Charcoal barbecue grills use either charcoal briquettes or natural lump charcoal as their fuel source. When burned, the charcoal will transform into embers radiating the heat necessary to cook food. There is contention among grilling enthusiasts on what type of charcoal is best for grilling. Users of charcoal briquettes emphasize the uniformity in size, burn rate, heat creation, and quality exemplified by briquettes. Users of all-natural lump charcoal emphasize its subtle smoky aromas, high heat production, and the lack of binders and fillers often present in briquettes. There are many different charcoal grill configurations. Grills can be square, round, or rectangular, some have lids while others do not, and they may or may not have a venting system for heat control. Grilling is a form of cooking that involves a dry heat applied to the food, either from above or below. Grilling is an effective technique in order to cook meat or vegetables quickly since it involves a significant amount of direct, radiant heat. There are many methods of grilling, which involve a type of braising or roasting. This is one of the least common techniques when cooking classic barbecue foods. The words "barbecue" and "grilling" are often used interchangeably, although food experts argue that barbecue is a type of grilling, and that grilling involves the use of a higher level of heat to sear the food, while barbecuing is a slower process over a low heat.

Charcoal is the carbon dioxide released during the combustion process, it is colorless and odorless, and the charcoal is burned, and there is no smoke in itself. Common grills have smoke when making products because oil and seasonings are dropped on the charcoal fire when making products. The unique internal design of the furnace body of the smokeless barbecue equipment prevents oil and seasoning from dripping onto the charcoal fire during roasting, so there is no smoke; and when frying food, the heat of the oil does not reach 200. There will be no smoke even when the temperature is high, and the temperature of the oil when we make fried food is generally between 150-170 degrees, so there will be no smoke when fried food. The smoke-exhausting principle of the smokeless electric barbecue is a direct-fired electric barbecue with the heat source directly acting on the food, which can effectively inhale and filter the smoke generated during the barbecue, so that the filtered smoke and gas can be burned again. The specially designed non-stick grill pan and the bottom oil sink can make the grease generated during combustion flow into the sink along the oil guide hole on the grill pan, avoiding direct contact with the heating tube to generate smoke and carcinogens, so as to achieve the purpose of healthy eating green barbecue. Also there are stainless steel charcoal BBQ grill, portable folding BBQ grill and so on.
A tent stove (or wood burner or log burner in the UK) is a heating or cooking appliance capable of burning wood fuel and wood-derived biomass fuel, such as sawdust bricks. Generally the appliance consists of a solid metal (usually cast iron or steel) closed firebox, often lined by fire brick, and one or more air controls (which can be manually or automatically operated depending upon the stove). The first wood-burning stove was patented in Strasbourg in 1557, two centuries before the Industrial Revolution, which would make iron an inexpensive and common material, so such stoves were high end consumer items and only gradually spread in use. Keeping the air flowing correctly through a wood-burning stove is essential for safe and efficient operation of the stove. Fresh air needs to enter the firebox to provide oxygen for the fire; as the fire burns, the smoke must be allowed to rise through the stove pipe, and exit through the chimney. To regulate air flow, there may be damper devices built into the stove, flue, and stove pipes. By opening or closing the dampers, air flow can be increased or decreased, which can fan the fire in the firebox, or "dampen" it by restricting airflow and reducing the flames. The dampers can usually be accessed by turning knobs or handles attached to the damper. Some stoves adjust their own airflow using mechanical or electronic thermostatic devices.

Barbecue is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods which use live fire and smoke to cook the food. The term is also generally applied to the devices associated with those methods, the broader cuisines that these methods produce, and the meals or gatherings at which this style of food is cooked and served. What is different from general cooking is that most people will choose outdoor BBQ. The various regional variations of barbecue can be broadly categorized into those methods which use direct and those which use indirect heating. Indirect barbecues are associated with North American cuisine, in which meat is heated by roasting or smoking over wood or charcoal. These methods of barbecue involve cooking using smoke at low temperatures and long cooking times (several hours). Elsewhere, barbecuing more commonly refers to the more direct application of heat, grilling of food over hot coals or gas. This technique is usually done over direct, dry heat or a hot fire for a few minutes. Within these broader categorizations are further national and regional differences.