You mean there's a difference?

You bet!  Although most American's don't understand the differences, and even when they do they tend to use these two terms interchangeably.   But to aficionados the differences are night and day.  In other areas in the kitchen we will dig a little into the different styles of outdoor cooking.  At least those styles practiced here in America.

Basically the differences between barbecue and grilling can be summarized in the following fashion:

• grilling involves cooking over intense heat (500° or more) for short (an hour or less) periods of time
• barbecuing means cooking over low heat (225° or less), with smoke, and for long periods of time

To be sure these are over simplifications because recipes abound that represent far flung variations on these themes.  Nevertheless, the principles above serve as the best differentiation between grilling and barbecuing.

But the bottom line is...who cares?  Both styles of cooking can deliver spectacular results, and in Big Daddy's kitchen that really is the bottom line!

To learn more about both barbecuing and grilling use the links on this page to find information (and opinion) on cooking style, technique, equipment and, of course, great recipes.