There are numerous kinds of barbecue grills in the market today. Barbecue grills are devices that cook food using heat that comes from under the food itself. There are two main types of grills, both for permanent and portable grills, depending on the source of fuel for the heat –charcoal-fueled or gas-fueled barbecue grills. The different preferences for the source of fuel for the heat – either charcoal or gas – have added fuel, pardon the pun, to the discussion on the advantages of one type of grill over the other.
Most, if not all, regions in the world have embraced barbecuing as part of their food culture in one way or another. Virtually every barbecue grill manufacturer have their own version of a charcoal grill, and, more often than not, utilize specially fabricated metal grills. There are numerous styles of these grills from a large drum, which has been cut into two to create the foundation and the cover of the grill, to brick and mortar grills the size of a car.
In the United States, grills have been used ever since the pre-colonial era. A group of people known as the Arawak used a barbacoa, a device made out of wood, to cook meat. The term ‘barbacoa’ was normally used to refer to the device rather than the method of cooking. However, the term was later used in the Southeastern region of the United States to indicate the cooking style where a crater was used in cooking. Then again this normally referred to the slow cooking of pork. The term is now used to signify the method of cooking of any food item, most especially hot dogs and hamburgers which have become the normal fare for this cooking method.
The invention of the contemporary charcoal briquette is credited to E.G. Kingsford, who was a close friend of Henry Ford. Kingsford noted that a good amount of wood was wasted when the Ford Model T was being manufactured. He broached the idea of having a charcoal production facility alongside the car production line to utilize the excess wood and to sell the resulting charcoal under the name of Ford. The name company was later changed to Kingsford Charcoal Co. in the memory of Kingsford after his demise.