The way we cook outdoors today is due to two enterprising Americans. The first was Henry Ford of the Ford Motor Company. In the early days of the automobile business when Ford manufactured the Model T, the car was partially built with wooden parts. The assembly process generated a lot of wood scraps. Not one to let things go to waste, Ford took advantage of a charcoal-making process that had been around since the 1890s—one in which wood could be burned to charcoal, mixed with a binder, and formed into briquettes. Ford put one of his relatives in charge of his new charcoal briquette–making business. The relative’s name? E.G. Kingsford, a moniker that went on to become synonymous with briquettes.

The second American who made an unlikely contribution to the state of modern grilling was George Stephen, a metal worker who worked for Weber Brothers Metal in Chicago in the 1950s. Frustrated with the limited functionality of the flat, open grills of the time, called braziers, he began tinkering and eventually created the kettle grill. Stephen was actually working on a buoy at the metal shop when he became inspired by its shape and applied it to his grill project. The bottom half became the base of the grill and the top half the lid. After some experimentation, he realized that he needed to punch holes in the lid, to allow oxygen to enter and keep the flames going. This kettle design remains the standard for charcoal grills today. Of course, years later, gas grills have become popular. While gas is undeniably convenient, purists remain loyal to the authentically smoky flavor of food cooked on a charcoal grill.

Whichever grill you prefer to cook on, join us as we crisscross the United States to share all manner of grilling and barbecue recipes and a host of easy sides to complete your meal. Let’s fire up the grill!