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I got a charcoal grill given to me for XMAS. I have always used gas so I am learning on the go right now. I have grilled every single night that it has been nice enough to so far this spring. Anyways wondering what kind of tips you guys have as far as how much charcoal to use and any tricks. Thanks
I would guess you are going to get roughly 30% legitimate answers. The rest is going to be smart *** awesomeness.
Indirect heat is your friend.
Good choice going to charcoal. Don't get me wrong, gas is way more convenient when it comes to grilling out but charcoal just has better taste. As for tips, not sure if there is really anything different. Just keep an eye on the meat and cook it the way you like it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Clones85'
Have a gas grill myself, but my charcoal buddies tell me that the natural lump charcoal is definitely the way to go. Also, I think many would recommend using a chimney starter to heat the coals faster.
My grill has the option to move the coals closer or further away from the grill while cooking. What works best? Further away from the meat?Quote:
Originally Posted by sunnysideup
What kind of grill did you get? Makes a bit a difference, mainly how you start it and how easy indirect heat is.
Advice:
- Give your coals enough time when you start, don't rush them.
- Play around with amount of coals, placement, airflow, and so on. They all will change the temp. and the way things will cook.
- Depending on your setup, work on getting the coals as evenly distributed as possible after they are all going.
- Realize that there will be hot spots and cooking time will rarely be the same. So keep and eye on things and think about using a thermometer for larger cuts of meat.
- If you are having problems with flame ups, reduce the air flow in some way (putting the lid on, closing down the bottom vents, ect.) and it should help take care of the problem. Once they die down you can go back to how things were before.
All depends on what you are cooking. If you are doing something like burgers, brats, or chicken I like a fairly hot heat source so I would want direct heat that is a little closer. If you are doing a larger cut of meat (for example we do a duck on the grill for Thanksgiving) you want a lower heat source, so indirect and farther away.Quote:
Originally Posted by Clones85'
Are you saying you cook with lid off?Quote:
Originally Posted by HGPuck
Depends on what I'm cooking. Anything with indirect heat or that is a longer cooking time the lid is on. But when I am doing something like burgers or brats I usually use direct heat and just leave the lid off unless it starts flaming up.
Edit: For burgers and brats it is usually a combination of the lid on and off. On to increase the flavor but off part of the time to speed things up a bit.
I cook with the lid off quite frequently. As others have said, it all depends on what you're cooking. I really like ahi tuna, but you just sear that quickly, so I go lid off. Same for burgers or brats. Last night, I made some pretty thick Iowa chops, so I burned the coals for about 40 minutes, and then spread them evenly around the bottom of the grill. Since they needed to cook slowly, I went lid on at a more even heat. They turned out perfectly, and cooked very evenly.
The one tip I would STRONGLY recommend, if you don't already have one, is get an electrical coal starter. You'll never screw around with lighter fluid again.
I don't know how I ever grilled without a meat thermometer. I was pretty good, especially with beef, but getting a thermoter made everything so much better. Not that I ever didn't cook meat hot enough before, on the contrary I had a tendency to be cautious and overcook. But once I got a thermometer, I never overcooked and the meat was so much better.
Generally, I prefer to cook with the lid on and the charcoal farther away from the grillables. That way you get indirect heat more evenly across whatever you are cooking. There are still hot spots, but not as pronounced as when cooking close to the coals. I'm a big believer in leaving the food alone and letting it cook - nothing drives me crazier than guys who can't stop touching their meat. And I'll leave it at that.
1) Buy a chimney starter. They cost $10, and you don't have to use lighter fluid (i.e. no odor or bad taste). You simply put charcoal in the top half, a crumpled up newspaper in the bottom half. Light the newspaper, and you have fully lit, hot coals in 10 minutes. Spread out 2/3 of the coals on one side of your grill, and the remainder on the other side. This is called a 2-zone fire. When the meat gets too hot on the hot side, you can pull it over to the cool side to let it cool down for awhile. The key is to pay close attention to the food on the grill.
2) Pay attention to the charcoal you use. Lump charcoal is best - it is natural charcoal wood and gives the best flavor. Briquetes are O.K. if you pay attention to the brand. Briquettes are basically pulverized charcoal with binders added. These binders can be waxes, petrolium products, and other nasty things. Some brands use better quality binders that don't leave a bad tastes on the food, while some smell/taste like an oil refinery caught on fire. Generaly, I stay away from Kingsford, and have had good luck with Royal Oak charcoal.
3) If you are cooking steaks, burgers, brats, and other things that you cook fast (less than 30 minutes), direct heat is best. If you are cooking something low and slow (i.e. smoking BBQ ribs, brisket, pork butt, etc) that take hours to cook, indirect is best as it dosen't dry out the food as much during the extended cooking time.
Time your meats that you cook by beer consumed. It's better than an egg timer. You're welcome.
Example. I like a nice ribeye steak cooked to a nice pink medium. That means put it on the grill, drink 1/2 can of beer, flip steak, drink rest of beer. Eat steak.