10 Different Types of Grills
Most people enjoy grilling because of how quickly and easily it cooks and the distinct taste it imparts to meals.
Grilling is a cooking method in which food is grilled over an open flame that is placed directly beneath the meal being grilled.
Even if you’re an expert griller, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the different types of grills before making a purchase.
Different Types of Grills
Below is a list of the different types of grills.
1. Charcoal Grills
When you think of barbecue grills, the first thing that comes to mind is a charcoal grill. Charcoal Briquettes and a starter-like lighter fluid are the most common fire methods.
The smoky taste imparted by charcoal grills is the primary reason for their widespread popularity.
Due to the tremendous heat, they may be used as old-school improvised smokers.
Charcoal grills present a problem because of their large amount of fuel.
The rapid depletion of charcoal is a common complaint among those who frequently host lengthy cookouts.
Therefore, you should always have additional charcoal at hand. As you get better at grilling, you’ll discover techniques that will allow you to cook more effectively and reduce the amount of fuel you need.
2. Komado Grills
Kamado grills are one of the different types of grills that have seen a huge increase in popularity over the past decade.
A kamado grill is a more advanced form of charcoal grill. It’s also known as an egg grill or a ceramic smoker.
While it works in the same way as a kettle grill, it has an egg-like form instead of being lengthy. Due to the thicker ceramic material, kamado grills tend to be heavier than kettle grills.
Considering its ability to maintain high temperatures even under adverse conditions, ceramic is an excellent material for year-round barbecue primary grills.
Depending on the size, these grills may weigh anywhere from 150 to 500 pounds.
The airflow and temperature controls work similarly to kettle grills, except that small modifications in a kamado grill can result in large temperature variations.
This is because of its engineered design and thermal mass. A heavy-duty, spring-loaded hinge is used to hold in place a grill’s lid because of the grill’s weight and thickness.
Compared to commercially produced charcoal briquettes, the kamado grill’s heat source is hardwood lump charcoal.
This hardwood lump charcoal is favored by many because of its distinctive flavor.
The kamado grill will pre-heat for around 45 minutes after the coals are in place and you’re ready to cook.
3. Pellet Grills
In recent years, pellet grills have become an increasingly popular outdoor grill.
It is also known as pellet smokers. Pellet grills both utilize compressed food-grade wood pellets as their fuel.
An electric starter and control panel regulate the temperature on pellet grills, which use wood fire to provide the heat and smoke needed to cook and flavor food.
An auger distributes pellets into a fire pot, where they are heated by passing them through a pellet hopper chamber. A fan system distributes heat and smoke across the grill.
It takes a little longer for a pellet grill to heat up than a gas grill, but it is faster than a charcoal grill.
Depending on your preference, they may be used for direct grilling, smoking, or even as an outdoor oven.
4. Propane Grills
Gas grills that use propane are more efficient than those that use natural gas because propane holds more energy.
They guarantee a more efficient grilling and barbecuing procedure by giving significant power and heating up rapidly.
It’s not only that they have different cooking techniques, including indirect heating and multi-zone cooking, but they’re also simple to use.
The grill will begin to heat up as soon as you flip the dial. While propane gas is more expensive than natural gas, you don’t have to worry about a lack of supply.
Compared to charcoal grills, propane grills are easier to clean.
5. Hibachi-style Tabletop Barbecue Grills
The Japanese word “hibachi,” which translates to “fire bowl,” refers to a tiny, portable grill with a cooking grate above a pan holding charcoal.
One may control the cooking temperature by simply adjusting the cooking grate.
Compared to other types of grills, this type can sear meat faster since the charcoal is near the cooking grate.
Beef teriyaki, skewers, sates, and other thinly sliced or tiny pieces of meat can be cooked on a hibachi.
Since Hibachi grills don’t have a cover, they’re not ideal for indirect heat cooking, which requires a different type of grill.
6. Natural Gas Grills
Natural gas is one of the fantastic different types of grills. They are the same as propane grills, with a few exceptions.
Their major benefit over propane grills is their use of natural gas, but they also offer several other advantages.
The amount of labor required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit is measured in British Thermal Units (BTUs).
BTUs might be wasted when tanks are cold in the winter. The decrease in BTUs causes the propane to change from a liquid state to a gaseous one, which is not a concern with natural gas grills.
On the other hand, natural gas grills use a lot less fuel. Natural gas grills may be used for lengthy cookouts without refueling.
This isn’t the case for propane and charcoal grills because they must be replaced when fuel runs out.
However, the biggest drawback of a natural gas grill is that once you’ve installed it, it won’t move.
That’s because a professional grill installer will put in a hardwired connection.
While natural gas grills are easy to light and economical to fuel, many people value portability above all else.
7. Portable Barbecue Grills
Portable Barbeque grills are powered by either tiny propane tanks or electricity and may be taken with you on camping trips.
This is one of the different types of grills, popular for picnics at the park, camping, and even high-rise residences because of its portability and convenience.
If you want to take your grill camping, tailgating, or to a picnic, you’ll want to look for a model that’s both lightweight and durable.
Since most portable gas grills utilize just one-gallon tanks, experts recommend obtaining a propane adaptor hose that allows you to connect to a 20-gallon tank instead of the standard 1-gallon tanks.
8. Infrared Grills
Infrared grills have been in existence since the 1980s despite their futuristic-sounding appearance. It uses radiant heat instead of hot rising air to cook food.
Infrared grills avoid flare-ups and cook food fast, thoroughly, and evenly, taking less time to heat up.
Some infrared grills have infrared burners, while others have electric burners.
However, big cuts of meat benefit greatly from the infrared heat but are unsuitable for grilling vegetables or fish.
Infrared grills are ideal for short-term, high-temperature cooking of foods such as steaks and burgers.
Additionally, these grills eliminate the need to deal with charcoal or wood chips, and cleaning them is very easy.
9. Dual-fuel or Hybrid Barbecue Grills
It looks like a gas grill but with the extra feature of charcoal smokiness, which you enjoy.
Grilling with only charcoal is no longer an issue, thanks to these different types of grills.
As a result of the gas starter in these grills, you no longer have to deal with the uncertainty of trying to light and maintain charcoal briquettes.
There’s no need to lose the smoky charcoal aroma with these grills, which makes grilling easy.
It’s not a surprise that these barbecues are more costly than any other different types of grills out there.
If you use a gas grill, you’ll still have to deal with the terrible clean-up from charcoal-only grills. It is also necessary to keep track of both charcoal and gas.
10. Kettle Style Grills
Charcoal kettle grills are one of the most popular and easy-to-use different types of grills.
They have a kettle-like form with a rounded bottom, a stand, grill grates, and a tight, detachable lid.
A tiny grate sits on top of the charcoal at the bottom of the grill, allowing ash and other cooking residues to slide away while still heating the fuel, allowing for enough airflow.
To top it all off, a kettle grill takes up minimal counter space, and some models are built to last for years and even decades.
They’re flexible, with a two-zone system that lets you choose between hot and quick and low and slow sessions to better control the temperature in different situations.
They’re also composed of metal, making them easy to transport and clean. They are available in a range of sizes and use less charcoal than traditional charcoal grills.
