What Type of Grill Should I Buy?

Outdoor cooking is such a part of our culture that it’s inconceivable to picture summer, Father’s Day or the Fourth of July without a grill of some kind being fired up. Burgers on the BBQ; ribs being grilled by the pool; or a steak on a charcoal grill while camping – these are some of the iconic images of summer we are all familiar with. And while most people enjoy a grilled burger or spending time in the backyard with friends and family, the number question is "What type of grill should I buy?" With all of the choices out there, from top brand names like Weber Grills and Napoleon Grills to the many different types like charcoal grills, outdoor gas grills and electric grills, it’s no wonder that beginner grillers might be a little confused.

The answer is actually simple. It’s all up to you; how you want to cook outdoors, how you would like your food to taste and what you plan on cooking on a regular basis. Charcoal grills, outdoor gas grills and electric grills, even brand names like Weber Grills, all have their own unique, distinctive "flavor."

Charcoal Grills

Charcoal grills have to be the old classic standby of the grilling community. All they require is charcoal briquettes heated to cooking temperature and you’re good to go. Charcoal grills do take longer than other outdoor gas grills to be cooking ready, and are generally messier. But they tend to be the least expensive type of grill; they don’t need tanks, hook-up lines or an outdoor outlet, so from that point of view, they are the easiest to use. If you like that special flavor that wood smoke (briquettes) gives a hamburger (or anything else you choose to put on the grill), then charcoal grills are the type of grill for you.

Outdoor Gas Grills

Outdoor gas grills fire up almost immediately; they don’t require a lot of effort to keep clean or to maintain; and they generally are available with more features than charcoal grills. Top brand name manufacturers of outdoor gas grills like Weber grills or Napoleon Grills offer a range of grills in sizes for portable to large with all of the bells and whistles. Many outdoor gas grills have features like side burners, optional infrared burners, all-weather wheels, swivel casters, temperature gauge and tool hooks. Since a gas grill Because outdoor gas grills use propane gas tanks that require filling, it’s good to have a spare back-up tank on hand – you don’t want to run out in the middle of that big family BBQ Rotisserie.

Electric Grills

Electric grills are easy to use, and because all they require is a power outlet, the heat they produce is consistent and continuous. They tend to be smaller in size than other kinds of barbecues. Many models are portable. An electric grill typically utilizes a heating element that is embedded within the cooking surface or directly below it. Unlike other kinds of barbecues, many types of electric grills can be used both indoors and outdoors. They are great for urban living spaces like apartment balconies or townhouse patios.

Learn About Outdoor Electrical BBQ

With summer season fast approaching it is a wonderful time to think about owning one of the numerous types of outdoor electrical grills that are in the marketplace. There is nothing better than basking in the sunshine in your backyard over a lawn chair, or perhaps enjoying your swimming pool or having family and friends over and then barbecuing everyone up some good food.

With an out of doors electric grill you'll never have to worry about restocking the outdoor cooking with charcoal or filling up the particular gas tank for gas for your grill. All you have to do is actually plug your bbq grill in and you are on your journey to a tasty dinner. It is then as fundamental as turning a button and within a few minutes your grill will probably be heated and ready to commence. Outdoor electric propane gas grills are very easy to tidy up; you do not have to worry about lung burning ash flying everywhere or perhaps about finding a destination for a deposit that lung burning ash after it cools. In case you are concerned about the environment, outside electric grills usually do not emit any dangerous pollutants that can modify the ozone layer, or your meal for that matter.

Another advantage regarding outdoor electric propane gas grills is the fact that if you are in the center of grilling and the climate turns inclement, it is possible to take the grill in to the house or storage and finish cooking your meal - you do not have to bother with causing a fire or even about carbon monoxide gas. These grills are available in many different sizes. You will find small and compact types that can fit upon almost any surface there are grills upon carts, post attach grills and built-in gas grills.

You can be assured that you will have a straight distribution of heat once you cook on an out of doors electric grill. Your meal will be cooked completely both outside and inside. These types of grills allow virtually any fat from the meats you are cooking to be able to drip into a skillet making it a healthy means of cooking. You can bbq grill chicken breasts, cheese burgers and salmon beef to name just a few meals. And if you are vegetarian, barbequed vegetable kabobs will style great on out of doors electric grills.

Several communities for condominium and condo residents ban gas or even charcoal grills thus an electric grill is a good choice if you live in that community. The table top models are a good choice if you have a child which lives in a dormitory. With some of the table top models, you can even perform rotisserie cooking. This is excellent not only for someone attending college, but a single person as well as elderly person too. One whole hen can make a meal for a few days. The same goes for lean meats like hamburgers. You possibly can make several at the same time, follow a couple for dinner as well as throw the others in certain sauce the following evening and be ready to take pleasure in some great tasting dinner. The possibilities are countless with outdoor electric powered grills.

If you want to like a healthy, convenient and efficient way of consuming, outdoor electric gas grills are a great way to get started.

Camping and Promoting Family Bonding

Just about any camping expedition, with the exploring, camp set up, outdoor cooking and general interaction, is an excellent venue for family bonding. Everybody benefits from human relationships and bonding is at a higher level as it includes trust, love and fulfillment - and this is even more important between parents and their children. The special relationships between fathers and sons and mothers and daughter are based on the level and quality of the bonding between them. This is a basic structure that makes for healthy, or in unfortunate cases, unhealthy development. Our children's development will reflect the quality of their relationships within the family and specifically with their parents and siblings.

The family structure provides father role models for the sons as mothers for their daughters.

One of the best and natural scenarios that promote bonding is camping trips. The hands on experiences make it the ideal occasion for sharing, interacting, teaching and just plain goofing off.

A camping expedition is open to anyone and covering a large part of all age groups. From children, teens, parents and more. Each trip will have its own unique moments and experiences and this just highlights the bonding opportunities as well as the potential learning and teaching moments.

At times the last camping trip seems to be lost back in time and this could mean that camping ideas are not so easy to find. For these cases here are five ideas for types of camping trips you can plan.

1. Hiking. It seems to be very popular and with good reason. You can have short half day hiking trips, even shorter if you are out of practice or the members of your team fin it difficult. The good news here is that apart from the experience of nature, there are a large number of places you can go to and most have a difficulty grading system. These are safe and equally important, enjoyable days out. You will be surprised on your children's stamina.

2. Fishing Trips. There are a great many opportunities for fishing, both fresh water and sea fishing. As it is one of the great hobbies for Americans the number of opportunities and alternatives are really large. BBQ Rotisserie is essential equipment for frying the fishes.

3. RV Camping Trips. One of the advantages of an RV camping trip is that the range of camping sites is larger simply because you can cover longer distances. You can also stop at various camping sites as part of the whole trip. Other advantages are that you combine both home amenities with contact with nature - days out and outdoor cooking go hand in hand. Bonding is not exactly forced on you, but it is hard not to. The actual experiences of these trips together with the memories that many times are also safe guarded by photographs provide great memories.

4. Backpacking Expeditions. In the family bonding type of trip, it is better when the children are no longer toddlers, maybe 8 upwards (depending on your child). This simply because there will be times you may have to help them along and there is the risk that the long looked forward to trip turns into a nightmare. Having said that, there is something about this type of trips that builds up confidence, create great and long lasting memories and are always an educational experience. Apart from all that they are fun.

5. Tents. The bottom line is that when you think about camping you always imagine a tent, a sleeping bag, the fire and a little cooking outside. For children these become moments they treasure and in the future will probably repeat with their own children. It is rare for a child to dislike camping out and there are so many places and locations you can go to, with the appropriate safeguards that it is really a waste not to take advantage of this. Family bonding comes so naturally when camping out that it can easily become a family moment to be repeated at least once a season.

Become a Grill Master with the Right Outdoor Kitchen Supplies

You don't have to be a gourmet to start cooking outside with plenty of flair; rather all you need are the right outdoor kitchen supplies that give you all the functionality you are used to indoors but allow you to make use of all the flavor a grill has to offer.

What most of us think of outdoor cooking we think of camping and cheap barbecue grills. This is definitely no longer the only scenario when it comes to outdoor cooking in fact it's not even the most popular scenario anymore. Convenient gas grills are the norm and innovative accessories that make your outdoor cooking job easier can be found just about everywhere. In fact this has become such a popular trend that it's not uncommon to find outdoor cooking being used in a restaurant setting to add additional flair and curb appeal.

Whether you're living in Kalamazoo or Calcutta there are options available to you for creating your perfect outdoor kitchen design. Everything from beautiful stainless steel appliances to marble countertops can be found that are specifically made for the outdoors. You can literally get as fancy or as inexpensive as you want and still have all the tools necessary to create delicious meals on the grill.

The basic outdoor kitchen supplies that everyone needs to become a grill master can be boiled down into three categories: preparation, utilization and cleanup. Your preparation utensils will include things like flavor injectors or marinade bags. Because a lot of prep is done indoors you don't necessarily need specific supplies for your outdoor endeavors. On the flip side the utilization utensils must be specific for the outdoors. Things like the spatulas and tongs that you need to handle the food must be sturdy enough to withstand the high intensity heat of a grill. Because of this your rubber spatula just won't make do. Lastly your cleanup utensils are also fairly specific to outdoor cooking. The number one cleanup utensil that everyone needs is a grill brush. This is a stiff metal wire brush that is used to scrape debris and char off of grill grates. Remember, a clean grill is a healthy grill and one that will produce tons of delicious food.

BBQ Rotisserie

You know it really is interesting that bbq rotisserie cooking doesn't get more respect. Most grill manufacturers will tell you that you don't really need to use a rotisserie because a grill with a lid does the same thing, provides even roasting. The standard view of cooking is to move the heat around the food, not the food around the heat. These guys probably can't tell the difference between a good brisket sandwich and a Big Mac.

There are so many advantages to bbq rotisserie cooking. Meats are generally juicier, self-basted and slow roasted. Of course there are a few differences between grilling and rotisserie cooking that you need to be aware of. The first place to start is with the instruction manual for your particular grill, beyond that remember that while a lot of grilling is done over a very hot fire you need a lot less heat for the rotisserie.

If you set up your bbq rotisserie so that the top of the item is moving away from you and place the drip pan slightly towards the front of the grill then you will have an easier time scooping up the drippings for basting.

Weber BBQ Rotisserie - Set and Forget Cooking

What's tastier than a rotisserie chicken?  A rotisserie chicken cooked over charcoal on a Weber BBQ rotisserie.  Home cooked food is always better than take out and anything done on the rotisserie; ribs, chicken, turkey, is sure to be a treat.  We grill out most nights in the summer as it helps keep the inside of the house cool with no oven on and meals are more like a picnic when we have them on the patio.

I've tried other rotisseries in the past but either they didn't fit my kettle grill or the motor wasn't strong enough or the rotisserie would be off balance and jam.  Weber seems to have solved these problems and made a rotisserie that's set and forget.  All you need to do is set your timer or thermometer and keep your stomach from growling too loudly!

I particularly like rotisserie done over charcoal, which is why I like to use my kettle grill. 

The Weber 2290 fits my 22-1/2 inch kettle grill just right with no need to prop or fuss getting the right fit. 

Rotisserie Chicken Rub

To try to cook a dish the first thing is you should know its recipe. If you are given a recipe and some easy tricks how to proceed there is only a chance of one in hundred that you would fail to make a tasty rotisserie chicken rub. To get a yummy home-cooked chicken you will need a grill with a bbq rotisserie, a chicken some butter or olive oil, and some seasonings.

Let us first see a recipe that is commonly used by many people. Ingredients include, four pounds of roasting chicken, one teaspoon each of salt, black pepper, chilli powder, garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme, and sugar, two teaspoons of paprika and some olive oil or butter.

Next the preparation time would be around seventy to eighty minutes. If the chicken is rubbed with the seasonings before hand and kept in the refrigerator for about ten to twelve hours the flavor would be more enhanced.

Setting up the bbq rotisserie on the grill should be the first thing before you start cooking your chicken rub. Fire it up and let it heat while the chicken gets prepared by you.

First you need to rinse the chicken in cold water and dry it up inside and outside using some paper towel. Now you need to rub some salt and butter inside the cavity along with onion and/or garlic for additional flavor. Once done you can truss the chicken using some butchers twine. Now it can be spitted on the rotisserie. When you slide the spit on the entire body, you should be sure that the end of the spit is secured to the chicken. This way the chicken will be cooked evenly on all sides.

Now you can cook on lowered temperature and keep basting the chicken with butter or oil every thirty minutes. The seasonings also can be added along with the butter. Thus the chicken gets cooked in your favorite flavor. Serve hot with sauce.

Rotisserie Cooking on the Grill - Healthy and Delicious

Rotisserie cooking over the grill is a healthy and delicious method of preparing almost any meat. It is a preferred preparation method for such inherently fatty meats as lamb, beef or pork ribs or hams. Tougher cuts of meat such as shoulder, rump or chuck roasts are also favorites for the slow cooking on a spit over a grill. Juices are held inside the meat while the outside becomes browned and flavorful.

Unlike grilling over a backyard BBQ rotisserie or an open flame, rotisserie cooked meat browns, but never burns. The meat browns slowly and evenly while turning at a safe distance above the heat source. This assures there are no deadly carcinogens, a real hazard with many other types of cooking.

Rounding out the meal with vegetables is another healthful choice. Some vegetables can be skewered directly on the spit while others are best cooked in a special vegetable basket. All develop the healthy and delicious flavor typical of rotisserie on the grill as they slowly turn over the fire.

With roasting on a spit replacing simple grilling as a preferred preparation method, most new grills either come with a rotisserie attachment or have one available as an add-on. Older grills can almost always accommodate an attachment with a spit. In any case, adjusting the distance of the spit above the grill for more or less browning is a simple task.