Want tasty outdoor cooking?
Our barbecue tips help you find your perfect cooker match!

Anytime is a great time to serve savory grilled food, and our guide helps you decide on the right grill or smoker for your lifestyle. Before you know it, you'll be ready to whip out that "Kiss the Cook" apron and those grilling utensils, so you can make a blazin' delicious meal.

Outdoor cooking offers so many options these days. It's not just your typical little kettle grill anymore. The first two things to consider are size and type of the grill.

Size: The standard measurement for grills is in square inches of cooking space, but you will also want to consider how large the footprint of the grill is as well. How much space will you have on your deck, patio or porch to devote to your grill? How many people do you expect to serve when you grill? Most people agree that anything smaller than 400 square inches of grilling space can make it difficult to cook a whole meal on the grill, but that may not be an issue if you have a small family and keep your menus relatively simple.

Type: Choose a charcoal, gas, electric, or even a smoker, but beware they can be so full featured that you might be tempted to use your outdoor grill as often as your indoor range. That's not really a bad thing though, unless it's raining or snowing out. Each has its own positives and negatives, so it really is a matter of personal preference.

Whatever you choose, you'll want to consider the following as you make your decision: flavor, cost, style, and ease of care. Since gas grills are by far the most popular style of outdoor cooker in America, let's start there:

Flavor: Some say that a gas grill cannot provide the authentic smoky flavor of a charcoal grill, but that may actually be an "old wives tale" because more and more taste tests indicate there's no substantial difference between the two. To supplement the flavor you can always add hickory or mesquite wood chips.

Cost: Gas grills come in a wide range of prices from $100 to $10,000, so with that wide of a range you're sure to find one that fits in your budget. As with a normal indoor range, as you add features and size you also add cost. Assess what you must have compared to the nice to have. While the cost of a gas grill runs a little higher at the initial purchase stage than a charcoal grill, it will cost about the same to maintain. A rough estimate says that for a 20lb tank of propane, at about $50 a tank, you'll get about 20 meals. Of course, it all depends on how much gas you use when you cook.

Style: Henry Ford once said, "You can have any color car, as long as it's black," and for a long time that was the option in grills too. Those days are long gone. Nowadays, you can choose from stainless steel, colors and designs that are sleek and modern as well as classic looks.

Care and convenience: Not much can beat the "just turn it on and cook" convenience and efficiency of a gas grill. It offers a constant temperature that makes grilling easier for the novice. Cleaning is simple too, since there are no ashes or coals to deal with. Additionally, the gas grill has the better reputation for the environment since burning propane or natural gas is less noxious than coal.

The Must-haves:
Porcelain-enamel finish
Heavy-duty grates
Number of BTUs - British Thermal Unit; good rule of thumb: look for grills with 100 BTUs per square inch

The "Trick My Grill" options:
If you want more features on your gas grill take a look at these: shelves and warming racks, flip-up workspace, enclosed storage space, larger cooking areas with burners, side burners for cooking sauces, rotisseries and infrared cooking abilities, and smoker boxes or drawers. You could even have custom design and built-in options that include the use of natural gas for convenient, no-refill barbecuing.

Flavor: The leading rival of the gas grill, the charcoal grill is still a favorite among many barbeque pros. Most barbeque masters love the challenge of a charcoal grill and wouldn't dream of grilling on anything else.

Taste: Contrary to the results of many taste tests, many people swear that the only way to get the real smoky flavor in grilling is by using a charcoal grill. In truth, the outdoor flavor is created when food drippings hit the heat source and flare, releasing smoke that flavors the food. Whether that can only be achieved with a charcoal grill is up for each person to decide.

Cost: You'll pay less for a charcoal grill than a gas grill with the same size cooking area. You can spend as little as $50 on a grill and the range goes up to about $400 for your higher end grills. When it comes to paying for the coals, a standard bag will get you 4-5 meals.

Style: The charcoal grill tends to be more classically designed and often offers fewer features than a gas grill (although that's starting to change too). It may simply be that the more of a barbeque purist you are, the more you prefer the charcoal grill. Care and convenience Where convenience is concerned, these grills aren't the most efficient. You can't just go out to the yard and start it up on the spot like you would a gas grill. Not only do you fuss with briquettes and lighters, but you need to hope that while you're cooking the heat stays up. Of course, burning coals means ashes to deal with later, but an ash catcher can help with that. The environmental reputation for a charcoal grill is not incredibly desirable because of the noxious fumes of the lighter fluid and also burning of coal. However, you could purchase a charcoal chimney starter to eliminate the fumes and make your grill more eco-friendly.

The Must-haves:
Porcelain-enamel finish
Heavy-duty grates
Ash catcher
For portable grills, a lock

The "Trick My Grill" options:
If you want more features on your charcoal grill take a look at these: shelves and warming racks, smoking ability, workspace, storage space, larger cooking grids, rust-proof ash-catchers, and porcelain-enameled cooking grates. High end grates made of cast iron, porcelain-coated aluminum or stainless steel. Or try a gas-charcoal combination.

Flavor: This is definitely a whole different thought process on grilling. With an electric grill, there are no drippings from the food that drop onto the heat source which causes smoke, therefore there really is no "smoky" flavor. It's more about putting a stripe on your food.

Cost: Like gas grills, electric grills come in a wide range of prices from $100 all the way to $2,500, so with that wide of a range you're sure to find one that fits in your budget. As with a normal indoor range, as you add features and size you also add cost. Assess what you must have compared to the nice to have.

Style: The electric grill offers most of the other features that gas or charcoal grills do, however it's more difficult to find one with a large amount of grilling space.

Care and convenience: The electric grill is the definite leader in the care and convenience area - and it really can't be beat for its environmentally friendly reputation, because it cooks without an open flame. However, many would ask, if there is no open flame, is it really outdoor cooking?

The Must-haves:
A very high cooking temperature, 600° or higher Non-stick cooking grid A smoker box

The "Trick My Grill" options:
If you want more features on your electric grill take a look at these: stainless steel construction, rotisseries, and built-ins.

A smoker grill adds a sumptuous smoky flavor to your favorite meats, vegetables, and more. This is a relatively new type of outdoor cooker. They come in many styles, including electric, gas, and water.

Size is the most important thing to consider when purchasing a smoker - will you be smoking meat mainly on weekends for your own family or do you plan on having barbeque parties with many in attendance?

Smokers come in a high-maintenance or a "set it and forget it" type of style. If you enjoy being part of the barbecue process, the higher maintenance would be just fine. If you want the convenient taste of smoked food without a lot of hassle, look more closely at the "set it and forget it" type.

If you're ready to take a leap into a new way of outdoor cooking, the smoker may be the best option for you!

There are 2 methods of heating when it comes to preparing a good meal on the grill.

Indirect: This method of heating involves a higher temperature on the sides of the grilling surface, and lower temperature in the middle. For charcoal grills, this means moving the coals to one side and placing the food over the opposite section. This is best for large cuts of meat or bone-in poultry so that the meat cooks all the way through without charring.

Direct: This is a constant temperature all across the surface of the grill. Or, if you have a charcoal grill, this involves placing the food directly over the flame. It is the fastest way to cook your meal, and is often used with steaks, hamburgers, skewers, etc.