What Is the Difference Between a Grill & a Barbecue?

Barbecue pits make use of indirect heat from open flame.

Barbecuing is an outdoor cooking style, skill and recreational activity that is practiced frequently in the summertime. Although some gourmets consider the grill to be a tool and barbecue to be the style of cooking, the flavoring used or the name for the party itself, the real difference between a grill and a barbecue is best determined by the way in which the word is used, who is using it and where the user is from.

Barbecue

The word barbecue is said to come from the West Indian word "barbacoa," a word used to describe cooking meat slowly over coals. When taken literally, one can conclude that a barbecue is an outdoor stove powered by coals or wood over which meat is heated indirectly and cooked slowly, sometimes for as long as 18 hours. Although ribs, beef, chicken and pork are commonly barbecued meats, each meat's popularity is dependant upon geographic region. For example, pork is preferred in the southeastern United States, beef is popular in Texas and ribs are favorites of residents of the midwestern United States.

Grills

A grill is an outdoor or indoor cooking surface heated by gas, electricity or an open flame. Raw food is placed on the grill and flipped until it is cooked on all sides. This type of cooking equipment and style is preferred in northern regions of the United States. A grill can be considered a barbecue only when it is powered by an open flame and can be used to indirectly slow-cook meat. A barbecue, on the other hand, can never be a grill.

Regional Dialects

Barbecue is a word used frequently in the American South and is diminutized in Australia with the phrase "barbie." Barbie signifies the actual cooking source while the Southern American use of the word barbecue can act as verb, noun and adjective. People barbecue, eat barbecue and cook with barbecue sauce. Other regions of the English-speaking inhabitants use the word grill as a verb, or as a noun denoting the cooking object or a description of the cooking method. Barbecue is also used to describe an event, in much the same way as people use the word picnic. Thus, although someone may be invited to a barbecue, no one is invited to a grill.

Recipes

Pork, chicken and steak are meats that withstand and even improve with slow cooking. Barbecue recipes call for these types of meat in a variety of cuts and configurations. Other grilled items like hamburgers and hot dogs do not withstand slow-cooking nor does the process improve their flavor. Instead, barbecued hamburgers are fast-cooked grilled meats and are only referred to as barbecued when they are topped with a barbecue sauce. The same is true for "barbecued" hot dogs and frankfurters. Barbecued fish is practically unheard of, mainly because fish is rarely slow-cooked or topped with heavy, sweet sauces.

References

• "Time Magazine": A Brief History Of Barbecue