QandAs: Food

What is Hybrid Grilling?

Answer:
All of the common sources of heat for grills

(gas, charcoal, wood chips, indirect smoking) have their advantages and disadvantages. Hybrid grilling allows outdoor barbecuers to use the same grill for different types of heat, or even a combination of two sources such as gas and charcoal.

Gas-powered outdoor grills may provide controlled heat and instant ignition, but they don't always provide extra flavor to the grilled food. Charcoal bricquets may impart a more authentic barbecue flavor, but can take a long time to ignite and be hard to control. Wood chips provide smoke and flavor, but they aren't appropriate for all grilled foods. This is where hybrid grilling becomes an advantage. Special hybrid grills have different drawers beneath the grill area which can be filled with various heat sources. For example, one drawer could be filled with charcoal while another holds special heating stones for a gas burner. The gas burner could provide a constant heat source for the charcoal, which would help the charcoal reach the ready stage much faster. The charcoal could then be used as the only heat source for grilling, or the gas and charcoal might heat different halves of the grill at the same time.

The same process could be followed using wood chips or soaked smoking chips. Hybrid grilling eliminates the need to use different grills and heat sources for different foods. A steak could be grilled over hot charcoal while a pork roast is slow cooked in a covered smoker or vegetables are grilled over a gas burner. Different configurations of hybrid grills determine which heat sources can be used simultaneously or at least alternatively. Hybrid grilling is an ideal solution for those outdoor barbecuers with different heating preferences for different foods, or those who prefer to grill all year round but may not be able to find their preferred heat sources during off-seasons. If the weather is too wet for charcoal, for example, a gas burner on the same hybrid grill could still be used as a covered smoker with the addition of wood chips.


	more Q&A sessions like this
	What is Direct Heat? Is my propane grill dangerous? What temperature should I grill fish at? What temperature should I grill hamburgers at? What temperature should I grill chicken at? What foods are good to grill with Apple Wood? What foods are good to grill with Hickory Wood? What foods are good to grill with Mesquite Wood? What does it Mean to Sear Meat? What temperature should I grill steaks at?