While most people now days use the terms ‘barbecue’ and ‘grill’ interchangeably, this isn’t technically correct. When you are barbecuing, you are slow cooking over low heat in an enclosed environment. Meats being barbecued are cooked for longer periods of time (typically between 2 – 18 hours) by the heat and smoke produced when wood or coal is burned.

Grilling requires the lid to be up/off and the meat is cooked over direct heat from the bottom as opposed to all around when barbecuing. We all know that person that absolutely chars the outside of their barbecue chicken while leaving the inside pink and raw. In their minds, grilling requires 10,000 degrees of blistering flames to properly cook their food.

Apparently nobody told them it’s okay to have a cooler spot on the grill where you can place food that’s cooking too quickly. In my mind that just makes sense but what do I know? I think the people that grill like that are probably also capable of microwaving a Hot Pocket.

Different choices of meat will also be used when choosing whether to barbecue or grill. Barbecuing was very popular for those who couldn’t afford the best cuts of meat. The cheapest and toughest cuts of meat could be slow cooked  at temperatures ranging between 225 – 249° F (107 – 120° C) for several hours. The result was a product that was juicy and fall-off-the-bone tender.

Popular cuts of meat for barbecuing include: ribs (beef and pork), pork shoulder and butt, pork loin, beef brisket, mutton, and whole chickens.

While the primitive man does like to barbecue, it will never be the same as grilling over an open fire.