made of wire and sheet metal and composed of a cooking grid placed over a charcoal pan. Usually the grill is supported by legs attached to the charcoal pan. The brazier grill does not have a lid or venting system. Heat is adjusted by moving the cooking grid up or down over the charcoal pan. Even after George Stephen invented the kettle grill in the early 1950s, the brazier grill remained a dominant charcoal grill type for a number of years. Brazier grills are available at most discount department stores during the summer.