How To Cook on Charcoal
Charcoal cooking is a small number of skills. Lighting a fire properly, building two zones, controlling airflow and knowing when to stop. Everything else follows.
TechniqueHow to Light Charcoal Without Lighter Fluid
There is one right way to light charcoal, it costs about twenty five dollars, and it takes fifteen minutes.
TechniqueHow to Set Up a Two-Zone Fire
One fire, two temperatures, and suddenly a charcoal grill can do everything an oven and a frying pan can do together.
TechniqueThe Snake Method: Low and Slow on a Kettle
A line of unlit briquettes, lit at one end, burning along at about an inch an hour. It is the cheapest smoker you will ever build and it is already inside your kettle.
TechniqueThe Minion Method Explained
Fill the basket with unlit charcoal, drop a few lit coals on top, and let the fire eat downward through the pile for the rest of the day.
TechniqueHow to Control the Temperature of a Charcoal Grill
A charcoal grill has exactly three controls: how much fuel you light, how much air you let in, and how long you are willing to wait.
TechniqueLump Charcoal vs Briquettes: Which Should You Use?
The argument is older than most of the grills it is had over, and the answer is genuinely that it depends on what you are cooking.
TechniqueHow Much Charcoal Do I Need?
The chimney starter is not just a lighting tool, it is your measuring cup. Once you think in chimneys, quantities stop being guesswork.
TechniqueWhich Wood to Use for Smoking
Wood is a seasoning, and like any seasoning it is possible to use far too much of it.
TechniqueHow to Clean a Charcoal Grill
Most of what people scrub off a charcoal grill should have been left exactly where it was.
TechniqueHow to Smoke on a Charcoal Grill
A kettle grill is a smoker that has not been asked to be one yet. The only thing separating them is how you arrange the fuel.
TechniqueCharcoal Grill Temperature Guide
Charcoal cooking only has five useful temperatures. Learn what each one is for and the rest of it becomes straightforward.
TechniqueThe Reverse Sear, Explained
Cook it gently first and sear it last. It is the wrong way round from how most people learned, and it is better for anything thick.
TechniqueHow to Spatchcock a Chicken
Spatchcocking is the single best thing you can do to a whole chicken before it meets the fire, and it takes about two minutes.
TechniqueHow to Trim a Brisket
A well-trimmed brisket cooks evenly and renders properly; an untrimmed one gives you a burnt edge and a dried-out flat. Twenty minutes of trimming is worth hours of good cooking.
TechniqueHow to Cook the Perfect Burger on Charcoal
A great burger is not complicated, but it is specific. The fat, the handling and the heat all matter, and getting them right is the difference between a burger and a hockey puck.
TechniqueHow to Grill Vegetables Properly
Charcoal treats vegetables as an ingredient, not a side, if you cook them properly. The trick is matching the vegetable to the heat, and dressing them boldly.
TechniqueHow to Control Flare-Ups
A flare-up is not a disaster and it is not always bad. Knowing the difference between a useful lick of flame and a sooty grease fire is part of learning to cook over fire.
TechniqueHow to Season and Care for Cast Iron
Cast iron is the best surface for searing and it lasts a lifetime, but only if you treat it right. The whole of that treatment is a thin layer of oil and keeping it dry.
TechniqueHow to Cook Low and Slow for the First Time
Low and slow barbecue sounds intimidating and is mostly patience. Your first one should be a pork shoulder, because it forgives nearly everything.
TechniqueHow to Set Up a Charcoal Rotisserie
A rotisserie turns a good cook into a spectacle and solves the hot-side problem entirely. The whole knack is balancing the load and setting the fire to the sides.
TechniqueHow to Grill a Whole Fish
A whole fish over coals is one of the simplest good things you can cook, and the only real obstacle, sticking, is entirely avoidable once you know the rules.
TechniqueHow to Cook on a Kamado Grill
A kamado rewards a slightly different approach from a kettle. Master the airflow and the golden rule of creeping up on your temperature, and it will hold a fire like nothing else.
TechniqueHow to Make a Charcoal Fire Last Longer
A single chimney of coals gives you about an hour of real heat. For anything longer, you either feed the fire or build it to burn slowly from the start.