Posted by Robb Spring on August 30, 2003 at 13:06:51:
In Reply to: Choosing a charcoal grill posted by Bob on August 30, 2003 at 07:13:07:
If you want a good charcoal grill, you want one of the following:
Either a premium kettle (Weber is the standard), or, you want
a premium grill with an adjustable rack.
The advantage of the kettle, is this: With the lid on, the heat
is supposed to swirl around inside, helping the cooking process.
(somewhat oven like). This helps if you plan to cook ribs in the
kettle. The disadvantage, is that you can not adjust the height of the rack above the heat source (coals).
If you get a square or rectangular shaped grill, with an adjustable rack, you can raise and lower the food closer or further away from the heat source. The disadvantage to this style, is that if the unit has a lid, you dont get the swirling air movement. This makes this an inferior grill to cook ribs and other bbq-ish foods on.
Technically, the better grill is the adjustable rack unit.
True grilling is done over open heat source, with the cooking being controlled by the intensity of the heat. Intensity of the heat is determined by the fuel source (amount of coals), and distance to the food. It is difficult to control the fuel heat, but easy to control the distance to the heat with an adjustable rack. True grilling is done uncovered. If you cover the grill, you start to cook using a heat source other then radiant heat. (like an indoors oven, cooks)
I own a Weber kettle. I own this because it is a 50-75ish dollar grill that will do the general homeowners grilling, and the unit will last 20 years with exposure to the elements. I would prefer to own a similar quality grill with an adjustable rack, but that probably would cost several times as much.
If you want to be serious about grilling, start off with the correct equipment. An inexpensive heavy duty grill, with an adjustable rack, is listed on the following link. However, it is not the best choice. (but only 100 dollars)
Source:
CPE-65-26-36-167.kc.rr.com
65.26.36.167
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