The Great Debate: BBQ vs Grilling

[Steve B]

I was talking with a friend of mine yesterday and they mentioned that they BBQ every Sunday. So I asked him what he usually cooks. Steaks, burgers and chicken was his answer.
Well this got me thinking, what exactly is BBQ’ing versus Grilling.
To me grilling is exactly what my friend does. This is not BBQ. Grilling is a relatively hot and fast process that takes only several minutes and up to about an hour to cook. The up to an hour would pertain to things like chicken.
BBQ to me is generally a low and slow cooking process that results in, if it comes out right 😁, tender moist meat that takes hours to make and has that signature smoky flavor that only low and slow can produce.

So, my question to ya’ll is what is BBQ to you and what do you consider grilling?

And does it annoy you when people say they’re BBQ’ing when all they are doing is nothing more than throwing a couple of burgers and dogs on the grill?

What’s y’all think?

[Henrik]

I agree with you on the "definition", but do I get annoyed, or even correct people? Absolutely not. I mean - they cook outside, what's not to like about that?

[HawkerXP]

Yes, I hear this as well. or Smoking. I get that too, "what are you smoking for dinner tonight?" Ah, burgers??

[Mosca]

It’s all fine to me. Language is fluid, it evolves, it changes, its only goal is to convey meaning. The term “BBQ” is in the middle of transition right now. It started to expand in meaning, to include grilling. Now it’s contracting back to its original meaning, as low and slow is spreading throughout the world and people need a way to differentiate between the two methods. It very well might evolve into a cover term, encompassing smoking and grilling, but who knows? Purists tend to fight pretty stubbornly against change!

[Finster]

I agree with your definition, but I'm not gonna get my knickers in knot over it.
Tomato / Tomahto 🤷♂️

[realdocBBQ]

I think it's regional and not a big deal. But some people MAKE a big deal about it. Honestly (and this may sound harsh), I think it's very similar to the pellet smoker/grill haters, to the chili w/ w/o beans debates or whatever.

I think of long, low and slow as smoking, mostly, and barbecue as those slow-smoked meats, but... are sausage links barbecue? Like, they're not always smoked very long, sometimes only grilled. I think "Having a BBQ" is probably more like grilling - because no one is going to sit and hang out for 5-15 hours while I drink beer and tend a fire. "Having a BBQ" is more like the act of having people over to sit, eat, have drinks, visit, etc. Doesn't really matter what you're eating, though mostly lots of us like something that is cooked outdoors. If I make smashburgers for everyone, I might still think of it as "having a BBQ", even though I only spent 12 minutes cooking 20 smashers - but I spent probably an hour or more getting things ready.

So for me:

"Having a BBQ" = eating outdoors with friends, most times (but not always) with at least some foods cooked outdoors. Very loose definition.

"BBQ meats" = usually low and slow cooked

"Grilled meats" = yeah, usually dogs and burgers, maybe chikkin, though this can be slow smoked, too, obviously.



When I hear (or see, online) people denigrating someone else's experience, style or method, such as "That ain't smoking, that's just an easy bake oven," I usually pretty well discount anything else they have to say, because I get the impression they're not really the kind of person I typically associate with. Someone who talks down to others over something silly like that, OR someone who vastly overinflates their own superiority because of something stupid - like what kind of grill/smoker/cooker they use. It's not 100%, of course, and sometimes we all just rib each other good-naturedly and laugh about it. But when it's a true, core deep, heartfelt opinion and bias, I typically dissociate myself from 'those folks' - which I also understand is just yet ANOTHER form of tribalism. lol But hey, we're all humans. <edit> I should add, I see this a LOT on BBQ/smoking groups on Facebook. Idiots on a lot of those, it's almost as bad as welding groups.

[Steve B]

Good point about the “having a bbq” as a term used for friends and family gatherings.

[jfmorris]

I'm pretty much in the same camp as the Doc here. I consider BBQ to be low and slow, Grilling to be hot and fast, but folks around here - mostly ones not from the south - will throw out "having a BBQ" to mean hotdogs and hamburgers, and I'm not going to correct them.

[Sweaty Paul]

I concur with realdocBBQ about above all of the above. Also, having lived in the south and rural areas sometimes folks will say "I'm cooking a steak, burger, chicken, etc on "The BBQ" and I know what they mean (as we all do). Personally I'm glad folks are cooking at the house and enjoying that adventure too!

[dpearce]

I'm with you. Your friend is grilling. If someone invites me to a "BBQ", there better be some smoked meats involved, otherwise, I was invited to a "cookout".

I don't get annoyed when people mix up the terms, but it does set my expectations when people use the terms (IMHO) interchangeably, and when it's not as expected, well... I eat anyway. And make a mental note for next time.

Edit: So if I'm using my Blackstone, is that "grilling" or "griddling"?

[mrteddyprincess]

I have a Santa Maria add on I can put on my PK360, and I build hickory split fires and let them turn into hot coals. When I cook meat and veggies on that I would say I'm grilling. But remove the attachment and smoke chicken with charcoal and wood chunks indirectly for and hour, finish the chicken off over the coals, sauce it, let it set--I call that BBQ chicken, even though there is some grilling involved. I like the idea of BBQ and grilling being terms that can be intertwined.

[Steve B]

I like your thought process. You blend it well.

[Sid P]

I guess I’m guilty, and always will be. Here in the Midwest we call all outside cooking “barbecuing”, and I was hearing and using that for 35 years before I even learned about low and slow BBQ.

At this point it would be a very difficult habit to break, and I’m not going to try. Either you’ll get over or you won’t 😉. Peace.

[realdocBBQ]

This.

[dpearce]

Same here. If get an invite, I just ask what's on the menu. That pretty much tells you how they're cooking!

[TripleB]

I live in So. Cal. So BBQ is the term used 99% of the time to describe grilling. If the they’re going to smoke with wood, they’ll say ‘smoking’.

[Dan Deter]

I do remember when my aunt moved down to NC from Detroit back in the 90's, and left me a message inviting me over "to have a bbq", I had to explain to her that in NC to most people BBQ is a noun with a specific meaning and what she meant was grilling. Definition has expanded around here a bit over the years, but to most NC natives BBQ still means low and slow pork.

[klflowers]

If the food is good, I don't really care. Last week my son had some of his friends over and they grilled some wings, burgers, dogs and interestingly enough, some pork chops. He told me they wanted to BBQ. I said fine, just don't set the house on fire. I didn't say son, thats grilling. I should have taken pics. They had the kettle and Bronco running - we used a grate and the smaller coal basket from my wsm convert the Bronco into a grill. They did a really good job.

I grew up in Detroit, and we called everything BBQ. From burgers to wibs. When we did whole hogs (I have cousins in Memphis that are whole hog artists), we called it BBQ. I personally call low and slow smoking, and everything, including low and slow, falls under BBQ.

[JCBBQ]

“Come on over, we’re having a barbecue” or “throw another shrimp on the barbie” are just a couple examples where bbq just means cooking outside with live fire- gas, charcoal or wood. I know to barbecue has a very specific meaning in certain regions but the vast majority of English speakers just mean cooking outside. My 2 cents.

And, since I’m “bilingual” & linguistically flexible I use it both ways. Boom! Take that purists!

[Steve B]

😂😂😂

[fzxdoc]

Bilingual: as in being fluent in smoking and also in BBQ?

K.

[JCBBQ]

fzxdoc Bingo! 🎯🎯🎯😆🤣😆🤣

[Murdy]

My Grandmother would call anything with bbq sauce on it, barbecue, i.e., ribs cooked in the oven with in a roaster with bbq sauce added at the end were barbecued ribs.

Where I grew up in northern Wisconsin, they used barbecue to refer to a sloppy joe, just to add another layer of confusion.

[Dan Deter]

Now that is just wrong.

[EBatson]

These terms are largely regional, it seems, and I won't put anyone down for using different terms than I do, though it does sometimes create some confusion. I certainly had to adjust quite a bit when I moved to KY as a young adult. A local church invited some of us poor students to a barbecue and I was surprised to see hotdogs and hamburgers.

I grew up in South Carolina, so these definitions are what I grew up with:

Barbecue as a noun = pulled pork, period.

Barbecue as an adjective = something that has been cooked slowly over coals, wood, etc., For instance: Barbecue brisket, barbecue chicken, barbecue lamb, barbecue mutton, barbecue ribs, etc. Though over time, I don't need to add the word barbecue to brisket or ribs for people to know I'm barbecuing them.

Also, barbecue sauce = sauce used in the barbecuing process, either basting or serving. Something served with sauce doesn't make it barbecue.

Barbecue as a verb = Cook slowly with coals, wood, etc.

Barbecue as an event = "Come to my house for barbecue" means they're going to get pulled pork, slaw and potato salad, and, if they're lucky some Low Country hash.

I stick with these words because that's what I mean when I say them. I'm not snobby at all about it. There is great barbecue just about everywhere. And I know when I'm invited to a "barbecue" that's really a cookout, it's a great gift.

I do have to censor myself and not say what I'm thinking when a friend "barbecues" using a Traeger.

[Mosca]

Welcome!

[Sweaty Paul]

Salutations from Hays, Kansas!