SteakReverse Seared Ribeye on a Charcoal Grill
The technique that makes a thick steak behave. Gentle indirect heat first, a savage sear last, and the grey band disappears.
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.
SkewersYakitori Over Binchotan
Small skewers, a narrow bed of coals and no lid. Yakitori is charcoal cooking reduced to its essentials, which is exactly why the fuel matters so much.
ShellfishCharcoal Grilled Octopus
Octopus needs two entirely different cooking processes: a long gentle simmer to tenderise, then a violent short char. Skip either and you get rubber.
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.
ChopsLamb Chops Straight Over the Coals
Fat, bone and a fierce fire. Lamb chops are one of the few things that genuinely benefit from the flare-ups everyone else spends their time avoiding.
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.
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.
SausagesSheftalia, Cypriot Caul Fat Sausages
Minced pork and lamb wrapped in caul fat, which melts as it cooks and bastes the meat from the outside in. There is nothing else quite like them.
CheeseGrilled Halloumi, Properly
Halloumi is squeaky and dull when it is done badly and genuinely excellent when it is done properly. The difference is thickness and heat.
SkewersAdana Kebab, Turkish Lamb Skewers
Hand-minced lamb with tail fat and red pepper, moulded onto wide flat skewers. The fat content is not negotiable and it is why this tastes like nothing you can buy.
Short ribKorean Galbi, LA-Cut Short Ribs
Short ribs cut thin across the bone so they cook in minutes. The marinade uses pear, which genuinely tenderises rather than just flavouring.
SteakGrilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri
Skirt is the most flavourful cheap steak there is, and it wants one thing: a screaming fire and about two minutes a side.
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.
SkewersGrilled Lamb Koftas
Spiced minced lamb moulded onto skewers, the Middle Eastern cousin of the Turkish kebab. The trick is kneading the mince until it is tacky so it grips the skewer.
FilletsSeared Tuna Steak on Charcoal
Tuna is a steak that happens to come from the sea. Treat it like one: a fierce fire, ninety seconds a side, and a raw ruby centre.
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.
Whole fishCharcoal Grilled Sardines
The cheapest, most Mediterranean thing you can put over coals. Whole sardines, salt, fierce heat and lemon, eaten with your fingers.
CheeseHalloumi and Vegetable Skewers
Halloumi is the one cheese that holds its shape on a skewer, threaded between peppers and courgette and charred until it squeaks and softens.
VegetablesGrilled Pineapple with Rum and Lime
Fire does something remarkable to pineapple: the sugars caramelise and the fruit turns almost savoury. A pudding that cooks on the dying coals.
ShellfishGrilled Garlic Prawns, Gambas Style
The Spanish tapas classic taken outside: prawns cooked in garlic, chilli and olive oil on a plancha over the coals, the oil catching the smoke.
VegetablesCharcoal Grilled Flatbread
A live fire is the best oven a flatbread will ever meet. Two minutes over the coals and it puffs, blisters and takes on a smoke you cannot fake indoors.
ShellfishGrilled Lobster Tails with Garlic Butter
Lobster sounds intimidating and is genuinely easy over coals. Split the tails, baste with garlic butter, and cook flesh side down then up. Ten minutes, no boiling pot.
VegetablesGrilled Portobello Mushrooms
A big flat mushroom is the closest a vegetable comes to a steak: meaty, juicy and deeply savoury when it takes on smoke. Marinate, grill gill side up, and let it fill with its own juices.
SausagesGrilled Chorizo with Peppers
Cooking chorizo releases its smoky paprika oil, and over charcoal that oil crisps the skin and coats whatever it touches. Grill it with peppers and mop it up with bread.
VegetablesGrilled Asparagus
Asparagus over coals is one of the quickest, best things you can do with the fire while it is hot. A little oil, a fierce heat, and lemon and parmesan at the end.
CheeseProvoleta, Argentinian Grilled Cheese
A thick disc of provolone grilled in a pan until the outside crusts and the inside goes molten, scattered with oregano and chilli. The way an asado begins in Argentina.
VegetablesCharred Corn Ribs
Quartered corn cobs curl into rib shapes as they grill, char at the edges and eat off the cob like a rib. The most fun you can have with sweetcorn.
Some of the best charcoal cooking is not a main course at all. Small plates suit live fire because they cook in minutes, they come off the grill in waves, and people eat them standing up while the next thing goes on.
This is also the honest use for a dying fire. A bed of coals that is past its searing best is exactly right for peppers, aubergines, flatbreads and anything that wants ember heat rather than a roaring grate.
Serve them with something sharp. Almost everything cooked over charcoal is rich and smoky, and lemon, vinegar or pickles are what stop a table of it becoming heavy.
At a glance
| Recipe | Method | Grill temp | Cook time | Pull at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reverse Seared Ribeye on a Charcoal Grill | Reverse sear | 290°C (550°F) and above | 45 min | 55°C (130°F) |
| Pork Belly Burnt Ends | Low and slow smoking | 135 to 175°C (275 to 350°F) | 4 hr | 95°C (203°F) |
| Yakitori Over Binchotan | Direct heat | 230 to 290°C (450 to 550°F) | 15 min | 75°C (165°F) |
| Charcoal Grilled Octopus | Direct heat | 230 to 290°C (450 to 550°F) | 1 hr 15 min | Tender |
| Garlic Charcoal Prawn Skewers | Direct heat | 230 to 290°C (450 to 550°F) | 6 min | 50°C (120°F) |
| Lamb Chops Straight Over the Coals | Direct heat | 290°C (550°F) and above | 8 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 |
| Ember Baked Aubergine Baba Ganoush | Cooking in the embers | 290°C (550°F) and above | 25 min | 95°C (205°F) |
| Sheftalia, Cypriot Caul Fat Sausages | Direct heat | 175 to 230°C (350 to 450°F) | 20 min | 75°C (165°F) |
| Grilled Halloumi, Properly | Direct heat | 230 to 290°C (450 to 550°F) | 6 min | Charred |
| Adana Kebab, Turkish Lamb Skewers | Direct heat | 230 to 290°C (450 to 550°F) | 10 min | 70°C (160°F) |
| Korean Galbi, LA-Cut Short Ribs | Direct heat | 230 to 290°C (450 to 550°F) | 8 min | Cooked through |
| Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri | Direct heat | 290°C (550°F) and above | 8 min | 55°C (130°F) |
| Crispy Charcoal Chicken Wings | Two-zone cooking | 175 to 230°C (350 to 450°F) | 40 min | 85°C (185°F) |
| Grilled Lamb Koftas | Direct heat | 230 to 290°C (450 to 550°F) | 12 min | 70°C (160°F) |
| Seared Tuna Steak on Charcoal | Direct heat | 290°C (550°F) and above | 3 min | 45°C (110°F) |
| Charred Cauliflower Steaks | Two-zone cooking | 175 to 230°C (350 to 450°F) | 30 min | Tender |
| Charcoal Grilled Sardines | Direct heat | 230 to 290°C (450 to 550°F) | 6 min | Opaque |
| Halloumi and Vegetable Skewers | Direct heat | 230 to 290°C (450 to 550°F) | 10 min | Charred |
| Grilled Pineapple with Rum and Lime | Direct heat | 175 to 230°C (350 to 450°F) | 10 min | Caramelised |
| Grilled Garlic Prawns, Gambas Style | Direct heat | 230 to 290°C (450 to 550°F) | 6 min | 50°C (120°F) |
| Charcoal Grilled Flatbread | Direct heat | 230 to 290°C (450 to 550°F) | 12 min | Puffed and charred |
| Grilled Lobster Tails with Garlic Butter | Direct heat | 230 to 290°C (450 to 550°F) | 10 min | 60°C (140°F) |
| Grilled Portobello Mushrooms | Two-zone cooking | 175 to 230°C (350 to 450°F) | 15 min | Tender |
| Grilled Chorizo with Peppers | Direct heat | 175 to 230°C (350 to 450°F) | 15 min | 70°C (160°F) |
| Grilled Asparagus | Direct heat | 230 to 290°C (450 to 550°F) | 6 min | Tender-crisp |
| Provoleta, Argentinian Grilled Cheese | Direct heat | 230 to 290°C (450 to 550°F) | 8 min | Molten |
| Charred Corn Ribs | Direct heat | 230 to 290°C (450 to 550°F) | 10 min | Curled |
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. Reverse sear. Bring it up slowly on the cool side, then sear hard at the end. Edge to edge pink with a hard crust. 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. Foukou rotisseries. Kamado grills. Kettle grills. Korean table grills. Portable grills.