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Having a good equipment and at the same time an appropiate fire are the foundation for a successful grilling. Just in front of you are the key aspects to cook on a charcoal grill . 

Sparking The Fire

If you have a gas grill or electric grill (like the top charcoal grills) , follow the directions in your owner’s manual for lighting and preheating it.

You need to star your fire with enough coals always at the bottom grate. It is important to cover an area about 2-3 inches larger on all sides of the food . Add a few more briquettes if the weather is humid or redundant. You have two choices: mound the briquettes or put them in a startr and ignite them . After lighting the coals, leave them in a pile or in the starter until they’re glowing red (about 20 minutes), then spread them over the grate in a single layer. Let the coals burn for 5 to 10 minutes more or until they are covered with gray ash before putting the food on the grill .

1. Light charcoal briquettes:

Arrange briquettes in a mound in the center of the bottom grate. Placing them close together helps the fire to ignite

The vast majority of instant lighting briquettes are full of a petroleum product that lights with ease . Besides electric starters and liquid ignitor fluids, fire-starter gels and paraffin fire starters are both environmentally safe ways to make the job of starting a charcoal fire easier. Wait about 1 minute after adding a liquid, gel, or wax starter before igniting the briquettes . Never use gas or kerosene as a fire starter.

Direct vs. Indirect Grilling

It is so important to know what kind of technique you are going to use: direct or indirect grilling  . Any grill can be used for direct grilling, including braziers (the basic shallow firebox on legs) and hibachis. For indirect grilling, you need a grill that has a cover . These grills can be either kettle or wagon-shaped and have gas, electric or charcoal heat sources.

With direct grilling, the food goes on the grill rack directly over the heat . Direct grilling is best-suited to foods that are tender, small, or thin and can be cooked in less than 30 minutes, which include steaks, burgers, kabobs, hot dogs, boneless poultry, fish, and most vegetables. For example, in a weber performer charcoal grill, you should use a long handled tongs to spread the hot coals . To set up a gas grill for direct grilling, preheat it, and then adjust the gas flow settings to the desired heat level.

2. Direct grilling with charcoal:

Rake out the glowing coals evenly directly under the section of the grill rack where food will go. Instead, the indirect one means your should place the food over an area on the grill without direct heat source, and anyway the grill is covered during cooking .

Indirect grilling is the choice for cooking whole birds, ribs, large roasts, and whole fish. To set up a charcoal grill for indirect cooking, use long-handled tongs to arrange the hot coals around a drip pan which collects the fat drippings from the foods minimizing flare-ups . Use a disposable foil roasting pan or make one out of heavy-duty foil.

3. Indirect grilling with charcoal:

Move the coals to accommodate a drip pan; rearrange the coals as needed.

For indirect grilling on gas grill, light the grill according to your owner’s manual . Turn the setting to high and let preheat for 10 to 15 minutes. If your grill has two burners, reduce the heat on one burner to desired temperature and turn the other burner off. With a three burner gas grill, turn the center burner off. Set the food over the unlit burner . Adjust the temperature making changes from the gas flow . Most gas grills have a built-in drip pan under the fire box, so generally no drip pan is needed. We advocate placing whole birds and roasts on a rack in a roasting pan and placing the roasting pan directly on the grill over the unlit burner.

Adjusting the Heat

Raise the grill rack if the coals are too hot, spread the coals apart or close the air vents alfway . For a gas or electric grill, adjust the burner to a lower setting.

If the coals are too cool, you should use long handled tongs to tap ashes off the burning coal, put briquettes, move the coals together or lower the rack . For a gas or electric grill, adjust the burner to a higher setting. Not everyone judges the temperature of coals exactly likewise. consequently, the time ranges in our recipes.