Equipment Types

Grill Master eDJ

Equipment Types

This is a review of the most common & popular types of grills and smokers available for the beginner and somewhat experienced grill cook's. A grill like the one shown below, while basic and modest, in the hands of an experienced grill person can produce some quite impressive results.

Just remember, it isn't so much the equipment you have to work with, as the results you can get with that equipment. This site will assist anyone seeking to gain that ability.

In the old days people built

smoke houses on their farms

to preserve meats for winter.

In time people moved off the

farms and into the cities.

During the 30's thru 50's masonary pits

were common. By the 60's, and

70's simple metal charcoal

grills were becoming the center

of back yard cook outs.

Super Markets now supplied commercial Meat.

Simple charcoal briquettes were used to

fire these direct heat grills to cook hot dogs,

hamburgers, and steaks

to fire roasted perfection of those times.

In time people experimented with

Kabobs, stuffed peppers, and vegetables.

Years later the Gas Grills

with lava rocks began to emerge.

A few people owned electric grills

which could be used inside during

the winter, but some of the more

eccentric Grill Cook's would go

out into the cold and use their

grills. By the 80's this was

becoming a more common site.

Kettle grills were seen more

commonly in catalogs than in

the stores during these times.

Their popularity has grown steadily

as the public has discovered they

can both grill and smoke. If one

only owns one grill and likes to use

charcoal, this is probably your best

choice.

But the longing for that old

Smoke House flavor lingered

with those who were familiar

with it. Today those experienced

with grilling are discovering smoking.

Smoking grills are available in electric,

gas, and wood/charcoal. These often

employ a water basin to produce steam

while the smokng takes place.

It is important to season a new

grill or smoker prior to using it.

This can be done by spraying

a light coating of canola or

peanut oil over the interior surfaces

and getting it hot without food in it.

Also remember to clean it out after

using it as grease will build up and

become rancid and that won't benefit

your cooking. Use of disposable foil

pans to collect juice & drippings is an

inexpensive solution to grease build

up.

Grilling uses direct heat above

a bed of hot coals. Smoking

utilizes somewhat different

equipment for lower temps

and longer cooking times. The

water smokers and cross

flow horizontal smokers are

most common for the process

we call smoking. Small metal

boxes can be purchased to put

wet wood chips into and the box

then set into the covered grill to

provide some of the quality of smoking.

Christoper Columbus was credited for

having discovered the process that the

Taino Indians of Barbados in the Caribbean used and

called "baribicu". Which meant "sacred hearth"

to them. They placed fresh cut bearded fig wood atop

a bed of hot coals and placed meat atop that.

This lowered the temperature for longer duration

cooking and imparted a smokey flavor to the

meat as it cooked. They marinated the meat in

herbs and spices harvested there to help flavor

and preserve the meat after cooking.

Today this is what is meant by BBQ or Smoking.

BBQ Grilling as we know it came from this origin.

Kettel Grills have been around for awhile

and are gaining popularity. The main

advantage they offer is that meat

can be smoked effectively in them

with the fire banked to one side for

inderect cooking and the lid covering

the grill to hold in the smoke to flavor

the meat as it cooks.

It's great for regular grill cooking also.

It can also serve for low temp long cooking events with

hardwood or fruitwood chips which would infuse

a variety of smokey flavors into the meat. This process

will make tougher cuts of meat more

tender as the collagen breaks down into a soft

gelatine and natural enzymes and chemicals in the meat

will transform it and make it more delicious.

See the "Misc Info" page for more on smoking woods

and their flavor qualities.

Accessory items such as the "Vortex" ring

have added flexibility to the cooking

characteristics of these kettle grills.

During the 80's Gas Grills began to

show up in people's homes as they

were thought to offer a smaller

scale utility of the girlls used in

Steak Houses. Often these expensive

girlls were gifts for Fathers Day,

Christmas, or Birthdays so that

Dad could cook out for the family

year around. Lava Rocks were often

layered over the lower grill to diffuse

the heat and absorb dripping fat so

that fires would be less frequent.

This also seasoned the grill.

Small metal boxes were often used

to conatain hard wood or

fruit wood chips so that some smoking

could be accomplished with the

lid closed. Many of these units had

a glass window in the lid so the cooking

progress could be monitored.

Today three in every four households own

a grill of some kind and two thirds of those

are LP gas fueled. Some LP gas even offers

"hickory smoke" flavoring in it now.

Many people still carried small portable

charcoal grills along for picnic's or for

camping trips. Later portable gas grills

evolved for the same use. But some

people who lived in apartment buildings

with open balconies have made great

use of them in their outdoor setting.

They required little space and were efficient

for a few people enjoying them. A 2 liter bottle

of water set by would be enough to extinguish

the hot coals when the cooking was

finished. A beautifully simple, efficient,

and inexpensive solution for apartment living.

Smoker Grills had been around for

many years and were popular with

hunters and fishermen. But like

kettel grills, were more often

seen in catalogs than in stores.

The general public had little

knowledge of them or their use.

But with the advent of the internet

and the growth of message boards

where people discussed using these

more specialized systems, more back

yard Grill Chef's began to embreace

using a "Smoker". Public Libraries

have also added books on this subject

to their collections.

Today their popularity is soaring.

There are many types of them and many

performance modifications

discussed within these circles

of enthusiast. Entry level Smokers

were affordable and often used ones

appear in yard sales or flea markets

for very reasonable prices. They're

sold there by people who simply

want a more advanced up scale type

of smoker as they were so impressed

with the results they achieved with

their first inexpensive entry model.

Most of these verticle smoker grills

use a basin of water and are often

called "water smokers" for the steam

they generate with the smoke. The

Horizontal smoker grills generally don't

employ water containers in their design.

Bags of various smoking wood chips are

becoming a more common sight in the

grocery stores today. For more info on

smoking woods, see the Misc Info page.

More upscale smokers were available

in time using electric, charcoal, or gas

to produce the heat. Different levels

of quality features were offered and

built into them, such as insulation for

use in cold areas, or ventilation features.

Multiple thermometers to read the

cooking temperature at each rack

and other more specialized features

were incorporated to gain that extra edge

in achieving the flavor of the meat that was

smoked within them. Even an event

of smoking meat that wasn't very

successful will still be tastier than something

just thrown on a standard charcoal grill.

In different parts of the country,

certain designs have all but become

the official type or "the people's

choice" for that region. Various interior

modifications could transform the cooking

and smoking characteristics quite easily.

With the horizontal offset smoker grills

a sheet metal baffle could transform a

"cross flow" into a "reverse flow" smoker.

All of these little modifications would

adjust the performance and help to

assure good results of the smoking and

slow cooking for various meats, fish,

and poultry. Some have experimented

with using bread pans filled with water

placed where the heat from the fire box

enters into the larger smoking chamber.

Much of the thrill of this kind of cooking

comes from experimenting.

One of the most important things to

own when using charcoal equipment

is a "Chimney". Some old news paper

wadded in the bottom and fresh briquettes

over them will easily start the coals

for cooking. You won't have liquid

petroleum starter in your coals and

vapors of that in your food. A chimney

which has been properly charged can

have a load of glowing coals in less

than 10 minutes, lit only by one match.

There are many types of charcoal, from

the standard briquette, the quick lighting

type of briquettes, and the "lump" charcoal

which is irregular shaped lumps. But a beginner

could use the standard briquettes with a

chimney to ignite it quickly.

Even if a person doesn't have money for a more expensive Grill or Smoker, for less than $20 dollars they can purchase a Tripod Grill in the sporting goods dept of a large store. If they have space in the back yard for a small camp fire the Tripod Grill can produce surprising results. One can even purchase a large metal foil Turkey Roasting Pan to cover the food on the grill and trap smoke around it as it cooks. An old wood knob or wooden thread spool can be mounted on that Turkey Pan to have the convenience of a low cost smoker lid.

These Tripod Grills are usually equipped with the means to raise and lower the grill over the fire in order to find the ideal temperature zone.

If you don't know how to guage the heat of a fire with your hand, see the Misc Info page. It isn't difficult to learn and it's a very handy skill to know.


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