Grilling vs. Barbecuing vs. Smoking: Learn the Key Differences

Grilling is a method of cooking food on a metal grate directly over an open flame—a gas flame, or hot coals or firewood—which involves heat transfer via radiation. The high heat involved in grilling allows for very rapid browning, so it’s best for foods that don’t need prolonged cooking.

Since grilling involves high temperatures, it’s best for thin cuts of meat and tender vegetables. Cuts of beef like New York strip steak, bone-in ribeye, hanger steak, skirt steak, or flank steak are perfect for grilling, as are cuts of chicken like chicken breasts, chicken thighs, chicken wings, or chicken drumsticks. You can also grill hot dogs and hamburgers.

Barbecuing is a method of slowly cooking meat over indirect heat. The key to barbecuing is low heat and slow cooking time—BBQ temperatures typically fall between 190 and 275 degrees Fahrenheit, meaning a piece of meat will take a few hours to cook properly. You can barbecue on a wood-fired grill, gas grill, or charcoal grill.

You can barbecue any type of meat, but barbecuing is ideal for large, tough, fatty cuts of meat since the slow cook times enhance tenderness. Pork ribs, pork butt, and pork shoulder are some of the best barbecue options. Beef brisket is another prime candidate for barbecue. Marbling in meat means fat is distributed through the muscle, which is exactly what you want for barbecue. A well-barbecued piece of meat is juicy, tender, and falls easily off the bone.

Smoking is the process of exposing food to smoke to preserve, brown, and add flavor. Smoking is accomplished by hanging meat or placing it on racks inside a chamber that traps smoke created by a hardwood fire, which provides low, indirect heat. Different types of wood chips or chunks—hickory, mesquite, oak, maple, and apple are common favorites—create a unique aromatic wood smoke that infuses the meat with a specific flavor.

Since smoking is a slow cooking method like barbecuing, it’s ideal for tougher cuts of meat with lots of fat and connective tissue in the form of collagen, such as beef brisket. The fat keeps the meat from drying out during the long smoking process, while the collagen melts into tender gelatin. Other good choices include pork butt and pork shoulder, fatty pork ribs, and beef spare ribs. Stay away from tender cuts, which will dry out with prolonged cooking.

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