#5 Regional Variations Grilling

In the United States, the use of the word grill refers to cooking food directly over a source of dry heat, typically with the food sitting on a metal grate that leaves "grill marks." Grilling is usually done outdoors on charcoal grills or gas grills; a recent trend is the concept of infrared grilling. Grilling may also be performed using stove-top "grill pans" which have raised metal ridges for the food to sit on, or using an indoor electric grill. A skewer, brochette, or rotisserie may be used to cook small pieces of food. The resulting food product is often called a "kabob" (US term) or "kebab" which means "to grill" in Persian. Kebab is short for "shish kebab" (shish = skewer). Mesquite or hickory wood chips (damp) may be added on top of the coals to create a smoldering effect that provides additional flavor to the food. Other hardwoods such as pecan, apple, maple and oak may also be used.