Barbecue Grill is an equipment that is used for cooking food by putting the equipment directly onto the heat. The most common barbecue grills available in the market are either charcoal or gas-fueled. The method is called as barbecuing, a persistent practice or custom in most of the world.
 
History
 
The method of grilling is prevalent from the pre-colonial times to grill meat, on the wooden structure. Many designs and varieties came in since then with “Sputnik” being the first one, made by George Stephen. The grill was called by the name “Sputnik” jokingly; however, it was made into a hemispherical design with three legs and a lid. Then came the outdoor gas grills, invented during the 1960’s by Melton Lancaster, and William G Wepker while they were working for the Arkansas Louisiana Gas Company.
 
Types of Barbecue Grills and Uses
 
1. Gas Grills:
Features-Gas grills uses Natural Gas or Propane for the purpose of cooking. They come in a variety of sizes ranging from the smaller sizes for the families and homes to the industrial sized restaurant grills which grills meat or vegetables for upto 100 people at a time. These are made specifically for Propane or Natural gas and can also be converted to a different gas source anytime.
Design- The gas grills are mostly designed in a cart style with fuel tank at the bottom of it. It most of the times has wheels, which makes it portable. They also come in designs with side tables, knife and spoon holder.
Types of gas grills:
Infrared Gas Grills: It consists of infrared radiant burner which is majorly put to provide equal amount of heat to the meat from all sides. It consists of a metal skewer that holds the chicken or meat cuts and is rotated with the help of an electric motor. It also has a small round metal basket that is used for the smaller cuts and is put on the metal skewer for grilling.
Flattop Grill: These grills have a griddle like surface, used for cooking food. Here, food is not cooked directly onto the flame, instead on a griddle like surface.
Brazilian Rodizio: This is a grill specifically designed and made to grill the famous Brazillian rodizio. This grill goes well with the radiant burners that cook meat in rotating spits.
2. Infrared Grills:
Infrared Grills cook meat and food by emitting the infrared rays and heating the ceramic tile. The infrared grill is heated with the help of natural gas and propane. Infrared grills emit equal amount of heat and the food is cooked evenly. The advantages of using the infrared grills are that it takes lesser time pre-heating and does not even dry the food. Food cooked on infrared grills tastes juicer and tastier. Along with this, some of the other advantages of using the infrared grills are that they ignite instantly, have an evenly distributed heat source and better heat control.
3. Charcoal Grills:
The source of heat for the charcoal grills are the charcoal briquettes, which when burned become embers radiating the heat required to cook meat and vegetables. These come in a variety of shapes and sizes, mostly commonly square in size, circular, rectangular with our without lids. Following are the categories of the charcoal grills:

1. Pellet Grill: These grills are heated by the hardwood pellets that are compressed with vegetable oil at approximately 10000 psi. These pellets are put into the grill with the help of electric powdered auger into the fire box that is located at the bottom of the grill. The electric powdered auger is regulated by the thermostat. The pellets turn into coal when they are burnt. Generally, they come in a drum shape with square box attached towards the side of it or below the drum. Some of the benefits of using a pellet grill is that it can smoke upto 500 degree or 260 centigrade, which helps in searing the meat well.
2. Brazier: Brazier is the simplest of all grills available in the market, which is made of steel wires and is held by four legs that are attached to the pan carrying the charcoal. The grid is placed over the charcoal pan. This grill has remained a very popular grill for a very long time and is now readily available in the markets at discounted rates.
3. Square Charcoal Grill: This kind of a grill is an amalgam or a fusion of the kettle grill and brazier. It has a lid like that of a kettle and a shallow pan more like a brazier. They have four legs with two wheels at the back to ensure it is easily titled while the food is being cooked. There are square charcoal grills priced at a higher rate with additional features including shelves and baskets attached to it towards its sides.
4. Hibachi (Shichirin): These grills are smaller in size and are used more like heating devices, made of iron and aluminium. They often look like shichirin, a Japanese cooking device. These devices are popular due to their portability. It is inexpensive when compared to other grills. It is made of cast iron and sheet steel with cooking grids and a charcoal pan.
5. Kettle: This kettle grill has taken its design from the Weber kettle grill, invented by George Stephen in 1951. It has gained immense popularity amongst consumers due to its small size and easy to carry feature. This comes with a lid, venting system, charcoal grid, cooking grid, legs , and lower chamber.
6. Cart: This is rectangular in shape and is usually much smaller than the gas grills. It comes with a charcoal grid, cooking grid, and has a hinged lid. Another good feature of cart grill is that it has a drawer that collects the ash of the food that is being cooked. The drawer comes out easily for easy cleaning.
7. Barrel:  Barrel grill is made by slicing a huge barrel into two, lengthwise. The bottom half of the barrel consists of chamber for charcoal and the top is used for the lid. For airflow control, the vents are cut horizontally and vertically. The lid also has a chimney attached to it.

Hybrid Grills:  These grills are a bigger version for smaller gas grills. These are majorly used outdoors with the propane, charcoal or Natural gas as its heat source.
 
Buying tips for Grill
 
Fuel: Natural gas or propane are the two fuels used majorly for grills. The grill must be bought keeping in mind the gas to be used, and the price attached to it.
Price: Gas grills are available in a huge range with the price ranging between $150 and $300 at various stores. They are also available readily on the discounted stores.
Material: This is an important factor in choosing the grill as grills are made of aluminum, cast iron, sheet metal and stainless steel. Consumers prefer to buy stainless steel, however, it should be made sure while choosing a grill that the entire body and frame is made of steel to prevent it from rusting.
Size:  Grill must be chosen depending upon the requirements if it’s for a family, outdoor grilling, or a restaurant grilling.
 
Maintenance of Grills:
 
To keep the grill always clean, it is recommended to oil it before putting any food item on it. This would help the food to come out easily without sticking on to it.
A wire brush is used with soapy water to clean the grill twice a week before and after the cooking is done.