Summer is in the atmosphere , and so is the smell of heart being make outside . Though they ’re sometimes used interchangeably , grillingandbarbecuingdescribe trenchant methods of cooking with fire . Before attending your next backyard cookout , make certain you acquire the departure between the terms .

What is grilling?

When the great unwashed talk aboutbarbecuingburgers and hot frankfurter , theyreally mean grilling . This category loosely applies to any solid food cooked over the flame of a grillroom , whether it ’s petrol or charcoal . This method is well suited to food that can deal high heat , like beef , shrimp , chicken , vegetable , and tofu . Even if you prepare your dinner over collateral rut , it ’s still technically grill if you ’re outdoors and the ingredient cook in a moderately short window of fourth dimension .

What is barbecue?

If you bear on to charring spicy dogs on the grill asbarbecuein front of pitmaster , prepare to get some dirty looks . Barbecuerefers to a specialized culinary technique that involve preparation meat over low heat ( 225 ° F to 275 ° atomic number 9 ) for long periods of time . Long in this cause can meanup to 24 hour , but a few hours is usually the lower limit . In that timeframe , the gentle heat breaks down tough connective tissues , result in meat that literally falls off the pearl . That ’s why barbecue is usually reserved for tougher cut of sum like rib , pork barrel shoulder , and brisket .

rather of roasting over an unresolved flame , barbecue is often cooked slowly viawood smoke . This results in the hallmark smoky flavor that ’s associated with the cuisine . Home cook   without a pit in their backyard may choose to ready costa in a smoker , but that ’s not the only way to prepare barbeque at household . you may barbecuetough meat on the grillby moving it away from the flames to where the temperature is lower and closing the lid to trap hotness and smoke inside .

If you still ca n’t tell whether theFourth of Julybarbecue you ’re invited to is do real barbecue , use this rule of quarter round : If a bill of fare item was cooked for at least a couplet hours , it ’s authentic barbecue . Any less and it was likely grill — or at least that ’s the stipulation for American - style barbeque . Korean barbecueplays by unlike rule .

Don’t call this “barbecuing” in front of a pitmaster.