Process of grilling

Grilling is a fast method of cooking by radiant heat (also called broiling). This extreme heat sears the surface of meat, sealing in the natural juices and creating a flavorful crust. A crust is a key difference.

Some of the juices are actually reduced directly on the food while the rest drip away. Grilled foods have a smoky, slightly charred flavor resulting from the flaring of the juices and fats that are rendered as the food cooks, as well as from direct contact with the rods of the grill rack.

In general, the foods best suited to grilling are those which are tender and cook relatively quickly since the heat required for grilling is so intense. In general, temperatures above 300°F are typically used for grilling although grilling temperatures can typically reach 500°F or more.

The advantages of grilling process
*Food can be quickly cooked to order
*Charring foods gives them a pleasing appearance and better flavor
*Better control as food is visible during cooking

The disadvantages of grilling process
*More suitable for expensive cuts of meat
*Requires skill

Method of grilling including: direct heat grilling, indirect grilling, smoking, rotisserie grilling, plank grilling, and infrared grilling.

There are three ways of grilling are: charcoal grilling, gas grilling, wood grilling.
Process of grilling

Charcoal grills

Grilling, or at least cooking over fire, has been around for almost as long as humans have been eating.

Charcoal and gas are the two most popular types of grills and the one should be bought depends on the taste of the grilled food wanted.

Charcoal is the fuel for millions of grills masters. Lump charcoal is this charred wood in its unchanged state. Some grill cooks like lump charcoal because it burns very hot. However, it also burns away relatively fast, and its irregular shape can created hot spots.

Briquettes are made of granular charcoal compressed into individual pillow shapes. Each briquette burns at the same rate, giving off reliable steady heat.

Charcoal grills come in shapes and sizes. Steel is the most common construction material for charcoal grills such as kettle grills and hibachis. Steel is good conductor of heat, so it heats up and cools down relatively quickly.

But is doesn’t retain heat very well, and so metal grills generally require more fuel because heat is lost more easily through the grill’s firebox.
Charcoal grills

Rotisserie grilling

Rotisserie grilling is a form of indirect grilling, rotisserie cooking positions food on a spit above or in front of the heat, where the food slowly rotates with constant speed so that it never burns.

This method produces incomparably moist and evenly browned whole breads, roasts, leg of lamb ribs, or any other large pieces of meat. As fat melts from the meat, the rotisserie keeps the melted fat constantly rolling the meat’s surface and keeping it moist.

Most grills can accommodate a rotisserie assembly but each one works a little differently. Rotisseries are handy, because it doesn’t have to be tended them constantly; just baste the food occasionally with a marinade or sauce.

Rotisserie grilling a whole animal is usually referred to as spit-roasting, but the process is the same. For large whole animals like kid goat or spring lamb, suspend the meat 1 to 2 feet away from heat. Rotisseries are available for most gas and charcoal grills.
Rotisserie grilling

Covered grilling

Most outdoor grills fall into one of two categories: open and covered. With covered grills, the grill lid traps the smoke, which infuses the food with outdoorsy flavor, while at the same time smothering flare-up.

Covered cooking is almost foolproof, one of the reasons that many grill manufacturers and other authorities recommend the method. It creates an oven effect and does much of the cooking with heat reflecting off the lid. In effect, grilling and baking are done at the same time.

The resulting flavor reflects the method, providing a modicum of grilled texture along with a generic baked taste.

Most covered charcoal grills have vents, or dampers, on both the top of the lid and the bottom of the grill, making it easy to control the heat.

If the fire is burning too slowly, open the bottom vent to add a little oxygen to feed the fire. If the food is cooking too quickly, open a top vent to allow some heat to escape.
Covered grilling

Charcoal for grilling

Most fruit woods and hickory, ash, oak, alder and mesquite make excellent grilling fuel.  The wood use should in dry condition.

Wood chunks won’t burn nearly as hot as charcoal yet will burn more quickly than charcoal, so cooking must be timing accordingly.

Natural lump charcoal is becoming widely available and is an excellent fuel for grilling. It burns hot, clean, and imparts a subtle smoky flavor to food.  Lump charcoal is the preferred charcoal for many serious grillers. It is made up of hunks of hardwood that have been burned in an oxygen-deprived environment, with no additives or fillers.

Charcoal briquettes 

Charcoal briquettes are the most common fuel used in the United States and are available almost everywhere. Briquettes are made of granular charcoal compressed into individual pillow shapes. Each briquettes burns at the same rate, giving off reliable, steady heat.

Some people like to use hardwood charcoal because it is natural and gives a better wood flavor.

Choices for lighting a charcoal fire include using a charcoal chimney, and electric fire starter or lighter fluid. The charcoal chimney is an upright cylindrical metal canister, like a large metal coffee can with handle.
Charcoal for grilling

Cooking by grilling

Grilling isn’t new cooking method; it’s been around for centuries. Grilling is cooking food over heat supplied by charcoal briquettes, lump charcoal, mesquite or logs, on a grid, flattop or skewer in a hibachi, brazier, gas or electric grill or any other grill.

Grilling is the ideal cooking technique for a wide array of items such as meats, poultry, fish, steaks, vegetables and even pizza.

The heat can be ‘direct’ - that is right under the food – or ‘indirect’ which means to one or more sides but nor squarely beneath the food to be cooked.

For most grilling, the ignited coals are spread in a single layer under the food. This is called direct grilling and represents the way most people grill.

The single layer of coals emits even, steady great whether the grill is open or covered. For more control, pile some of the coals at one side of the grill where they will emit intense heat.

Indirect grilling is the method of placing food on the grill rack away from or to the side of the heat source with the grill lid closed. This type of grilling cooks the food similar to roasting in an oven.

Try to avoid creating smoke. Smoke forms when fat drips onto the coals and can produce hazardous substances.
Cooking by grilling