Grilling vs. Charbroiling vs. Char-Grilling: What’s the Difference?

When I first started taking food and cooking seriously. The first thing I studied is how to grill a ribeye steak. Little did I know that the term grilling had so many implications. For some people, grilling means cooking on an outdoor grill, but for others, it means cooking on a flat-top “griddle.” Then there’s charbroiling, char-grilling, and just plain old grilling. I’ll get into all of these methods eventually but today let’s hit the top three.

Char-grilling, charbroiling, and grilling are all methods of cooking food, but they differ in their specific techniques and equipment used.

Grilling involves cooking food directly over an open flame or hot coals, typically on a grate or grill pan. The heat source can be fueled by gas, charcoal, or wood. Grilling is often used for cooking meats, vegetables, and fruits, and it imparts a smoky flavor and grill marks on the food.

Charbroiling is a type of grilling that involves using a commercial charbroiler, which is a piece of equipment with a series of metal grates over a gas flame. The food is placed on the grates and cooked over high heat, resulting in a charred exterior and a juicy interior. One could say that charbroiling can also mean cooking from above such as a broiler in an oven or a salamander in a restaurant. Charbroiling is often used in restaurants to cook burgers, steaks, and other meats.

Char-grilling, on the other hand, involves cooking food directly over a charcoal fire, typically using a kettle grill or other type of charcoal grill. Char-grilling is similar to grilling, but it tends to produce a more intense smoky flavor and charred exterior on the food. Char-grilling is often used for cooking meats, fish, and vegetables, and it’s a popular cooking method for barbecue and outdoor cooking.

While grilling and charbroiling both involve cooking food over an open flame, char-grilling specifically refers to cooking food over a charcoal fire, which results in a distinct smoky flavor and a charred exterior.

For me, the term grilling means to cook outside over charcoal, wood, or gas. Broiling means cooking beneath a high heat source, which at home is an electric oven broiler. As this website/channel grows, I will offer many examples of outdoor cooking methods because that’s what I enjoy doing the most.