You really love barbecues and grilling. If it was up to you, you'd be perfectly happy with smoking hot steaks, hamburgers and hotdogs fresh off the grill for the rest of your life. If you want to add veggies to your diet, there are plenty of vegetables that are great for grilling, like potatoes, mushrooms, tomatoes, corn, eggplant, zucchini, and asparagus. Countless yummy recipes for grilling all kinds of food are available in thousands of cookbooks and on the Internet. Yes sir, grilling is great and it's here to stay.



But of course, being the grill lover that you are, you already know that. Now you might be planning right now on buying a grill of your own. The problem is, you're not exactly sure which one to pick. Scouring the World Wide Web will net you at least a dozen well-known brands of all kinds of grills, so if you're new at this, you'll really have a tough time picking one out of the pile. I'd like to help you out by providing a few hints and tips for selecting the best grill for you.

First of all, don't get caught up in the advertising gimmicks and infomercials that you might see on TV or elsewhere. Nobody can tell you right off the bat what's the best grill for you. Only you can decide that for yourself. What you do need to know is that the best grill for you is the one that fits your lifestyle, your needs, and your budget. Before you get one, try to think about what you want out of the grill. Do you need one that allows you to cook a grilled meal quickly? Are you finicky about the flavor? Do you have the space for it?

You also need to know about the different types of grills. Basically, there are three types; gas, electric, and charcoal grills. Let me tell you about each one.

Gas grills are the most common of the three types. Cooking with a gas grill gets you versatility, good flavor, and it's very convenient. These grills get fuel from propane tanks or natural gas, so make sure you're getting the grill that's properly equipped for the right kind of fuel. You can heat up a gas grill and start cooking right away in as little as ten minutes. However, you have to find a good-sized space for them, and you must not place them too close to any other structure. So if you don't have a large cooking are available, then I don't recommend a gas grill for you.

Charcoal grills, however, can get you better flavors than gas grills. They use charcoal, of course, and you need some time to get the fire going, around 20 minutes or so. They also need a good amount of space around them. Charcoal grills cannot be turned off just like gas grills, and I really don't recommend dousing the coals with water to put out the fire quickly. It's going to damage the grill a lot quicker than by normal wear and tear. These types of grills usually cost less than gas grills, but if you plan on using it often, you may end up spending more on fuel than you would by using gas.

Electric grills can be used almost anywhere, and you don't need lots of space, so that makes them a lot more convenient than using electric or gas grills. They also heat up quickly, perhaps even faster than gas grills, and all you need to start grilling is an electrical outlet. But if flavor is really important to you, then you won't get a lot of it in electric grills. They give you the least authentic flavor among the three grill types, and they cannot generate that high heat that you need to sear foods. I would suggest getting one of the first two grills I've mentioned, unless you only have a small amount of space.

So there you go. Think about what you need or want from a grill, and also consider the space you have and if cooking speed is important to you. If flavor is what you're looking for, and if you've got a lot of room, then charcoal grills are the best. Gas grills also give good flavor and you can start cooking faster than charcoal grills. Buy an electric grill only if you have limited space, although they do heat up faster and you don't need special fuel for them.