Barbecue vs Grilling

 In reality, most of us consider barbecue and grilling to be essentially the same thing. And there's really nothing wrong with that.

But, for the sake of argument, here's the difference between the two.

Grilling is almost always a fast process over high heat and barbecue is almost always a slow process using indirect heat and/or hot smoke.

First let's explain grilling. In a typical home grill, grilled foods are cooked on a grate directly over hot charcoal. The cooking is rather fast. We can grill a steak in 8 - 10 minutes if the heat is hot enough.

Iin barbecuing, the coals are dispersed to the sides or at significant distance from the grate, which means the food is going to take longer to cook. Alternately, an apparatus called a smoker with a separate fire box may be used. Hot smoke is drawn past the meat by convection for very slow cooking.

This is essentially how barbecue is cooked in most genuine "barbecue" restaurants, but many consider this to be a distinct cooking process called smoking.

The slower methods of cooking break down the collagen in meat and tenderize tougher cuts for easier eating.

My grandson is shown here grilling. Start your kids young. He is now 18 and has a grill and a smoker.