This is the most important question we will ask. Did you even know there was a difference? We've probably all grilled food and almost everyone loves the taste of a grilled steak. Even hamburgers and hot dogs taste better when cooked on a barbecue grill. But that's not what this is all about. So you ask, "What's the difference?
If you are cooking over a medium to high heat, or if the entire cooking process takes less than 2 hours, then your are grilling.
If on the other hand, you are using indirect heat, a temperature at no higher than 225 degrees, and the cooking process lasts for at least 4 hours, then you are barbecuing.
The rule is: Barbecue - low and slow. Grilling - high and fast.
If you've never tried "real" barbecuing then you're in for a treat. Hopefully, by the time you've finished here you'll have enough knowledge and the desire to try a real barbecue on your own. Maybe you'll even be willing to come back and share some of your recipes with us.
First, a short history lesson. Just what are charcoal briquettes? Well, the idea for briquettes originated with Henry Ford. Being the frugal (re: stingy) man that he was, he was looking for a way to use the scrap lumber leftover from the manufacture of his Model-T frames. Briquettes are essentially scrap lumber and sawdust. After the two are burned to carbonize them, manufactures add coal dust, starch, sodium nitrate, lime, petroleum (for quicker starting) and just about anything else they want. They then compress this mixture into the familiar briquette shape.
Do you really want all those chemicals on your food? Not me! What's the alternative then? Hardwood lump (sometimes called chunk) charcoal. This is product that contains nothing but burnt hardwood. It doesn't look as pretty as a briquette because you are getting pieces of branches, trunks, etc. But boy does it do a great job. It cooks twice as hot as briquettes, meaning you use only half as much. And no chemicals or manufactured taste. Just the real flavor of hardwood charcoal. I most highly recommend "Nature's Own" made from hardwood maple.
There are many good barbecue pits on the market. If you've been with us from the beginning, remember, we are talking barbecuing not grilling. There is no way you will be able to barbecue on a conventional gas grill purchased at you local K-Mart or Wal-Mart. What you need is something with an offset fire pit. The first time you see one you will recognize it. It has what looks like a smaller box (or barrel) built off to one side in which the fire is maintained. The smoke and heat from that fire box will then circulate around your cooking area.
But you say, "I thought that all the smoke and flavor came from the fat dripping on the fire." Au contraire, mon ami. That's the last thing you (or least I) want! What you would be getting is the flavor of burnt grease all over your meat. If fact, on my grill I even go so far as to completely cover the second rack down with aluminum foil pans to catch all that grease. Not only does it make cleanup a lot easier, but then I only get the flavor of the charcoal and wood chunks that I use.
There are only two books you have to put on your "must have" list. They are:
"The Thrill of the Grill - Techniques, Recipes & Down-Home Barbecue" by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby. Hardcover, 380 pages and absolutely mouth-watering, diet-busting color photographs, published by William Morrow and Company, Inc. Now I know that despite all I've said, you're gonna two-time me and slip around behind my back and grill instead of barbecue when you think I'm not looking. Well, this book also has some of the best grilling recipes to be found anywhere. Just don't make it a habit - remember real barbecuing is an art. Anyone can grill.
The next book you "need" is "Smoke & Spice - Cooking with Smoke, the Real Way to Barbecue, on Your Charcoal Grill, Water Smoker or Wood-Burning Pit" by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison with a foreword by that same Chris Schlesinger above. Softcover, 398 pages, published by The Harvard Common Press.
That's it! There are a lot of other good barbecuing books out there (and I have some) but these are the only two that really are "must have" for the serious barbecuer.
What are rubs? You've probably used them ever since you started cooking and just didn't realize they were called rubs. A rub is the name applied to a dry mixture of herbs and spices which are applied directly to the meat. They are supposed to be rubbed into the meat after application, hence the name rub.
Rubs can be any mixture you prefer although there are some standard ingredients such as salt and pepper (which you can leave out - remember we're talking about the ART, not exact science, of barbecuing.)
Rubs are used to enhance the finished flavor of meat, not tenderize as a marinade. Used properly, they will have all your friends asking for your secret. Trust me, the difference between ribs cooked with a rub and those cooked without is the same difference as between night and day.