Grilling is Harder Than Baking

This topic has been on my mind for a while now, considering that we are deep in the heart of National BBQ Month. Believe it or not, I get agreement from the master baker herself, my wife, that grilling is harder than baking.

Let me define what I consider baking. My loose definition of baking is anything that is cooked in the oven that has to do with doughs, yeast, flour, baking powder, baking soda, etc. Anything whereby there is a chemical reaction happening under the heat of an oven is baking. Putting a casserole in the oven for 30 minutes is not baking. That's just heating. I realize I may catch some hell for this, but that is fine. I'd enjoy hearing your viewpoints.

Baking is a rather precise art. There are complex chemical reactions that happen and must be scrutinzed by precise measurements of ingredients. But as long as you follow the instructions, measure precisely, beat or mix precisely, then you will turn out a very good baked product. I am not the most avid baker in the world, but when I sat down and put my mind to it, I produced some very nice baked goods. Check out my Date Cake, Golden Raisin and Cherry Scones, and Mexican Chocolate Scones.

But when the time comes to head outdoors and fire up the grill or smoker, things get a little bit iffy. There is no precise measuring. Heat is measured by feel, and doneness is measured in terms of redness or softness. The grill is a large device that heats unevenly; you must try to control the uncontrollable.

Sure, just like every oven is different, every grill is different. The heating element in each grill is different which can cause headaches from grill to grill, or even inside the same grill. On my gas grill, I have learned that there is more heat towards the rear edge of the burners, presumably because heat is reflected from the back of the grill's lid. Compound that with the total of three burners and the six diffusers, you get a whole universe of heating differences.

OK. So what happens on charcoal grill. I'll tell you what happens, MAYHEM! Depending on the size of the meal you are grilling, you could have up to 50 individual pieces of charcoal which means 50 individual heating elements spread out rather unevenly across the bottom of your grill.

All that technical stuff aside, I believe that grilling is more difficult that baking because it requires much more experience with your equipment. You have to get to know your grill - get to know where it heats hotter and where the cool spots are. You have to get to know how long it takes an average steak or hamburger to grill to certain levels of doneness.

And learning to tell doneness is a complete class in itself. If I were baking, I might must stick a tooth pick in my food and see if anything sticks. But a steak is a little different. A good griller wouldn't pierce the meat to find out of it's done. We look, smell, press and squeeze.

I really would love to hear what you think about this topic, both men and women. Bakers? Lend me your ears. Grillers? What do you have to say?