| To many people, there is nothing better than | | | | many bad points, the most notable being that a gas |
| enjoying an outdoor barbecue grill with family and | | | | bottle is required to operate them. This can be bulky |
| friends at home or at your favorite picnic spot. But | | | | to transport. |
| what are the alternatives when it comes to choosing | | | | The good points of these grills are: |
| your barbecue? | | | | - They are quick and easy to assemble and clean. |
| There are three main types of barbecue grills, | | | | - Lighting is quick and simple with many having starter |
| charcoal, electric and gas. Each have their good and | | | | systems that do not require the use of matches. |
| bad points and I will go through some of these in this | | | | - Cooking time is fast with cooking temperatures |
| article. | | | | being reached almost as soon as the barbecue is lit. |
| CHARCOAL BARBECUE GRILLS | | | | - There is very little smoke but the flames can flare |
| Of all the grills, charcoal grills are the cheapest. They | | | | up. |
| can vary from large free standing units to table top | | | | - Temperature control is easily regulated. |
| models. These are readily available and generally | | | | - And, yes, the food tastes very nice too. |
| portable. There are, however, some drawbacks to | | | | ELECTRIC BARBECUE GRILLS |
| this type of barbecue. | | | | Electric barbecues are third in the popularity stakes |
| - You need charcoal or some sort of material to use | | | | but they do have some very good features and also |
| as the heat source. Heat beads are often used | | | | a couple of drawbacks. The most obvious drawback |
| instead of charcoal. Whatever is used can be messy, | | | | is that they need electricity to operate which means |
| inconvenient and relatively expensive if you intend to | | | | they are not strictly speaking portable like the |
| use the grill often. Time is needed for the barbecue | | | | charcoal or gas barbecues. They also do need time |
| coals to cool before they can be discarded. | | | | to get up to temperature. The positive points are: |
| - Time is needed for the grill to get hot enough to | | | | - They are quick and easy to assemble and clean. |
| cook properly. | | | | - Lighting is as simple as plugging the unit into a |
| - They can be difficult to start, especially if there | | | | power point and turning it on. |
| some wind around. | | | | - Once cooking temperature has been reached, |
| - The coals can flare up especially if cooking fatty | | | | cooking time is very quick. |
| meat. This can be dangerous to the unwary. They | | | | - Temperature can be easily controlled and held so |
| can also produce smoke which can be a nuisance. | | | | slow cooking is possible. |
| - They should not be used if there are fire bans or in | | | | - There is usually very little smoke but, like the |
| places or in areas where a fire could easily start. | | | | others, flare ups can happen. |
| There are also some good points to this type of | | | | - Being electric, they are inexpensive to run and the |
| barbecue. | | | | most environmentally friendly of the three types of |
| - They are portable and easy to assemble. | | | | grills reviewed in this article. |
| - Once the coals are at a suitable temperature, | | | | - And of-course, food cooked on electric grill tastes |
| cooking is fast. | | | | pretty good. |
| - Meat cooked over a charcoal grill is usually delicious! | | | | All of these types of outdoor barbecue grills have |
| GAS BARBECUE GRILLS | | | | positives and negatives but all are extremely |
| These are the most popular of all the outdoor | | | | effective barbecues. It depends on how you want to |
| barbecues. Like the charcoal grill, they are readily | | | | use the barbecue just which type would be best for |
| available, inexpensive and come in many different | | | | you. |
| sizes and shapes. Gas barbecues do not have too | | | | |