How to grill

How to grill

Grilling is easier than you think

So what?

You can enjoy the outcome of grilling and barbecuing whether you are a vegetarian, vegan or meathead and living in an apartment, a house or a mansion. Benefits of grilling and barbecuing are as follows:

• Enjoy meals in a different way whatever your living situation is;
• Healthier way to cook food; and
• Impress your loved ones.

Tired of the food you cook everyday? Check out the quick guide below.

Disclaimer

This is not a professional advice. We are not grilling experts. This guide is for complete beginners who want to start or have recently picked up grilling.

What is grilling?

Grilling, technically speaking, is using dry heat to cook food. You can grill just about anything, from veggies to meat, using any combination of spices, condiments and oils.

What are the common types of grilling?

You would be attracted to one grilling method over another depending on where you are, how much time and money you want to invest and other factors. The most common grilling methods are as follows:

• Gas
  • Cost – low
  • Time required – low
  • Ideal location – balcony / small yard / campsite
• Charcoal
  • Cost – moderate
  • Time required – moderate
  • Ideal location – large balcony / yard
• Wood
  • Cost – moderate to high
  • Time required – high
  • Ideal location – yard

Getting started

• Portable gas
  • Equipment
    • Butane camp stove, micro grill or other similar open flame cookware
    • Cooking apparatus
  • Steps
    • Find a good recipe via search engines, books or blogs
    • Preheat grill for 5 minutes or per manual
    • Place ingredients
    • Grill whilst turning every few minutes or per recipe until cooked
• Gas barbecue
  • Equipment
    • Free standing, flat top or portable barbecues
    • Barcue apparatus
  • Steps
    • See above
• Charcoal
  • Free standing gas, kamado, kettles, spits or other
  • Free standing, flat top or portable barbecues
    • Barcue apparatus
    • Heat gun to preheat comes in handy
  • Steps
    • See above
• Wood
  • Wouldn’t have a clue
  • Can’t be simplified

My experience

We started with a portable electric grill in our apartment. It was convenient to hook it up to a power source and get the grill going. The main drawback was that there was no noticeable taste difference between using the portable electric grill compared to cooking on the stovetop. Once we got a portable gas barbecue, we could start charring meat and veggies. This improved the flavour slightly however it wasn’t until we started using charcoal where we could taste major improvement in the taste of barbecued meat, seafood and veggies. Prep time increased which meant that we used it less as it wasn’t as convenient. When we do use it, we do enjoy the wood flavour and the smokiness and tenderness of what we barbecue.

What now?

• Try it (complete beginners should start with portable gas method).
• It’s easier than you think.
• If you’re after a recommendation for a good book to get you started, Pit Boss Wood Pellet Grill & Smoker Cookbook by The Blue Smoke Academy comes to mind.