Sometimes picking out the right grill for your home can be difficult.
There are so many grill features available and you may not understand them all.
So what we'll try to do here is explain some of the options available to you so you can make an informed decision when you head to the store.
The one thing that confuses most people is BTU's.
It stands for British Thermal Unit and is used to measure the the amount of energy the fuel has and the the amount of output of the heat generator.
In other words, it will tell you how much fuel you'll be burning.
A simple mathematical formula will tell you how much heat (cooking power) the grill will have.
You will be given the BTU number on every grill.
Take this number and divide it by the square inches of cooking surface.
What you want is an answer somewhere between 95 and 100.
Let's look at an example.
The grill you want to buy has 500 square inches of cooking space and 50,000 BTU's.
50,000 divided by 500 equals 100.
So you get 100 BTU of cooking power per square inch.
That falls within our range and is enough power to properly cook your food.
How large of a surface you get obviously depends on the amount of people you will be cooking for.
The next thing you'll need to look at is the cooking surface.
Some are flat, some are ribbed.
And there's other options as well.
You can get a non-stick surface which makes clean-up easier.
You can also get a wok surface for pasta and rice.
Rotisserie sets are another nice option.
You can even get grills with a variety of surfaces that are interchangeable depending on what you want to cook.
These are great because you will never be limited in the foods you can cook on your grill.
But the most important thing you'll need to decide is how the grill is heated.
A charcoal grill is the most popular choice.
These are great for flavor.
All you need is some charcoal and lighter fluid and you're ready to go.
You can get these in all sizes so if you have limited space to store your grill that won't be a problem.
A charcoal grill will need to be cleaned and stored after each use.
A propane gas grill is also flexible in that it comes in many sizes.
The smaller ones are easily portable.
A propane grill will cook your food fast and keep the flavor.
A natural gas grill is typically a large grill that hooks into your home gas line.
You will need plenty of space for this and it is generally a permanent structure, so it's not something you can pack up and take along on your next camping trip.
But if you like cooking outside in the yard these can't be beat.
But for the ultimate in flavor we highly recommend a smoker.
The meat will cook slowly but you have complete control over how it will taste.
The wood you choose to cook with will determine the flavor of the finished product.
Just remember that before you buy anything you need to ask plenty of questions.
Stores that sell barbeque items exclusively will have experts available to answer any inquiry you might have.
You may pay a little more here however.
And if you shop at a discount department store, there will still be people around that can answer the basic questions.
Just don't be afraid to ask about anything you may not understand.
There are so many grill features available and you may not understand them all.
So what we'll try to do here is explain some of the options available to you so you can make an informed decision when you head to the store.
The one thing that confuses most people is BTU's.
It stands for British Thermal Unit and is used to measure the the amount of energy the fuel has and the the amount of output of the heat generator.
In other words, it will tell you how much fuel you'll be burning.
A simple mathematical formula will tell you how much heat (cooking power) the grill will have.
You will be given the BTU number on every grill.
Take this number and divide it by the square inches of cooking surface.
What you want is an answer somewhere between 95 and 100.
Let's look at an example.
The grill you want to buy has 500 square inches of cooking space and 50,000 BTU's.
50,000 divided by 500 equals 100.
So you get 100 BTU of cooking power per square inch.
That falls within our range and is enough power to properly cook your food.
How large of a surface you get obviously depends on the amount of people you will be cooking for.
The next thing you'll need to look at is the cooking surface.
Some are flat, some are ribbed.
And there's other options as well.
You can get a non-stick surface which makes clean-up easier.
You can also get a wok surface for pasta and rice.
Rotisserie sets are another nice option.
You can even get grills with a variety of surfaces that are interchangeable depending on what you want to cook.
These are great because you will never be limited in the foods you can cook on your grill.
But the most important thing you'll need to decide is how the grill is heated.
A charcoal grill is the most popular choice.
These are great for flavor.
All you need is some charcoal and lighter fluid and you're ready to go.
You can get these in all sizes so if you have limited space to store your grill that won't be a problem.
A charcoal grill will need to be cleaned and stored after each use.
A propane gas grill is also flexible in that it comes in many sizes.
The smaller ones are easily portable.
A propane grill will cook your food fast and keep the flavor.
A natural gas grill is typically a large grill that hooks into your home gas line.
You will need plenty of space for this and it is generally a permanent structure, so it's not something you can pack up and take along on your next camping trip.
But if you like cooking outside in the yard these can't be beat.
But for the ultimate in flavor we highly recommend a smoker.
The meat will cook slowly but you have complete control over how it will taste.
The wood you choose to cook with will determine the flavor of the finished product.
Just remember that before you buy anything you need to ask plenty of questions.
Stores that sell barbeque items exclusively will have experts available to answer any inquiry you might have.
You may pay a little more here however.
And if you shop at a discount department store, there will still be people around that can answer the basic questions.
Just don't be afraid to ask about anything you may not understand.
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