In the US and Canada

In the United States and Canada, use of the word refers to cooking food directly over a source of dry heat"License to Grill", Schlesinger and Willoughby, William Morrow and Co. 1997, typically with the food sitting on a metal grate that leaves "grill marks." In the UK and other Commonwealth countries this would be referred to as barbecueing, although grilling is usually faster and hotter than the American sense of the word "barbecue," which does not necessarily imply 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 on an indoor electric grill.

Similar to a grill/broiler is a "salamander", which is most frequently used in a professional kitchen. It is smaller than a standard grill/broiler, and is used to finish off dishes, such as caramelizing the sugar on a Crème brûlée.

The flame-grilling machine at Burger King restaurants is called a 'Broiler' in the US. It works by moving meat patties along a chain conveyor belt between top and bottom burners, 'grilling' from both sides.

In 1898, the Bridge & Beach Manufacturing Co., St. Louis, MO., started manufacturing a vertical cast iron stove. These stoves were designed so that the meat could be flame broiled quickly from both sides of the stove at the same time. Hinged steel wire gridirons were designed for use in the vertical broilers to hold the meat in place while it cooked. The gridirons were slid in and out of the stoves like modern day oven racks and the stoves took up a small amount of counter space. These stoves were used in lunch wagons to feed factory workers.

A skewer or brochette, or a rotisserie may link smaller portions of food into this process. The resulting food product is often called a kabob or kabab or satay.

Mesquite or hickory wood chips (damp) may be added on top of the coals to allow a smoldering effect that provides additional flavor to the food. Other hardwoods such as pecan, apple, maple and oak may also be used.

What gives grilled meat the taste is a chemical process called the Maillard reaction. This process is the term for the browning of meat. The Maillard reaction, along with the flavors imparted by a wood or charcoal fire, is what sets grilling apart from other methods of cooking meat.

Barbecue and barbecuing are a way of cooking meat using the indirect heat and smoke from a wood or charcoal fire in a barbecue pit or smoker. Barbecuing is the slow smoking of tough cuts of meat. Grilling is a method of cooking more tender meats using the direct heat of a fire with the meat over the fire.