• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 946 0

firebox, and an elevated fire grate to allow oxygen to flow beneath the coals. Most hibachis are charcoal fired, but some modern versions are gas fired or electric. The cooking space is usually limited to 100 to 200 square inches, so hibachis are best for vegetables, burgers, kebabs, steaks, and boneless chicken parts over direct heat. They provide inexpensive ($20 to $75), portable, tabletop grilling for decks, patios, and balconies. You can buy or rent very large versions, known as table grills. These oversized hibachis rest on tall legs that elevate the firebox to roughly counter height and provide plenty of grill space for cooking dozens of burgers or steaks at once. Some models also come with a rotisserie setup for whole birds and roasts. You’ll see table grills most often at outdoor festivals where big quantities of quickly grilled foods are served.

04. Fire Bowl

A modern cross between a campfire ring (a circular enclosure for a fire) and a hibachi, a fire bowl is designed for enjoying a contained wood fire as well as cooking over it. It consists of a large, shallow metal bowl (usually cast iron or copper) about 20 to 40 inches in diameter, with short legs to prop the bowl off the ground. Cooking grates often cover only half of the bowl so that the fire can easily be refueled from one side and hot coals can be raked to the other side for cooking. Like hibachis, fire bowls are best for quick grilling on decks and patios, but they are not as portable and cost a bit more.

05. Kettle Grill

This bowl-shaped grill has become the icon of charcoal grilling in America. The Weber-Stephen Products Company, which originated the design, also trademarked it, but several other manufacturers make similar grills. The kettle grill has one key advantage over hibachis and fire bowls: its lid. Without the lid, a kettle grill functions much like a tall fire bowl or like a large, round hibachi with added cooking space (the high sides of the deep bowl shape also help to protect the coals from wind). But with the domed lid in place, a kettle grill can function more like an oven than a grill. Put on the lid and you can contain the heat in an enclosed environment so that it surrounds the food rather than just coming up from the bottom. And if you put the hot coals on one side of the firebox and the food on the other (known as indirect grilling), you can “grill-roast” whole birds and large cuts of meat so that they cook through to the center and brown beautifully on the surface without burning.

Most kettle grills don’t have adjustable-height grill grates, so heat is controlled by the thickness of your coal bed, the air vents on the bottom of the firebox (or fire bowl, really), and the air vents in the lid. Again, the lid is key because it allows you to position the lid’s air vents on the opposite side of the fire bowl’s air vents so that heat and smoke are drawn up from the bottom, across the food, and then out the lid on the opposite side. It also permits you to add pieces of wood to the hot coals in a kettle grill, increasing the smoke and transforming the grill into something closer to a smoker (see page 16). For the money, a charcoal kettle grill remains one of the most versatile outdoor cookers available today. Some models are also available with a “gas-assist” feature that quickly ignites the charcoal with a burst of gas but uses the coals for cooking the food. The cooking area ranges from 14 to 24 inches in diameter, with prices ranging from $50 to $350.

06. Barbecook Grill

This stainless-steel charcoal grill looks like a shiny kettle grill on a pedestal. It has many of the same features as a kettle grill, with the advantage of a built-in chimney starter (see page 27) to quickly light the coals with newspaper. It’s among the most popular charcoal grills in Europe and costs anywhere from $200 to $800.

07. Ceramic Grill-Oven

Modern ceramic grills are modeled on two ancient designs: the Indian tandoor and the Japanese kamado. These are both charcoal-fired clay ovens, but the bell-shaped tandoor is open at the top, while