RibsBaby Back Ribs on a Charcoal Kettle
The cook that teaches you fire management, because five hours at 135°C (275°F) on a kettle is entirely achievable and entirely on you.
ShoulderCharcoal Smoked Pulled Pork Shoulder
The most forgiving long cook in barbecue. A pork shoulder has so much fat and connective tissue that it tolerates almost every mistake you can make, which is why it should be your first project cook.
Pork bellyPork Belly Burnt Ends
Cubes of pork belly smoked until the fat renders, then braised in butter and sugar until they glaze. Barbecue's answer to a confection.
Whole birdSpatchcock Chicken on a Charcoal Grill
Removing the backbone and flattening the bird solves the fundamental problem with roast chicken: breast and thigh want different temperatures, and a flat bird lets you give them both.
Thighs and legsPeri Peri Chicken Thighs Over Charcoal
Chicken thigh is the cut charcoal was made for: enough fat to survive a live fire, and skin that goes properly crisp over coals in a way an oven never manages.
Whole birdJerk Chicken Over Charcoal and Pimento Wood
Real jerk is a smoking technique, not a sauce. The marinade matters, but what makes it jerk is slow smoke over pimento wood.
ShellfishGarlic Charcoal Prawn Skewers
Prawns take about four minutes and are ruined by five. Shell on, skewered flat, over a hot bed, and off before you think.
LegButterflied Leg of Lamb Over Charcoal
Boned and opened flat, a leg of lamb goes from a three hour roast to a forty five minute grill, with far more surface for char and a built-in range of doneness for people who disagree about it.
VegetablesCharred Cabbage Wedges Over Charcoal
Cabbage has enough density and sugar to take real fire, and it is probably the best value ingredient you can put on a charcoal grill.
VegetablesEmber Roasted Peppers with Romesco
No grate, no pan. Peppers go straight onto the burning coals, which sounds like vandalism and is actually the oldest cooking technique there is.
VegetablesCharcoal Grilled Corn, Elote Style
Corn over charcoal, then rolled in mayonnaise, cheese, chilli and lime. The char is not decoration, it is a flavour the vegetable cannot produce any other way.
VegetablesEmber Baked Aubergine Baba Ganoush
The smoke is the dish. Baba ganoush made in an oven is a different, lesser thing, because aubergine flesh absorbs smoke better than almost any other ingredient.
Thighs and legsTandoori Chicken Without a Tandoor
Two marinades, not one. The first is salt, lemon and chilli cutting into scored meat; the second is yoghurt and spice clinging to the surface. That order is the whole technique.
ShoulderCuban Lechon Asado
Pork shoulder marinated in mojo, which is sour orange, a great deal of garlic and oregano. Citrus and pork over charcoal, and very little else.
Thighs and legsFilipino Chicken Inasal
Chicken marinated in calamansi, vinegar, lemongrass and ginger, then basted constantly with annatto oil that turns it a deep orange. Sharp, savoury and completely distinct from western barbecue.
Short ribAsado de Tira Over Embers
Argentinian cross-cut short ribs cooked slowly over embers rather than flame, seasoned with nothing but coarse salt. Patience is the entire recipe.
Thighs and legsCrispy Charcoal Chicken Wings
The secret to crisp charcoal wings is not a hotter fire, it is baking powder and a patient two zone cook. Skin like glass, no deep fryer.
Whole birdWhole Roast Chicken on Charcoal (Better Than Beer Can)
Beer can chicken does not work, for reasons of basic physics. Here is the whole roast chicken it is trying to be, cooked upright on a proper roasting stand.
VegetablesCharred Cauliflower Steaks
Cut a cauliflower into thick slabs and it grills like a steak, going nutty and sweet where the florets catch. The most convincing vegetable main there is.
ShoulderChar Siu, Chinese Barbecue Pork
The glossy red barbecue pork that hangs in Cantonese windows. Pork shoulder strips lacquered in a sweet, savoury glaze and cooked until the edges char.
Whole birdSmoked Turkey Crown
The best thing that can happen to a turkey is a charcoal fire and a brine. Smoked over apple wood, the meat stays juicy and the skin turns mahogany, and your oven stays free.
Short ribSmoked Beef Cheeks
The hardest-working muscle on the animal becomes the most tender thing on the plate. Beef cheeks are pure collagen, and low slow smoke turns them to silk.
At a glance
| Recipe | Method | Grill temp | Cook time | Pull at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baby Back Ribs on a Charcoal Kettle | Low and slow smoking | 135 to 175°C (275 to 350°F) | 5 hr | 90°C (198°F) |
| Charcoal Smoked Pulled Pork Shoulder | Low and slow smoking | 105 to 135°C (225 to 275°F) | 10 to 12 hr | 95°C (203°F) |
| Pork Belly Burnt Ends | Low and slow smoking | 135 to 175°C (275 to 350°F) | 4 hr | 95°C (203°F) |
| Spatchcock Chicken on a Charcoal Grill | Two-zone cooking | 135 to 175°C (275 to 350°F) | 50 min | 75°C (165°F) |
| Peri Peri Chicken Thighs Over Charcoal | Two-zone cooking | 175 to 230°C (350 to 450°F) | 25 min | 80°C (175°F) |
| Jerk Chicken Over Charcoal and Pimento Wood | Two-zone cooking | 135 to 175°C (275 to 350°F) | 1 hr 15 min | 80°C (175°F) |
| Garlic Charcoal Prawn Skewers | Direct heat | 230 to 290°C (450 to 550°F) | 6 min | 50°C (120°F) |
| Butterflied Leg of Lamb Over Charcoal | Two-zone cooking | 230 to 290°C (450 to 550°F) | 45 min | 55°C (130°F) |
| Charred Cabbage Wedges Over Charcoal | Two-zone cooking | 175 to 230°C (350 to 450°F) | 40 min | Tender |
| Ember Roasted Peppers with Romesco | Cooking in the embers | 290°C (550°F) and above | 20 min | Collapsed |
| Charcoal Grilled Corn, Elote Style | Direct heat | 230 to 290°C (450 to 550°F) | 12 min | Charred |
| Ember Baked Aubergine Baba Ganoush | Cooking in the embers | 290°C (550°F) and above | 25 min | 95°C (205°F) |
| Tandoori Chicken Without a Tandoor | Two-zone cooking | 230 to 290°C (450 to 550°F) | 35 min | 80°C (175°F) |
| Cuban Lechon Asado | Low and slow smoking | 105 to 135°C (225 to 275°F) | 8 hr | 95°C (203°F) |
| Filipino Chicken Inasal | Two-zone cooking | 175 to 230°C (350 to 450°F) | 30 min | 80°C (175°F) |
| Asado de Tira Over Embers | Direct heat | 175 to 230°C (350 to 450°F) | 50 min | Cooked through |
| Crispy Charcoal Chicken Wings | Two-zone cooking | 175 to 230°C (350 to 450°F) | 40 min | 85°C (185°F) |
| Whole Roast Chicken on Charcoal (Better Than Beer Can) | Two-zone cooking | 135 to 175°C (275 to 350°F) | 1 hr 10 min | 75°C (165°F) |
| Charred Cauliflower Steaks | Two-zone cooking | 175 to 230°C (350 to 450°F) | 30 min | Tender |
| Char Siu, Chinese Barbecue Pork | Two-zone cooking | 135 to 175°C (275 to 350°F) | 1 hr | 70°C (160°F) |
| Smoked Turkey Crown | Low and slow smoking | 135 to 175°C (275 to 350°F) | 3 hr | 70°C (160°F) |
| Smoked Beef Cheeks | Low and slow smoking | 105 to 135°C (225 to 275°F) | 6 hr | 95°C (205°F) |
Techniques used
Direct heat. Food straight over the coals. Fast, fierce, and finished before the inside overcooks. Cooking in the embers. Food laid directly on the coals. No grate, no barrier, maximum char. Low and slow smoking. Hours at 105°C (225°F) to 150°C (300°F) with wood on the coals. Collagen melts, bark forms. Two-zone cooking. Coals banked to one side: a searing zone and a gentle zone in one grill. The single most useful technique in charcoal cooking.
Cookers these suit
Asado grills. Bullet smokers. Drum smokers. Kamado grills. Kettle grills. Portable grills. Tandoor ovens.