How To Operate Charcoal Grill

How To Use A Charcoal Grill Tips

How to Use a Charcoal Grill | The Home Depot

When it comes to using a charcoal grill to make grilling foods for you and your family or guests, it requires a little bit more extra knowledge. Because unlike other grilling machines out there in the market, it needs to use coal as its fuel except for propane gases or electricity. Therefore, it is easier and convenient when you are going to make grills using a gas grill or electric grill.

You just need to turn on and off the switch if you use a gas or electric grill machine. But you also have to measure the coal you are going to burn in the charcoal grilling machine to make grills for you. Therefore, you also have to understand a bit about charcoal to use the grillers properly for making grilling foods for you and your guests.

1. Coal as fuel

The very first step of using a charcoal grill is to measure the charcoal you need to use as fuel in the grilling machine to make grilling foods. Because it is not something like you just turn on the grill by a switch and then turn it off. Instead, you have to make sure you are using the proper amount of charcoal in the grilling machine to get the most out of it.

It is important, especially when you start cooking grills on it. Because some charcoal grillers do not allow you to add charcoal after starting the process. But some of them allow you to open the side grates using hinges so that you can add charcoal when you need them to add.

2. Put the coals on fire

3. Get ready of your cooking grate

4. Distribute fire evenly

Final Verdict

Using Newspaper To Start Your Charcoal Grill

Probably the most straightforward approach to reuse paper is to utilize it as a heating source for your wood barbecue. In a few places, the supplement moved up the paper under the pressure of the charcoal.

I am using a chimney match or lighter to ignite the paper. Insert more paper into the flame till its light enough. However, there are a few valuable strategies to ignite carbon. Using unique tools can make the process easier.

Choosing A Charcoal Grill

If youre looking to buy a grill or just upgrade the one you have, there are a few criteria to keep in mind.

  • Shape: Youll find charcoal grills in many shapes and sizes. Round kettle shapes are very common, though you can also find barrel-style, rectangular and square grills. Any shape will work, but you may prefer one based on what suits your yard, storage space and cooking style.
  • Surface area: Grills come in all sizes. Make sure youre buying one with enough space for your needs.
  • Ease of cleaning: Charcoal grilling is a messy business. Look for models that give easy options for cleanup including ash containers.
  • Price: Charcoal grills vary greatly in price. The classic Weber kettle grill starts at around $100 and is a great option for amateur and pro grillers alike. Youll also find some pretty fancy charcoal grills out there nearing the $1,000 mark. Its all up to you and your budget.

Also Check: What Temp To Grill Chicken Breast On Gas Grill

How To Use A Charcoal Grill For Beginners

Although charcoal might be scary, following the simple techniques listed here will have you grilling like a pro in no time!

Grilling is a great way to sizzle your suppers in the summer . While some people prefer the convenience of a gas grill, we know some prefer charcoal. After all, you cant get that flavor anywhere else!

Before getting a bag of charcoal and buying your first grill, youd better learn how to use a charcoal grill alongside helpful tips for a beginner.

Extinguish Your Coals With Care

Using Your Charcoal Grill as a Smoker

Extinguishing your charcoal grill isn’t as easy as just turning the gas off, but it is simpler than you’d think. ‘Dumping water into the grill is a huge no no and will just create a real mess of your grill bottom and the water will spill out of the bottom vents onto your patio,’ says pitmaster Michael Haas. ‘It will also create a lot of steam which could cause a safety concern for the person dumping the water.’

‘All you need to do is close the lid and make sure all your vents are completely closed. The coals will extinguish faster than you think.’

‘If you use this method and the coals are taking a long time to extinguish, it probably means your grill is dirty with soot and isn’t allowing the bottom vents to close properly. Once the coals are out, it is time for a good cleaning of your grill and remove all the soot completely.’

Read Also: How To Make A Grilled Cheese Wikihow

Don’t: Pour The Coals Into Your Grill Before Theyre Ready

Repeat after me: “I will wait until my coals are fully gray before pouring them out of the chimney and into my grill base.” This is very important and while we know you and your guests are probably hungry, a bit of patience here will really pay off in the end. The problem here is that if you don’t wait and you add the charcoal to the grill while some of it is still black, you’ll have way more difficulty controlling the temperature. The black charcoal will continue heating and suddenly the way you’ve distributed your charcoal in the grill will no longer match the temperatures. Seriously, let your chimney do its thing and let those coals get nice and gray before you do anything crazy.

A Word On Lighting Fluids

Dont. Just dont. Petroleum, methanol, ethanol. You dont want any of that on your burger.

You can buy and use some brands of briquettes that are infused with a little lighter fluid which makes them easy to light, or you can use lighter fluids on standard briquettes, you just have to follow the next piece of advice.

When using ANY kind of accelerant such as lighter fluid, alcohol, or easy light briquettes, you have to make sure EVERY SINGLE PIECE of charcoal is fully lit, glowing red and ashed over.

Any accelerant and nasty odors will have burned off before a piece of coal ashes over, so you can be sure then its all gone.

If you dont patiently wait for every single coal to be ashed over, then you have a high chance of the lighter fluid imparting a nasty chemical taste to your food.

I prefer never to use lighting fluids or briquettes with accelerants, and I advise you to do the same.

This way, you can cook on partially lit coals, put unlit coals into your grill on top of lit ones mid-cook, or use the snake method described above, all with no worries.

Recommended Reading: How To Grill Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

How To Grill With Wood Chips

If you’re ready to take your grilling game up a notch, infuse your meats with smokier flavor by adding wood to your charcoal. You can use chunks of wood when smoking or wood chips right on top of the coals for grilling. Always soak your wood chips first, so that they smolder instead of burn.

Soaked cherry hardwood chips add a unique flavor to these easy chicken quesadillas. Make a double batch of the chicken to eat later in the week .

Lighting The Charcoal Using A Chimney Starter

How to Use a Charcoal Grill (7 Steps)

The simplest, most thorough way to light any kind of charcoal is to use a chimney starter particularly, the RapidFire Chimney Starter . Refer to the cautions and warnings included with the RapidFire Chimney Starter before lighting.

  • Place a few sheets of wadded up newspaper in the bottom of the chimney starter and set the chimney starter on the charcoal grate, or place a few lighter cubes in the centre of the charcoal grate and place the chimney starter over them.
  • Fill the chimney starter with charcoal.
  • Light the lighter cubes or newspaper through the holes on the side of the chimney starter.
  • Keep the chimney starter in place until the charcoal is fully lit. You can tell when the charcoal is fully lit when it is covered with a coating of white ash.
  • NOTE: The lighter cubes used must be completely consumed and the charcoal ashes over before placing food on the grate. Do not cook before the fuel has a coating of ash.
  • Once the charcoal is fully lit, arrange your charcoal and begin cooking according to your desired cooking method .
  • Charcoal grills are versatile, and unlike gas-fuelled ones, they can be heated up using alternative types of fuel. Besides charcoal, you can use wood pellets. Using wood pellets in a charcoal grill is an efficient and eco-friendly way to add amazing flavors to your food.

    There are several pellet options to choose from. Here are some of my favorite:

    • Maple

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    Cooking Without Power Using A Charcoal Grill

    Disclosure: Links to products may be affiliate which means I get commissions for purchases. Sponsored posts will always be clearly disclosed as such. Privacy Policy

    This post is part of the Home Ec 101 series on emergency preparedness.

    Heather says:

    Keep a charcoal grill for emergencies, sounds simple enough, but what if youve never used one?

    How To Become A Charcoal Grill Master

    Sometimes old school is the best school.

    Theres something undeniably alluring, inherent, and perhaps even primordial about cooking outdoors on a charcoal grill. And its not just the smoky flavor that we find appealing, its the whole process: pouring out and piling up the charcoal briquettes, striking the match to create fire, waiting for the briquettes to turn ashen gray, and finally the sight and sound of sizzling meat. Simply put, cooking on a charcoal grill is irresistible.

    Also Check: How To Clean Traeger Exterior

    Clean And Maintain Your Grill

    Keeping your grill clean and your grates well-oiled delivers the best tasting food and prevents it from sticking. It will also make your grill last longer and prevent grease fires. So, before you get started, clean your grill thoroughly. Remove any ash or grease left behind from the last time you grilled and wipe down the grate with fresh cooking oil.

    Clean your grill grates with a grill brush before and after use. Scrub the interior monthly and detail the interior and exterior at least every season.

    Clean Your Charcoal Grill

    8 Tips to Help You Master Your Charcoal Grill

    Using a stiff-wire grill brush, you should clean the grill soon after cooking while its still hot. To eliminate food particles from the grilling surface, use it every time you grill.

    You may rubber your grill grates with a peeled half onion instead of using wire brushes, which may leave tiny wires and pieces of metal behind. Let the grill reach a high temperature before using it. With a fork, pierce the half onion and rub the sliced side on the grill grates. The onion juices will generate steam, which will remove the pieces and burnt debris.

    Check out this video for a guide on how to clean a charcoal grill:

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    Clean Out The Grates As Best As You Can

    Cleaning out a public grill before you use it is fairly similar to cleaning out a regular kettle charcoal grill, and the first step is cleaning out the grill grates. Youre not restoring them to a sparkling clean, just using a grill brush or a wadded-up piece of foil to scrape off any carbon or food stuck on there. Do your best but know youll be covering the grates with foil or scrubbing the grates again once the grill is hot.

    • Learn how to clean the grill: How to Clean a Charcoal Grill

    Plan Your Cook And Ready Your Grill Before You Start

    Whats cooking tonight?

    What you plan to throw on the grill will dictate how much fuel you need and how you need to prepare and set up your grill.

    For a quick cook of burgers or sausages, you need to simply set the grill up with a pile of good hot coals and that fuel will last the course.

    But for a longer cook, say ribs, a large roast or a whole chicken, youre going to need a different set up and potentially another fill of fuel.

    And not in the garage, or worse, the supermarket. That back-up fill needs to be right by the grill so that adding more fuel when the time comes is quick and seamless.

    Always try to keep a good stock of charcoal, so you never need a last-minute dash to the convenience store mid-cook.

    Other items you may need for a longer cook are:

    • Wood chips or pellets to add or enhance the smoky flavor goodness.
    • Heavy-duty foil to do a wrap partway through cooking, Texas crutch style, if doing brisket or some ribs.
    • Sauce and brush or mop for basting and layering on flavor.
    • A small foil water pan to add moisture to the cooking chamber, which can help maintain stable temperatures, as well as help keep food moist.

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    Weber Charcoal Grill Tips And Tricks

    Few are experts in making scrumptious meals, while others are not very good at cooking. The basic method of cooking is the same, but the things that bring taste are simple tips and tricks.

    Here, we are going to discuss a few Weber charcoal grill tips and tricks. It will assist you in knowing more about grilling:

    • Preheating your grill with closed lid and temperature reaching 500 °F is recommended.
    • Untie the pieces of food hanging with the grate and brush off the grill. It will prevent your meat from sticking on the grate.
    • When hot, you can easily clean the grate with a stainless steel brush.

    Indirect Or High Heat Grilling

    A Beginners Guide to Using a Charcoal Grill

    Backhanded heat is an excellent method to achieve the broiler effect when simmering whole chickens, seafood, massive pieces of meat, and other food sources that should prepare gradually. Set up circular heating zones for moderate cooking or smoking and barbecue a variety of foods at various warmth.

    You may also use the heating plate to create a circuitous region. When the embers are hot, arrange them using tools to create circuitous warmth zones. After that, place the heating grill over the embers and let it heat up for half n hour. Shut the cover and let the air out via the vent.

    Youll place your meal in the meshs open space, away from any coals. Using a mild, high warmth oil on your meal can help it caramelize evenly while also holding it back from adhering.

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    A Few Tips Before You Get Started

    If you’re working with a charcoal grill for the first time, there are a few things to keep in mind. They’re not quite as intuitive as gas or electric grills, but that doesn’t mean they’re less effective .

    Know how to prepare a grill for lighting

    Before you start addingor even buyingcharcoal, you’ll want to properly clean your grill for the most effective barbecue. If you’re working with a brand-new grill, you can skip this step. But if you’re using a hand-me-down or previously used charcoal grill, it needs to be relatively spotless before you light it back up. Get rid of that grime and debris before you get to work.

    Choose the right charcoal

    There are a few different types of charcoal to choose from. We prefer brands like Royal Oak Lump Charcoal. It burns hot and clean, with a lightly smoky scent. Another great alternative is Rockwood All-Natural Hardwood Lump Charcoal, which uses a blend of oak, hickory, maple and pecan wood. Don’t skimp on this stepa subpar charcoal brand will be harder to light, which will lead to more frustration and fewer delicious grilled burgers.

    Learn how to arrange the charcoal

    Though it would be much easier, you can’t just dump your charcoal onto your grill and hope for the best. You need to arrange your pieces of charcoal for the best results. Again, this will differ depending on your preferred methodif you use a chimney, you’ll be arranging differently than if you use lighter fluid.

    How To Setup Your Charcoal

    When it comes to grilling, were huge fans of the 2-zone cooking setup.

    The 2-zone method gives you more control over your cooking space, allowing you finer temperature control and the ability to cook with direct and indirect heat. It also uses less fuel than traditional setups.

    Creating a 2-zone cooking setup is easy.

    All you do is heap up your charcoal on one side of your grill. This creates the hot zone on which you cook with direct heat. The other side of your grill is the cool zone that cooks with indirect heat.

    The 2-zone cooking method is excellent for situations where you need to get a good sear on a piece of meat, but a constant high heat isnt suitable for the entire cooking process.

    For instance, a chunky tomahawk steak needs a good sear on the outside, but its thickness means that cooking it over very high heat will either burn the exterior or leave the center uncooked.

    Using the 2-zone method, you can do the majority of the cooking over indirect heat, getting it to just shy of that perfect medium-rare before searing it to a finish on the hot side, in whats called the reverse sear method.

    Also Check: How Long To Cook Bubba Burgers On George Foreman Grill

    You Can Master Cooking With Charcoal

    Charcoal is still a favorite of many champion grillmasters. By following the tips above, you too can master cooking with charcoal and have the ammunition to do it easily and successfully.

    What is the first thing you are going to grill with charcoal now? Do you have another tip we forgot? Let us know by commenting below. We want to hear from you!

    These kinds of insider tips from some of the barbecue worlds champion grillmasters are just a glimpse of the kinds of things youll learn in the online grilling classes here at BBQ Champs Academy. Packed with everything you need to know, our step-by-step classes will get you cooking like the pros. Check out the All-Access pass now for the full inside look!

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