What Is Outdoor Grilling?

Grilling outdoors has been around longer than recorded history and will probably be practiced until the end of man. There’s nothing quite like grilling a nice juicy steak in the great outdoors and then getting to enjoy it in the peace and quiet of nature.

Grilling is a great way to cook just about any type of food. It imparts its own unique flavor on your food based on the type of fuel used for your grill in addition to any other seasonings on it. Grilling is also very simple to learn and execute but not necessarily easy. Food is often ruined by the inexperienced beginner. It can be quite easy to burn your first few cuts of meat on your first grilling experience.

Even though both grilling and barbecuing can be done on an outdoor grill you should understand that they are not the same thing. Indirect slow cooking with a lengthy exposure to low heat is what barbecuing is. Temperatures in the range of 180°F to 300°F are usually used to barbecue something. Grilling on the other hand uses temperatures in the range of 500°F.

If you want the dictionary-ish definition, outdoor grilling is a form of cooking that uses radiant heat (i.e. a flame) to cook food. The heat can be from below (most grills) or above (broiling). If the heat is applied evenly over both sides than it is known as roasting. Heat is transferred to the food by a process known as thermal radiation.

Most people love the distinct enjoyable aroma that grilling outdoors emanates. That aroma is actually produced by a process called the Maillard reaction which is a chemical reaction between amino acids and sugar. Hundreds of different flavor possibilities are created in the reaction and they tend to break down to form even more flavor compounds, repeating the process over and over. All food has individuals sets of flavor possibilities which are formed when the Maillard reaction occurs. That reaction is what turns your meat brown after you grill it.

Grilling is a part of American culture for most families but it a largely male tradition that is passed on from generation to generation. Many American men feel that they have to be a grill master or they are not really men. Something about cooking outdoors over an open flame seems to fire up machismo and brings out man’s competitive spirit, even while wearing an apron and saying less than manly things like, “Baby, where are my tongs!” Of course women can grill just fine as well and many do. Indeed the pinnacle of suburban life has become the outdoor portable gas grill.

Tagged as: barbecue, barbecuing, grilling, grilling in the outdoors, grilling outdoors, grills, Maillard reaction, Outdoor Grilling

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