Do you "grill out" or "barbeque"

[Sherb]

When you cook outside over an open flame (cooking hamburgers and such), are you "grilling/grilling out" or are you having a "barbeque/BBQ"?

Answer please, explain if necessary, include your geographic region.

[maplekitty]

I live in Vancouver (Pacific North West) and we say BBQ. I don't know anyone around here that says grilling. To me, you grill something on a cast iron grill-pan on the stove.

[psusna]

Grill out. BBQ is like with BBQ sauce on it, a specific type of food -- grilling out is something you do. "Let's go get BBQ for lunch."

I'm in Atlanta.

[tenofcups]

Barbecue. I'm in central Pa, and have lived outside of Philly and in NYC. Don't recall ever hearing people talk about grilling--we all barbecue! (at least the people I know do!)

[curlygurl]

We grill steaks when we have people over for a barbeque here in MA and also in NY.

[WisWis]

I'm from central PA, and have always said grilling out! I might use the term barbecue if I was talking about a large picnic-type event, but I'm not sure about that... Usually, when I hear barbeque I think of the meat dish, like pulled pork, with sauce on it.

[sublime311]

Here, we say we're "grilling". The term "grilling out" seems odd to me! I agree with the PP about BBQ being a specific type of food.

ETA: Ok, apparently I have too much time on my hands, because I've been thinking about this question. I guess I do say "BBQ" occasionally - like: "We're going to my friend's house for a BBQ." Still for us, the actual act of putting meat and veggies on a grill is called "grilling" not "BBQing" (unless of course actual BBQ sauce is involved). Wow, who would have thought this out be so complicated for me!

[Adaya]

Neither. I say I'm gonna "cook out." I grew up in CT. Now that I've lived in GA for 14 years, I catch myself saying BBQ, but saying "cook out" is my natural instinct.

[Camdynlyn]

I'm from NC and I say "Grill" or having a "cook out." We DO have BBQs where we cook the whole pig in a pig cooker/grill and you come to the grill and pick out your meat off the pig (yes, head is still on).

Funny story... my coworker is from Chicago and for her daughter's 2nd birthday in May, she sent out invites saying they were having a BBQ. She got TONS of flack about it from her neighbors because she didn't serve BBQ... she was grilling out! :)

[KarenS]

Barbecue is a specific method of preparing and seasoning food. You cook barbecue by grilling or smoking.

You can also grill other meats without making them into barbecue (or BBQ or however you want to spell it), as well as veggies, fruits, etc.

However, I have heard others refer to the whole process as "barbecue" even though it's technically incorrect to refer to it as such if you're not *making* barbecue.

karen

[hockeybrat]

I am originally from SoCal and now live in WA. I say grill whenever we aren't BBQing (using actual BBQ sauce). So burgers, fish, flatbreads, veggies, are grilled and if I am making ribs, they are barbequed :).

[jnettie]

Well, here in Brooklyn, we have people over for a Barbeque where we cook on the Grill. :p

I grew up in Illinois, and we called it the same thing - a Barbeque, but sometimes Cook Out, too.

We're having a Barbeque tomorrow, too!

[Mellow_Water1]

We call it either the "grill" or the "barbecue." IMO, they're synonymous and interchangable. We barbecue food (anything that goes on the barbecue--it doesn't have to have sauce), and tomorrow, we're going to a barbecue (BBQ), because when we all get together tomorrow, we'll cook some food on the barbecue. How many times can I use that word in one response?

[Sophia]

It depends on what you're making. If it's quick, like hamburgers, it's grilling. If it takes hours over low heat/smoke, it's BBQ.

[tlew12778]

I'm from the NYC suburbs and we say we grill on the BBQ.

[EJH]

I say BBQ -- am originally from CA.

DP's family uses BBQ if it's burgers/hot dogs. They use grill out for steaks and fish.

[katmg]

Grilling. I've never said "grill out" - sounds like "chill out" to me. ;)

I agree with the other posters - BBQ is a specific type of food. We're having BBQ today - brisket that has been cooked in the oven for about 6 hours and will be served with BBQ sauce.

ETA: I'm in Texas.

[MrsD108]

I live in Youngstown, Ohio (right by PA). We say "we grilled out" but if we are going to someone's house for a picnic we use the term :We are going to a cook out".
I never use the word BBQ unless I am saying "We had BBQ ribs at the cook out."

[QueenDillyDally]

I'm in Maine. DH & I say "we are grilling" today. But, when we have big outdoor party (at work) we call it a "Cook Out".

[megs7384]

In the South (I'm in TN), cooking hamburgers etc. is grilling. One only barbeques when there is slow cooking and sauce involved.

[Asha]

my family and i say bbq. we are from california and ny.

[amew]

We say we're going to "grill" (not "grill out") if we are just cooking food on the grill. We use barbeque as a noun to describe food prepared with BBQ sauce and seasonings (generally grilled or smoked) or as a verb for the act of preparing food in that manner. I'm in Texas.

Today we are grilling burgers and veggies at a friends' house, and they invited us over to "grill."

[kemaji]

Growing up we said bbq (I grew up in CA). Now that I live in Ohio, most people say grill/grill out.

[kindermom]

Grill out is a verb and barbecue is a noun for us. We grill out at barbecues. We do ot go over to people's house for a grill out. We go over for a barbecue. But when we put the chicken on the grill last night, we grilled out.

[savannahgrl]

I'm in Florida and everyone that I know uses grilling/grill out. I guess if we were actually using BBQ sauce we could say BBQ.

[SunnyAB]

I'm a Canuck and we always say barbeque no matter if its ribs or steak or chicken or veggies (and barbeque sauce doesn't even necessarily have to be involved always - some don't like it). I notice the different spelling as well, but that differs up here too. I only learned that many refer to the specific meat dish a few years ago :o but on a good note - for my nephew's day-after-the-wedding celebration, I took over some barbeque (the meat dish) and fresh buns; and the brides relatives - who were from Texas - said it was the BEST barbeque they had ever tasted. Talk about a compliment!! :D

[dreamgirly]

Grilling!!!

BBQ (in my region anyway) is reserved for actual smoking/bbq'ing of meat ie: either in a slow cooker or with a bbq sauce slathered on.

Grilling is just cooking chicken/cheeseburger/steak/hot dogs. You might tell someone "Come on over, we're having a barbecue" but you better have pork/chicken/beef that has been smoked and/or bbq'ed with sauce. Otherwise they might be disappointed. :)

edit to include that I am in Florida.

[PinkMartini]

BBQ here. I've lived in the west my entire life...

I've never heard someone say 'Grill out' before.

[bookworm]

We grill, and we have people over for a cook out (Boston area).

[karlatta]

This is actually something that's always bothered me. Nothing ever sounds exactly right.

I think I usually say that we're going to "cook on the grill."

I'm born and raised in Texas.

[Ericka_Jarett]

We usually say we are grilling. If we are going to have people over, we will say cook out, picnic or bbq. I am from Central/Southern NJ

[tenofcups]

I take back my post :) . A friend just called and said that my DH had said something to him about "grilling," but he didn't smell anything grilling (he was right outside of our yard at the time). So I guess at least some people around here do refer to grilling, but DH and I both discussed how we were going to barbecue today... (and there won't be any sauces or heavy meats--we're talking burgers and dogs...)

[MLA]

I say barbecue -- originally from CA and NY.

Here in NC, though, barbecue is a noun, not a verb. So, I guess people here probably say grill.

[maxandmolly]

I've lived in FL most of my life and never heard anyone call it "grilling out". It's always a "cook out" or "cooking out on the grill".

[andy's di]

I'm in Western Canada and I don't know anyone who calls it grilling. We call it barbeque no matter what (chicken, steak, fish, burgers, hot dogs, veggies). When I hear grilling I think of the Forman grill :D So does my DH's family who is from Ontario.

[eponymous]

We "grill," but I've honestly never heard the expression "grill out"!

[Sherb]

It's interesting to hear most of the southern girls make the same arguments I make. Barbeque= slow cooking over indirect flame. Everything else is grilling or a cook out. After 4 years, my husband has caught on. (He's also become something of a barbeque snob. He has an opinion on every BBQ joint in town and even became concerned when one BBQ joint announced it was moving to a new location; he's worried about the food not tasting the same with a new pit. Sucess! The training is complete! :D )

[solongtogo]

Grill out...I'm in Indiana

[IrishMeg]

I've lived in FL most of my life and never heard anyone call it "grilling out". It's always a "cook out" or "cooking out on the grill".

Same here. I've always seen BBQ as a style of cooking, not cooking on the grill. They are two separate things here.

[lawyergirl25]

Here in Ohio, DH and I "grill out." I know it's grammatically incorrect, but I have been assimilated. :)

My family in WI says "cook out."

[racerswife]

I am also from PA (in between Phila and Harrisburg)...we "grill" or "cook out" .... we only say "bbq" if we are doing bbq'd chicken, etc....

No matter how you say it... I love it... so much less clean up!

[TracieB]

I'm from Indiana and we say "cook out." In Guam, it's all about BBQ-ing.

[Amuse Bouche]

I use grill and barbecue interchangeably. I grew up in Southern California, and spent about 10 years in the Northeast. I think we used to say barbecue though -- my husband's half southerner, and may have given me the grill habit.

[Leia]

Another native New Englander voting for "cook out" :)

[Renrel]

I am not sure how to answer.

I live in the NE and grew up saying bbq. I have since learned that bbq is a term used for a special kind of all day smoking process and that what we do is really grilling. So I try to remember to use that term, but I tend to go back and forth.

[Kay]

We say 'cook out' around here.

[vwinkel]

When in the verb form, I say we are going to "grill out", but in the noun form, if we are going to a party it is - going to a "cook out" or going to a "barbeque." Even if we cook BBQ ribs, I would say, "We are grillling out BBQ ribs."

I've never thought of that before this weekend! I heard so many people saying BBQ!

I'm in Illinois.

[Bloomwood]

I go to a BBQ where I grill steak, but when there's sauce on my ribs, they're BBQ'd ribs. I'm in CA.

[Adaya]

Another native New Englander voting for "cook out" :)

Whew, I was gettin' nervous. I saw a few other posts with "cook out" as their verb, but it was nice to see another New Englander. ;)

I mentioned it to DH who is also from CT w/o telling him about this poll and he immediately said "cook out." He said when he hears the term bbq, he expects to see food with sauce on it. LOL! When we say we're gonna "cook out", it could simply mean burgers and hot dogs.

[JRPAGV]

Grill out. BBQ is like with BBQ sauce on it, a specific type of food -- grilling out is something you do. "Let's go get BBQ for lunch."

I'm in Atlanta. Ditto this! And I live in Atlanta too. :)

[PrincessTommi]

Grilling!!!

BBQ (in my region anyway) is reserved for actual smoking/bbq'ing of meat ie: either in a slow cooker or with a bbq sauce slathered on.

Grilling is just cooking chicken/cheeseburger/steak/hot dogs. You might tell someone "Come on over, we're having a barbecue" but you better have pork/chicken/beef that has been smoked and/or bbq'ed with sauce. Otherwise they might be disappointed. :)

edit to include that I am in Florida.
I agree with this.

[paiger]

I've grew up in KY, and I consider BBQ to be a noun for shredded Pork BBQ. If someone is serving BBQ Chicken, they are putting BBQ sauce on chicken. In NC, I think it seems the same. In SC, they do seem to see it as a way of cooking b/c sometimes DH will call ribs slow cooked w/ sauce BBQ, but I don't.

Grillin' is just putting meat/veggies/whatever on the grill to cook, so I would say 'having a cook out' or 'we are grilling'.

[laura]

My family in Illinois says "cook out", but I think that's more in the context of "going to a cook out".

We say "grill" or maybe going to a BBQ - ie. one of my husband's coworkers is having a BBQ on Sunday, which I assume means he is grilling.

[ivansbabe]

I always refer to it as BBQ...though I know there is a difference.

[kdotp]

I think we mostly use grill/grilling out. I've lived in Iowa my entire life.

[Cali_Katy]

If I'm talking about what I'm going to do for dinner tonight, I'd say, "Let's grill" or "We grilled chicken for dinner."

But if I were to invite people over this weekend for hot dogs and hamburgers, I'd say, "Come to my barbecue!" "Cook out" sounds equally good to me, but I think "barbecue" is the term I'd use for an informal party where people grill food.

If I wanted to get a pulled pork sandwich smothered in sauce, I'd say, "Let's go get barbecue for dinner tonight."

I live in California and grew up in the Chicago area.