Outdoor BBQ Grills — Types And Accoutrements

Outdoor BBQ grills make for the perfect accent to a weekend spent in the backyard, away from the stress and hectic action of the work week. Outdoor grilling is ideal for entertaining family and friends or simply for giving yourself a clean, Zen-like ritual space in which to work your flame-based culinary magic all by your lonesome.

When you go to purchase your first grill, however, you might be caught offguard by the complexity involved in what seems like a fairly simple task. Really, though, when you cut through the jargon, it’s not all that tough. There are three basic types of BBQ grills for your backyard: gas, electric, and charcoal. Of the three, you want a gas grill.

Electric grills are easy to use and offer precise temperature control. But seriously, it’s just like cooking on your stovetop except you’re outside when you do it. That’s not what a grill is for.

Charcoal grills offer up the most authentic ‘grilling’ taste, but they’re a royal pain in the butt. Lighter fluid. Light. Sit and wait. Grill. Clean the grilling surface. Wait for the ash to cool. Clean up the ash. It’s a huge process that will make you less likely to take advantage of your opportunity to grill.

No, gas grills are the way to go. Gas grills can be propane or natural gas — you want natural gas. Propane gas is meant for portable camper’s grills; that’s not you. You’re going to be a backyard Grill Master, and that means using natural gas. It’s cheaper, it burns cleaner, and each tank will last you a hell of a lot longer. `

Then, you get to choose between the various materials of natural gas grill. There’s stainless steel, cast aluminum, and enamel-covered steel as standard options, and of them, you want stainless steel. Aluminum spreads the heat around, making it harder to control the cooking than steel, and it’s hard to clean because it scratches easily; enamel is easy to clean, but also easy to accidentally crack or shatter. Steel will handle a grill brush without damage and it cooks easily besides.

And there you have it: the perfect outdoor BBQ grill. Enjoy!

A Wicker Patio Set is Both Inexpensive And Stylish

Here’s something that almost never seems to go out of style: a well-crafted wicker patio set. Year after year, this beautiful and lightweight material brings elegance and class to our patios and backyards. But what makes wicker so popular in the first place?

Wicker patio furniture isn’t actually made from a specific substance — it can be made of willow, rattan, bamboo, reeds, or even, in this modern day, resin. All of these are light, strong fibers that resist water and yet, when soaked, are easily tightly woven. The woven nature of the furniture allows them to present a strikingly strong form once dried, as weight is distributed evenly across the body of the furniture by the nature of the weaving. This allows wicker to support even heavier people’s more abusive moves without risk of breaking the way that a metal or hardscaped piece of furniture might.

On top of all of that, their light weight makes them easily portable — much moreso than a metal or stone chair — which means your patio is more flexible and can be more easily put to a variety of uses. Of course, if you live in an area of very strong winds, being too light can be a bit of a disadvantage, but not many of use want to enjoy a backyard when it’s that windy regardless.

The other side to wicker that makes it so attractive to homeowners is the price. Wicker might be a bit more expensive than cheesy plastic patio sets, but actually in the long run will last much longer, so it’s a better investment. Certainly it’s more affordable than metal or hardscaped furniture. There are certain weaves, patterns, coatings, and other elements that make some wicker significantly more expensive than other wicker, but you’ll be hard pressed to find a wicker chair that isn’t less expensive than a hard chair of similar quality.

One final reason to choose wicker: it looks natural. Unlike any cement or metallic furniture, a wicker patio set looks like it belongs in the yard with the grass, garden, and trees.