Editing Barbecue (section)

==Techniques==
[[File:Propane smoker.jpg|thumb|upright|Diagram of a propane smoker used for barbecuing]]
Barbecuing encompasses multiple types of cooking techniques. The original technique is cooking using smoke at low temperatures—usually around {{convert|240|–|280|F|C|order=flip}}—and significantly longer cooking times (several hours), known as smoking.
[[File:Pakkalanranta Laanila Oulu 20140323.JPG|thumb|A public barbecue site at a park in [[Oulu]], Finland, on 23 March 2014]]
Grilling is done over direct, dry heat, usually over a hot fire over {{convert|500|F|C|order=flip}} for a few minutes. Grilling and smoking are done with wood, charcoal, gas, electricity, or [[Pellet grill|pellets]]. The time difference between smoking and grilling is because of the temperature difference; at low temperatures used for smoking, meat takes several hours to reach the desired [[Doneness|internal temperature]].<ref>{{cite web|last=McElhiney |first=Jacqui |url=http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/how-cook-meat-properly-barbecue |title=How to cook meat properly on the barbecue |publisher=BBC Good Food |date=24 July 2015 |access-date=14 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saveur.com/article/Techniques/Barbecue-101 |title=Barbecue 101 |publisher=SAVEUR |date=17 June 2011 |access-date=14 April 2016}}</ref>

===Smoking===
{{Main|Smoking (cooking)}}
Smoking is the process of flavoring, cooking, and/or preserving food by exposing it to smoke from burning or smoldering material, most often wood. Meat and fish are the most common smoked foods, though cheeses, vegetables, nuts, and ingredients used to make beverages such as [[beer]] or [[smoked beer]] are also smoked.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://byo.com/mead/item/1720-smoked-beer|title=Smoked Beer|last=Colby|first=Chris|access-date=19 October 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref>McGee p. 767: "Malt whiskies from Scotland's west coast have a unique, smoky flavor that comes from the use of peat fire for drying the malt."</ref>

=== Grilling ===
{{Main|Grilling}}
[[File:BBQ Lamb.jpg|thumb|right|Lamb grilling over hot coals]]
[[Grilling]] is a form of cooking that involves a dry heat applied to the food, either from above or below. Grilling is an effective technique in order to cook meat or vegetables quickly since it involves a significant amount of direct, radiant heat. Outside of the US, this is the most common technique when cooking classic barbecue foods, although some variants of grilling require direct, but moderate heat.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/1392015/grill-vs-barbecue-do-you-know-the-difference/|title=Grill vs barbecue – do you know the difference?|work=Global News|access-date=7 May 2018|language=en}}</ref>

The words "barbecue" and "grilling" are often used interchangeably, although some argue that barbecue is a type of grilling, and that grilling involves the use of a higher level of heat to sear the food, while barbecuing is a slower process over a low heat.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/03/living/barbecue-bbq-grilling-july-4-feat/|first=Emanuella|last=Grinberg|title=The difference between grilling and barbecue|work=CNN|date=6 July 2015|access-date=16 May 2018|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-01-31 |title=Difference Between Barbecue, Grilling, and Smoking {{!}} HomeyCart |url=https://homeycart.com/bbq-grilling-smoking-difference/ |access-date=2023-02-02 |language=en-US}}</ref>

In practice, the lines blur because it is hard to define what is low temperature and what is high temperature and because many champion barbecue cooks now cook meats such as beef brisket at higher temperatures than was traditional.