First Charcoal Grill -- I Need Help! 

Helen swearing at a kettle grill is my new favorite thing

Hi Helen! Charcoal baskets are key! For low and slow cooking also look into the snake method! You have almost all of the basics figured out already but there's one thing missing: distance between the charcoal and the cooking grate is key! Although it may seem like only a couple of inches, if you reduce the distance by half you will get 4 times the heat! This is because radiant heat (which is the primary source of heat with charcoal) follows the inverse-square law. So if you want a hot zone and a medium zone, you want one area with charcoal bunched up close to the cooking surface and another area where it's more spread out and further away! The amazing thing about charcoal is that you build your own burner every time you cook! Also don't be afraid to throw some aluminum foil in there when you want to block some of the radiant heat. Position the charcoal, the lid, and the vents to create a path for the airflow to enter the bottom, feed the fire, and come back to the food for natural convection cooking!

I'm a Weber 22 guy and you're doing everything I did when I first got my 22. There's a bit of a learning curve but when you learn how to do direct grill versus offset you'll have 95% of all the techniques you'll need. Question one- cool cool down and one to two hours average time. It depends on how big your charcoal heat load is. Question two - I'm clueless on squid . Question 3- heat control over direct grilling with burgers. The best techniques I've seen are roughly a single layer of lit charcoals replenished every 15 minutes the 20 minutes and use only half the grilling surface so you can flip them around to a cool side during flare-ups. The problem with heat control with that is the flare up. It adds direct flame to what is already hi radiant heat affect which can lead to burning if you let it go on too long. And you are correct this takes a lot of attention but when you master it gets a lot easier. Pro tips on your thermometer use. I prefer to stick the thermometer just inside the top vent, it allows better heat control by preventing the gap on the lid from letting in more air which causes more the heat to rise. You'll have to measure the offset temp from the grill great to the top vent and just track it as an offset temperature it should be about 20 or so degrees. My last pro tip is marking the positions of your bottom vent at the cracked, 50% add wide open positions. This way you can learn to approach your target temps with ease. If I was to say shoot for a 300° temp, I would monitor the temps after I dump my charcoal load while leaving the upper and lower vents wide open. Also note that the lower vent is the macro control the upper vent is the micro control. Upon getting within 20 degrees off of 300 I'll close my bottom vent to just above cracked open position and then put my top vent at 300 to about 2/3 open while putting the bottom vent add crack open position. This should maintain that temp for about 30 minutes give or take depending on how much charcoal load you have in there. Look up minion method for charcoal load on long low and slow cooking when you're ready to do the smoke ring and diffuser plate or Justin general. Also check out the Weber 22 club in FB. Good luck and bon appetit.

I used to cook everything on a charcoal grill, from massive breakfasts to full on hardy meals and even slow roasts. As with all you do, practice…. You are doing all the right things. Trial and error; you can’t have amazing results without some failures.

Cooking with Ry is a good channel to get great Weber Kettle advice and ideas. Definitely helped me with my learning curve. I could never go back to gas!

I think you are doing very well! You have the right idea. I have learned so much about my kettle grill from RU-vid. 50 years ago all I did was burn the hell out of everything. Experience is a great teacher.

I believe the stinky part is the cubes you are using to start the fire. I was taught to use newspaper in the bottom of the chimney. It might take a little longer to get the coals ready, but there should not be any stink, just the smell of charcoal of burning.

My first quick tip to help you manage the surface temp is to use your hand as a gauge. Just place your open hand palm side down about 2-3 inches from the surface and start counting, if you have to snatch your hand away immediately its way too hot, 2-3 seconds is ideal. Also use this trick to find your hot spots (works on gas grills too of course). You can use your hot spots to help you cook, work with them or around them as needed. /edit - I wouldn't put the lid on when searing the reverse sear burgers, traps the heat and smoke, diminishes the flame, and cooks through.

Right on! I love charcoal grilling. Gas grilling is great too. I was lucky to find a 22" Weber at a thrift store for $16. ...Bought several accessories. : Slow 'n Sear deluxe. : Rotisserie with motor. : Grillgrates(mainly use the flat side) : heat gloves, thermal temp pen, dual temperature thermometer for doing BBQ. : Pyramid charcoal starter : metal skewers : charcoal baskets : half moon riser(allows for two levels of cooking) : spinning grill grate(comes in handy for the reverse sear/cold grate method) As soon as I'm done grilling, I close vents and get the lid on. Then I use that old charcoal mixed with new charcoal. Greatly extends the uses of a bag of charcoal. I love using some wood chips, small wood chunks for flavor smoke.

Put your lid on with the vent centered over the indirect zone (convection). Leave it fully open unless you're doing a low and slow roasting.

I love the longer tongs and the long set of heat resistant gloves!! Save those fingers, wrists and forearms!!! Briquettes run cooler that hard-wood charcoal. And I like the charcoal instead of briquettes. You have to be careful with the hotter charcoal! They burn off faster than briquettes so if you are BBQing for a longer period you have to add more charcoal sooner. Yes, on the heat control- having the cool side of the grill and using the vent is perfect for heat control. If you want to grill really fast (say for searing steaks), you can use a small wire rack over the top of the chimney starter with hot briquettes or hardwood charcoal in it! That is really hot but creates a very fast sear!! Have fun!!

When you are done, cover, close all the vents and walk away. There is no need to babysit the grill. Next day when the grill is cool you can use the remaining charcoal to help fill your chimney starter. I use a nitrile disposable glove for this. I put some new briquettes in the bottom of the chimney, add yesterdays charcoal and top the chimney up with new briquettes. Open all the vents and get rid of the ash in the bottom of the grill.

I'm a Big Green Egg guy and I think you're getting a good start. Two things I might suggest though. Rather than using paraffin as a starter, you might use a sheet or two of wadded up newspaper. This is something many people simply throw away, so it's a win-win if you still subscribe or if you know someone who does. Also briquettes are compressed charcoal dust combined with binders that hold it together. Some people can detect the difference in the flavor of the food as a result. Briquettes are very popular because they're convenient and many don't notice the flavor difference. I prefer lump charcoal because there are no binders whatsoever and the flavor imparted to the food is quite different to me. Good luck with your new adventure.

Buy a Vortex. An accessory that makes the grill much more versatile.

Part of the smell at the beginning may be from the starter cubes which are made with paraffin. You can start your chimney of charcoal with one sheet of crumpled newspaper which is free if you pick up the free ones. Just don't use magazines.

This was an excellent departure from the typical expert-Helen! Seeing you learn, and asking for advice, was very relatable and I’m sure many people have the same struggles/questions. Thanks for the ever-awesome content and happy grilling 😊

I personally think it’s safe to close both vents when done and leave the house. As long as there isn’t anything flammable close to it. I’ve done it for 40 years. Also, I use a product called a slow and sear. It is like the Weber baskets but with a built in water pan. And it seems to be more durable stainless Steele. I enjoyed the video.

Use the briquette baskets to make direct zones on either side of your indirect zone. Sear over the direct zones then place in the middle and place cover on to finish cooking over the indirect zone for desired doneness. Trying to grill that amount of Zucchini all at once on a charcoal grill would be challenging to say the least. When you place the lid on a charcoal grill, you are closing off some of the air so your grill will cool down quite a bit, leave it off for high, searing temps. Close the lid and all the vents when finished and you will have some usable briquettes for next time. I really loved your video on corn tortillas!!! I have been making my own for a little while but haven't had the guts to do the second cook on them yet.

I use the charcoal as soon as the charcoal is lit much like your second batch on Day 1. Day 2: Love the reverse searing technique. When you sear your steak allow the fire to sear the meat. I usually will leave steaks on the hot side of the grill for 45-60sec. Don't be afraid of the flames, allow them to create that mallard reaction you are looking for. Day 3, The grill will have hot spots especially if your coals aren't uniform. I rotate the meat that I'm cooking so I get a more even cook. The char baskets you use should be aligned by the grill handles. That will allow you to add charcoal to them for extended cooking times. Separate the baskets to both sides and cook the meat in the middle of the grill not on one side. There are some great benefits to charcoal grilling but I've found I can get a similar result using gas and smoking wood chips. Great job Helen and you will continue to learn the tips and trick of charcoal grilling.

Ditch the briquettes and go for a high quality lump charcoal like B&B or Fogo. Remember that the lid cools down your coals- for the sear, keep the lid off. You only need one fire starter, haystacks or a crumpled piece of newspaper will also do the job with less smell. For Hot + Medium zones, fill one basket for the hot side (coals closer to the grate) and spread the rest evenly around the coal grate with a little space between each coal.

Watch Ron on the Grill! He is very informative and answers any and all grilling questions!! 😊

Thank you for using a Weber and charcoal chimney! You're already doing better than most "grill experts". Yes, fill the chimney UP slightly above the top even because the charcoal will crumble down when heating. You won't need more than that. Yes, wait longer for the oil to heat up. Yes, the charcoal didn't need to be totally white on top before pouring, just a little white to indicate the heat made it's way all the way up. Just use 1 lighter cube, it'll be fine. You used 2 and that's why it was so stinky. You can also add smoking woods for better smell (and flavor!) Don't abandon the grill more than a few minutes when cooking but you can absolutely leave the grill when done as long as it's a safe distance from the house and covered. It'll take hours to cool down. Don't spread the coals with the tongs, just get better at more evenly pouring the coals out 😉 Just please, make sure to use your coal bag up before winter - it won't be nearly as good the following year. Happy grilling!

Soooo many questions. My grandfather started to show me how to grill a steak when i 5 years years old. That was 60 years ago. I started using the classic Webber 22" kettle about 35 years ago. I hhave 4 of them and yes i occasionally use two or three at a time ( beer brats using a dutch oven for the beer cooking then finishing on the grill. Another kettle doing a vegetarian dish, my white kettle is dedicated to only vegetarian meals. And a 3rd kettle baking a pie.) Bottom line anything you can do in a oven you can do in the kettle. So you need to learn fire management. How much fuel and placement of your fuel. Latter you start to add different types of wood chunks for more and different smoky flavors. Grilled salmon, baked breads and even smoked Turkey or Texas style smoked brisket, hmmm. Good luck, learn your fire and everything else will fall in place. FYI, beware of folks who say "you have to do it this way". There are so many ways to use these cookers. Folks have been after me to start a channel for a few years now so I'll post up something in the next week or so. Heck I'll be salmon fishing week so maybe a salmon catch and grill video. Have a great day 🌤 🎣🐟🔥

Regarding getting higher temp on one side and slightly lower but not cold temp on the other, when cooking with coals to one side for direct and indirect, I like to orient the lid so that the top vent is on the side that does not have the coals. This will cause the hot air trying to escape to have to go over the side of the grill that doesn't have coals, meaning that it won't just escape out the top and leave the "off-side" without the coals running cold. I usually start with a chimney that is only 1/3-1/2 full of charcoal, get it to be flamey/orange without all white and then dump it into a pre-laid bed/rows of unlit coal onto the one side I'm putting the coals on. The unlit coals will get you longer time grilling as they will light over time, and it won't burn out as fast as if you start all the charcoal in the chimney. This is great for when you're doing longer barbecue type cooking where you need to cook something for 6 or more hours (ribs done this way are great, to get a nice tender rib the internal should be in the 190-200 range, best to wrap at some point to prevent over-darkening of the bark and retaining moisture for juicier ribs) I don't bother with baskets or slow'n'sear or vortex or any of those things, just dump on one side sort of against the wall of the grill so they pile up there. I usually just watch for which parts of the grill are hotter than others and rotate the food through the hot and cooler spots to get a more even doneness, as long as your hot spots aren't too hot you can have time to rotate them all through without burning, I find it easier/reliable to just understand where the hot parts are based on the look of the coals and then sear things more slowly than I might on a stovetop, that way each wing, brat, burger, whatever gets its turn in the heat and is done evenly. Then heat control is done via the vents, both the top and the bottom vent. Yes that charcoal ash cleaner thing at the bottom is also an air vent, so you can control temperature by adjusting that as well. My usual process is to light charcoal in chimney, wait until lit enough, dump into grill, put grate and lid on, set vents to be maybe 1/4 to 1/2 shut on top and barely open on bottom, then wait 20-30 minutes and gauge/measure temperature of the dome (I have the weber with the built-in dome thermometer, those aren't super accurate but any method measuring inside the grill will work whether its dome, grate thermometer, etc) If it's too hot, close vents more, if its too cold, open vents. Once the grill is ball-parked to the right temp, then I clean the grate and put food on. Watch and adjust vents as you go, if you're going for a while, you'll want to make sure you open up the vents at some point so that the unlit charcoal in your bed can light faster and to maintain the temp for a long time. Remember also that opening the lid is going to give it way more oxygen than just opening all your vents to full blast, so by looking at what you're cooking, you're also raising the temperature of the grill you're cooking over, so don't try to over-adjust the food once it's on. When I'm doing a rack of ribs and also doing some burgers or hot dogs or brats for lunch, I keep the grill dome temp lower for the ribs around the 300-350F range and just let the burgers, brats, etc sit on the direct side and close the lid. They'll take longer to sear and brown but they'll still do it eventually, be patient with it and they'll still get the nice darkened color, you'll just want to start them earlier than you might expect since you're not searing them right over an open flame like if you're cooking with the lid open. This is where patience helps and not trying to cook it all fast will help. Oh and flare up control? Just put the lid on, fire can't burn if there's not enough oxygen so unless I'm trying to really hard sear a steak on flames, I sear everything with the lid on. Can't have a flare-up burn your food if there's not even extra oxygen for the flames to use to flare up. This is one place where the charcoal grill is exceptional compared to gas, flare-up control is as easy as putting the lid on and closing the vents further, you can walk away for 3-5 minutes at a time while searing if you're vents are closed enough and the lid is on without much concern because it'll only burn as hot as there is oxygen for it. That makes it so you can easily put burgers on, close lid and go into the kitchen to grab a plate to put them on, even if it is farther away from the kitchen. For safety to leave the grill, once vents are closed and lid is on, it can't burn any hotter, so if the lid is securely on, and grill is on steady ground at no risk of being knocked over, then I consider it fine to leave. It may still be hot to touch on the side for quite some time if you cooked for a while in it, but it's mostly safe after 20-30 minutes as long as the lid stays on and vents stay shut (don't open it to check if its out though, that'll add more oxygen) If you're really concerned though, don't be afraid to just douse the charcoal with water though, it will get stinky and smokey and all that, but then you know its 100% safe. I'm sure you'll be cleaning the grill with water, and it's a weber with enameled paint so it's not going to rust or anything.

Hi Helen! You've gotten plenty of advice already, so I won't offer any more. a couple of my subscribers mentioned your video here and said they recommended me, so I wanted to say hello. All I use are Weber Kettles on my channel and I cook for only 2 people most of the time. There's no such thing as too big, only too small, lol! I always use a well defined two-zone set-up for both grilling and smoking. That means I have a divider of some kind separating my zones. For a long time I just used two bricks and put my charcoal behind them. I have many videos that show me doing this. Lots of people have gone on to do it this way after watching my videos and had great success. Eventually I bought a Slow-n-sear, which is really just a much bigger charcoal basket with a couple of features that make it burn more efficiently and, when smoking, help you maintain low temps over a long period of time. I'd say the two-zone set up with a chimney full of coals enables you to do just about anything you want to do. And, since charcoal is reusable, all you need to do after a cook is close both vents. They'll go out quickly. Next time you're ready to cook just give the basket a good shake to get rid of excess ash and pour fresh coals on top. If you set it up correctly and learn vent control, Webers work a lot like a convection oven in the way the air circulates. Good luck!

Когда я заканчиваю с грилем, я режу крупными кубиками имеющиеся овощи, грибы, что есть в холодильнике. Помещаю их в корзину для гриля, и оставляю под крышкой, пока гриль остывает. Периодически помешиваю. Они готовятся медленно, но достаточно хорошо, пока гриль держит температуру и остывает. Затем их можно заправить специями, маслом, или есть просто так. Удачи!

Thank you so much for sharing your learning process!! I can't wait to see how your charcoal skills develop

I prefer lump coal. I really like that it doesn't leave ash. I'm not going to pretend that it makes any of this easier though lol. it get hotter faster and burns out faster, making cooking certain food a more hectic. The only real advice I have is, I personally rarely use the lid. I want my food to cook from direct heat on a grill, not by steamy convection. A lid is needed for gas, since they have trouble getting up to the needed temp, but charcoal actually seems to get a bit hotter when it is off. When it is off it is also easier to shuffle things around, so nothing sits in a hotspot for the entire time.

The Weber is wonderful! I smoke stuff on it all the time (The Snake Method - simply stack two rows of briquets two briquettes high around 50-80% of the way around the edge of the bottom, then put wood on top at certain intervals for smoke and add some lit starter briquettes at one of the ends - leave bottom air intake almost closed and top one almost closed, adjust for temperature) As for hot and medium, have the divider baskets with lots fo coal on one side, have some loose coal under the medium side, experiment until desired temp

Welcome to cooking with charcoal. It is always fun to learn new things. First thing you should be aware of is that there is a big difference between true charcoal and charcoal briquettes. Briquettes have clay added to them to make them burn slower and some even have an accelerant added for easy match lighting whereas true charcoal is all wood and burns much hotter and faster at the same air (damper) settings. The Weber grill you have is a good choice for beginners because it has good air controls and practically no air leaks. Grills with lots of places for air to pass through means you would have less control of the air flow and therefore less control of the heat. Best advice for cooking is to not open the cover unless you have too. Use your dampers for overall heat control. For our charcoal grill to get an even grill temp I find it helpful to make a few smaller piles of charcoal briquettes on the perimeter of the charcoal grate rather than one big pile in the middle or off to one side. The multiple small piles around the edges allows the heat to come up the sides and circulate around for more even heat distribution when you want it. However, there are many times it is more desirable to have a hot section and a cooler section for grilling. You can adjust that by the percentage of how much charcoal is on each side. For longer lasting burns try adding some fresh charcoal briquettes (not the match light type as the added accelerant they have put on an existing fire can impart a bad flavor to food you are cooking) on top of the dumped briquettes. There are a bunch of videos out on RU-vid that show how to do this on your Weber kettle grill. If you don't mind the humor Grillin&Chillin with Coleman's instructional is pretty comprehensive. For more smokey flavor we add some hickory briquettes or small hickory chunk wood to the briquette piles after we dump the chimney. Also keeping the cover closed as much as possible helps to create more smokey flavor. The two dampers you have on that Weber grill for air flow will give you a lot of control for heat and smoke. Once things are going if you want moderate smoke and heat open them both about half way. For more heat open the bottom one. For more smoke close the top damper. When you are all done the fastest way to burn the briquettes out is to open both dampers fully to let them burn as fast as they can. You should be safe to leave the hot in the grill anytime, all but the cheapest "Smokey Joe" comes with an ash pan or bucket, but if you feel nervous about leaving them hot because maybe the dog or something could topple the grill you can always quench them with water but clean it out ASAP afterwards because wet ash can rust and rot out any grill in a single season. Happy Grilling

Helen, I love this! I'm new to charcoal too (about a year); I bought a 22" SNS kettle (similar to the Weber), and after some trial and error it is now my favorite grill. You made some good progress in just a few days!

Skills are learned! Thanks Helen for reminding us that!

For lighting a chimney of charcoal you dont have to wait for it to completely ash over, when you pour the charcoal out the unlit charcoal on top will now be on the bottom underneath the lit charcoal. Lump charcoal will not put off any "stinky" smells while lighting up. You trade consistency for having just straight natural wood, briquettes are just compressed shavings mixed with binders/starches. Ive used briquettes a lot but I'm finding the cleaner burning lump charcoal more to my liking now. The B&B hardwood lump is a good one to try. Using charcoal baskets was a good move to create a more concentrated 2 zone cooking setup. They also help the charcoal burn longer. If you want a lower temperature then you can fill the baskets with unlit coals and just light up a small handful and disperse them in one end of the baskets to slowly burn through. As far as getting a medium heat zone, that can be a bit more challenging trying to setup different areas of charcoal. The easiest way I can think of is to have a normal hot and cool zone and get an elevated cooking rack accessory that sits above the regular grate. There are quite a few available and they arent expensive. That way you can raise the food above the hot zone and have a more gently direct heat. As far as shutting your grill down, its completely safe to walk away from the grill. It seems you already have it on concrete, I guess if youre really worried just make sure if the wind happened to knock it over with a strong gust the grill wouldnt land anywhere that could potentially catch fire. I think this is highly unlikely though. If you shut all the vents the coals should snuff out in about an hour or so. Through trial and error you will learn to love the kettle, it is extremely versatile. Ive completely quit grilling on gas and soley use Weber charcoal grills and don't ever see myself changing from that.

Random tips: 1. Lump(wood) charcoal for high heat, briquettes for low and slow. The difference is quite noticeable between the 2 fuels. 2. Not a helpful tip but may answer a few questions: The cheaper Webber Kettle Classic is far better for beginners and the coals are closer to the grate. This model looks too hard for most. 3. Calamari is 11 out of 10 difficulty! I honestly can't think of anything harder (and I love/do seafood all the time). Might be chewy but at least it's always tasty. Haven't mastered yet. 4. I almost always huddle the coals at around 1/3 to 2/5 of the bottom grate. Never to half the grate. Unless cooking for an army. 5. You can reverse sear plenty of stuff and I almost always do. Just like you did the burgers but on the cool side of the grill instead of the oven. Usually take things to 10 Celsius (not F) BELOW target temp and then swirl the grate over to the fire. (Whole fish, Pleurotus/Oyster and other big mushrooms like huge Portobellos, steaks, burgers... almost everything) 6. Since you are sensitive to the smell, try using natural wood and beeswax firestarters. No idea what they are called back in The States. 7. Always and continuously use the Thermapen for EVERYTHING! You just can't "wing it" with charcoal. 8. And MOST important: wood chips or lumps. There is no substitute for the "taste" of hickory (for example) 9. Lastly, anything that takes over 4 hours, I'll smoke for at least 2-3 and then finish off in a low oven WHEN lazy. Lots of love from an American, addicted to his WEBER, living in a small seaside town in the Mediterranean 😃 (edit: Bonus tip. I almost always leave the lid on for 5 minutes before cooking anything. Grates get hot. Lid gets hot. Alot of weird smells from previous sessions go away)

1. You can use junk mail to start the charcoal and save some money. The cubes probably work better, but it generally takes 1-2 wads of paper to get the coals going for me and I look forward to stocking the good paper for BBQ now! 2. Put the hot coals in a pile on one side for searing leaving the other side as "indirect" heat like an oven. Make sure the coals are by the side that opens so you can throw in more if you need them. 3. To control the temp, I generally leave the bottom wide open and just mess with the top vent. For steaks I like between 400-500 degrees. 4. Flip, flip, flip every 1-2 minutes depending upon how hot the grill is to avoid burning the surface and cook through faster. 5. I like lump charcoal flavor better, but regular charcoal is easier to control when you're learning. Regular charcoal tastes bad on longer cooks in my opinion. 6. You gotta keep at it and go with the flow because it is definitely more hit and miss than gas. I often find I adapt to conditions, if it's too hot, I do indirect heat until the coals cool off and then sear. Sometimes I just open the lid to let the heat escape.

I'm a grilling fiend; never used propane, always charcoal. If you're sensing a 'bad' smell during fire-up, check to make sure you're using the cleanest starting material. I hate those "Firestarter"' briquets that have an organic oil in them (they stink and can impart a flavor to food). Also, I've never used the chimney starter cubes you used: Make sure they don't contain any organic (i.e., oily) components. I've found that a couple sheets of newspaper wadded up and stuffed in the bottom chamber works great (and no smell, and always available for free). Also, and I suspect you already cleaned your new chimney, but if not, these things require a few uses to eliminate the machine oil they're coated with when brand new. Hope this helps. Oh, once you close the top and bottom vents, you can walk away and not worry about catching anything on fire (there's literally no way for sparks to fly around outside the grill itself). If you have a bunch of hot pieces that have fallen through the vent holes while cooking, just douse them with a bit of water to put them out.

Hi Helen, I have been using 22" Webers for 40 years. For a long time, I've been using 2 zone heating and wood chips (often soaked) almost exclusively. I close the vent on the bottom about 2/3 of the way and on the top about halfway. Depending on what I'm cooking, I'll use either mesquite, cedar or applewood. If I'm cooking something for a while, I'll also add a chunk or two of oak that has soaked for a few hours (I also soak the chips). I also use hardwood lump coal (although ATK likes briquettes). Steaks, burgers, sometimes fish get cooked direct. Cut up chicken, fish that gets smoked goes in the cooler area and cooks longer to take up the smokey flavor. That covers most of my grilling. Whole turkeys get some different specifics but the same general approach (coals on the side, smoking wood that has been soaked), the coals need recharging in the middle. (I'm thinking of going to gas because my tracheostomy makes being around smoke difficult.) Good luck with the grilling!

Love your videos! I hope you create a follow up video on what you've learned from subscribers about charcoal grills and update us on what you've learned first hand.

great tips in the comments! this one wasn't one of your questions, but the ends of the grate that fold up/down are for accessing the coals during cooking. you can open them up to add cold coals to keep the fire going, toss on some wood for smoking, etc - it's like a window. helps to think of it this way as you position your coals and the grate on top of them. also, would recommend experimenting with dumping the coals directly into the sides of the grill so they pile up on a slant. that's how i get a super reliable 3 temp zone with just 1 chimney of coals that go for hours.

I have an egg style grill, so this may be a little less applicable, but I start by building a mound of (lump) charcoal in the middle. Make a little crater, like you would with flour, place starter in there and build up some charcoal around it, enough to make use of the starter, but not so crowded it cuts off airflow. After the starter burns down, the surrounding charcoal should start to glow red or turn white. If so, close the lid and open up the airflow (throttle back once you get near desired temp). The rest of the charcoal will start to catch as the grill preheats (preheat time will be a smidge longer with this method, but worth it). Once preheated, you now have a central hot spot and can "adjust" your heat by moving food from the center (for browning) and to the edge (for staying warm). Only take the lid off to move food around, or if you just really want to ramp up the heat (think of it as a big smoky oven. The air is your fuel, the charcoal just holds the heat). I've found this method gives me consistent & delicious results each time. Happy Grilling! :)

Standard way to do steaks on charcoal grill: Put coals to one side with a vent under them. Sear steak over coals. Move steak to other side over indirect heat and place lid on with lid vent on the same side as the steak on open. This creates an updraft where the air enters the vent, is heated by the coals, and then moves over the steak to leave through the lid vent. It creates a oven like environment. Pro tip: if you want to use a probe thermometer string the probe through the lid vent without the thermometer attached. After the lid is on attach the thermometer. You can also start less charcoal and put some unlit charcoal on top when you dump it out. It helps even the heat out a bit, but you need to get used to it.

Briquettes: slow ignition, long, slow burn, ideal for recipes that take longer. Charcoal: quick ignition, lots of heat, ideal for quick grilling and to get a nice crust. I always use charcoal in baskets. Ash: if the charcoal/briquettes are covered in ash then you lose some heat, with briquettes this is not so bad, with charcoal IF you need a lot of heat just stir the charcoal a little and you have full heat. Lots of fuel -> lots of heat (just for the sake of completeness) Baskets: very good with a combination of charcoal. The distance from the charcoal also plays a role, since I can't adjust the distance on my kettle grill, I just put something under the baskets if I need a lot of heat (for example 2 stones on the sides under the baskets). In addition, you need very little charcoal for quick grilling, such as when preparing 1-2 steaks, I need about half of a starter. Try not to leave the steaks on one side for too long, then you will avoid burnt grill marks hot grill grates. That was my experience :)

1) When cooking burgers, the grease drip can (and did in your video) cause direct flame. An overcooked burger can be the result of a mini grease fire. I normally use 85/15 but one time I cooked 70/30 burgers and stepped away for a few minutes and the grease drip caused a massive fire that cinderized all the food on the grill. Lesson learned! 2) I also prefer wood lump charcoal for a cleaner smoky taste. I typically use lighter fluid instead of a chimney starter - but I've seen friends give their chimney starters a small shake a few minutes into the lighting process to shift and settle the lighting coals for more even results. 3) have you thought about grilling planked fish on your new grill yet? Remember the cedar planked salmon craze? 4) for heat zones sans basket, I used to just spread the coals 60/40 on two halves to create a hot and a medium area. You could also use a grilling basket to lift more tender items up a bit.

You can blow air by any means if you want to get really high heat and after you stop tempature wont stay as high so its good to make crust with its also good to realive the mostly burnt coals

Just came inside ironically from my charcoal grill where I did lamb, T bone, soy chicken, and pork tenderloin, mmm. -topped with cilantro pesto and a cucumber and watercress balsamic side salad, and a beer😅 -it is more art than science, but so worth it. Yup have to move food around more to cook perfectly. -briquettes burn less hot but for longer than wood charcoal, which is why your zucchini didn’t cook. Learn wood charcoal though, much better flavour. -several paper towel lightly soaked in olive oil, or other oil starts a fire well and no smell or toxicity. I don’t use a fire box, just make a hole in the charcoal pile with a few charcoal pieces over top of the oil soaked napkins and light. -I dump water over my charcoal when done, and re-use while adding a few more fresh lumps each time. Happy grilling, fire 🔥 🔥 🔥

You'll never fall in love with charcoal using briquettes. Lump or bust, get oak and mesquite mix. I pile my charcoal all the way to one side, up a little higher like a mound to get the heat closer to the grate. that gives me a very hot side to sear, even without a ton of charcoal, baskets are unnecessary, but not harmful. The kettle is more than one tool simultaneously, a griller and a smoker. At any moment, it could be either or both. Ribs are great because they are almost impossible to mess up, and if your coals finish before they are done you can move them to the oven, although I have pretty much switched to oven only ribs because they are soooo easy and less production. Chicken thighs are awesome, marinate them as you please, sear them on the hot side, move them to the cool side, sauce them, cover with the vents open over the chicken, let the sauce caremalize, sauce again, let caremalize, and repeat. Thighs are hard to overcook and making them sticky with layers of caremlized sauce is the key. Steaks on the grill are another favorite or porkchops. I think thick steaks are best because you can get amazing crust without overcooking, and the smokey flavor is better than anything you can get cooking indoors. For a nice thick steak, make sure you pat the meat as dry as possible, dry brine with kosher salt in advance if possible, add medium coarse black pepper prior to cooking if desired (you can also season post cook with a finishing salt, or coat with melted seasoned herb butter when serving). the key to crust is to cook it over the hot secton only, and once it goes down keep flipping it often, if its nice and thick you wont overcook it while you develop the exterior crust, and if you flip it often it wont burn. when the fat starts to render and it drips on the coals, cover it as always with the vents over the meat, this makes the smokeyness mingle with the beef fat and the flavor engrains in the crust. remember, the coals are cooler when covered because its getting less oxygen, so you can leave it slightly longer between flips at this point without it burning. Now, the real magic happens when you cook with both sides at once, you can cook alot of delicious food all at once, but you cant walk away from it once the meat goes down. My approach is not very scientific like yours, Helen, but if I'm grilling, I'm drinking, which increases my intuition and allows me to cook better meals than a novice like myself has any business cooking. If you're ever in California, bring your family over and I will show you my approach and cook a feast! I learned most of what I know about charcoal cooking from watching my dad, who makes the best bbq salmon ever. He's self taught. I've also gleaned alot of invaluable insight about cooking in general from watching yours and others videos. Thanks for the awesome content! and good luck with charcoal! Stick with it and search for intuition within yourself because all the cooking knowledge you already have plays when grilling. Once you grill with intuition you will LOVE to go outside to cook, especially on a nice evening. And for the love of all things holy, dont use briquettes from a factory.

It’s wonderful to see how passionate people are about their Weber kettles. Aside from the flavor that charcoal imparts, there’s a degree of skill necessary to produce quality food that requires practice.

I recommend steaming zucchini for a few minutes (while the coals are starting) before grilling it. Otherwise it is likely to burn before it is cooked through. Same with asparagus.

I use charcoal almost exclusively, and it is a learned skill, kinda like cooking on a wood cookstove. Its an ancient skill most have lost. But you are on the right track, with your skills in the kitchen I have no doubts your learning curve will not be as bad as mine. To get more smokiness use wood, chips are probably the easiest, I collect my own. I use birch with out the bark, mountain ash, alder, and occasionally apples. NEVER use evergreens like pine,larch,spuce,ect. And never use poisonous plant like poison oak, ivey, lucas,ect. I have smoked fish on a webber before, worked good, but smaller quantities, only side without charcoal, or cold side. I have no doubts in your ability to master this skill and thank you for all you've inspired me to learn, especially your dumplings and pasta, I now make a pretty good salmon dumpling that i cook often. I thank you, my friend.

I'm on a brazilian backyard bbq at this exact moment. We started discussing the heat issue, the expert opinion here is that we have easy access to better charcoal here. Ours usually come in different sizes, the smaller pieces are easier to start, the bigger ones maintain consistent heat for a long time. The other thing that is common here are tall grills with multiple different distances to the fire in order to have different temperatures at the same time

It was fun to see you try charcoal after recently taking your Grilling Fish class (and being the only charcoal griller in the group!). You've got all the basics and advice you'll need for the grill you have. I have a Char-Griller smoker-grill, so the longer rectangular grill space is different from the round Weber and creates different heat zones. I manage them differently so my advice wouldn't be helpful. I have to say that once again your class gave me great cues and I was able to grill some beautiful striper today (NO STICKING!) along with some little sirloins (I'm able to do a variation on your reverse sear by leveraging the larger grill and the warmup time). And I sprinkle my coals and save and dry anything left to throw in the next fire.

My wife and I love your videos. Grilling is an art and takes a lot of practice. You have to get to know your equipment, each grill is different. Charcoal brands make a difference as well, some burns better than others. Some grills you can adjust the height of the food from the coals. You are doing the right things, messing with the vents (both top and bottom) to get the temperatures correct, letting the grill heat up, etc. It is just going to take practice to become a grilling virtuoso. I personally use a combination of smokers, grilling, and Dutch ovens anymore.

I moved, so now I don't have a grill or all the tools, but I think I had the same model of grill from your video. That being said, if you want to learn from scratch, get a hibachi, or a smaller grill, so you are closer to the heat but can adjust the distance from flame to food. And try smaller batches... you don't need to use the whole grill surface to learn. Paper wads don't stink as much as blocks of stuff for lighting your grill, and actual charcoal smells better than briquettes. Here in Hawaii we have kiawe (mesquite, an invasive species introduced to make animal feed) on the dry side of most islands and people make and sell kiawe charcoal, its a little more money than briquettes but smells better and burns hot. I had a big ceramic planter pot to dump coals into, which I could cover and walk away from without any worry about fire. You could put some pavers on your wooden deck (and set your grill on top of those) if you are worried about heat from the grill affecting the wood. I did the line of coals on one side to do hot zone/cold zone, and I tried hot/cold/hot setup but the big round grill wasn't as suited to that, I think its easier with a rectangular grill setup. Honestly, If I get another grill I'll do a hibachi and simplify my list of grilled food options to things that fit the small form factor.

Cool to see a great chef trying something new! Charcoal baskets are the right idea. Several products out there that improve on those. The Slow N Sear "SNS" I think has been around the longest. Briquets are easier to manage than lump, but lump has a nicer burn. All natural briquets I think give you the best of both worlds.

Hi Helen, please try lump charcoal, it’ll last longer than brickets. It also is more controllable and tastes better. I love your videos. You have a great demeanor and I love the way you speak. You articulate every word perfectly.

I love my Weber kettle grill. I hate the factory cooking grate and so I got online and ordered a nice heavy duty American made stainless steel grate that is much heavier and durable. I like to use a grill basket for doing vegetables. There isn’t the fuss of them falling through and it’s much easier to turn them and move them around so that they brown evenly without some being burnt and others nearly raw. Your comments about the coals being lit but not fully white is correct. For slow and long cooks the ‘snake’ method is great. It’s just practice and being observant. I love charcoal over gas even though it’s not as convenient.

Concerning your very first attempt with the zucchini, was the bottom vent to your grill open? It looks to me as if you snuffed out the charcoal when you placed the lid on. Regardless of having the top vent open, if the bottom vent(s) are closed there is no air intake and as such the fire goes out. Otherwise you look like a person who bought a charcoal grill and is learning how to use it. You're doing well, enjoy the process and don't sweat the small stuff. I would've eaten anything you pulled off of your grill. Happy grilling!!

I put my charcoal chimney over the side burner of my gas grill to light my coals. The minimum amount of charcoal I'd use is a three quarters full chimney. (up to the highest air holes on the side of a webber chimney), however I usually use full chimney. I also tip out my briquettes a bit early like you. I do it once the top layer of charcoal has some ash visible on it.but before they are totally ashed over. I want all impurities to be completely burned off before I put food on, and I get the benefit of the hottest possible fire to preheat my grill grates, without wasting charcoal. If you are a night grilling maniac like me there is another visible cue. I like to wait til I don't see flames jetting out the top of the chimney anymore. I have used a sharpie to mark where the bottom vent is closed, just barely cracked open, 50% open and full open, I admit I mainly use the grill either full open, or open just a crack for a low and slow cook. I reccomend you google the snake method of arranging charcoal. I like to arrange two rows of briquettes around the circumfrence of the charcoal grate where the briquettes are nearly vertical, and I put an additional two rows stacked on top of the first two rows.. with propr vent management I've been able to get 7 or 8 hours of uninterupted unattended (mostly) heat for a low and slow cook. You are already using a two zone fire, but occasionally I use a three zone fire.one side has no fire, the othr half has charcoal but the charcoal has two zones. a large even layer as a base and a second layer of more charcoal at the outer edge of the grill away from the cool zone. I do have a suggestion when things are going too hot and fast, like with your blackened zuccini, for example. Instead of moving each piece of food individually while singeing all the hairs off your hands and forearms, use your tongs to grip the cooking grate and rotate it 180 degrees so your food is over the cool zone. You can then rearrange the food without it continuing to burn and you wont burn yourself either. Then rotate the grate back. Charcoal grills are a bit diffrent than gas grills. Gas grills get hotter with the lid closed. Carcoal grills burn hottest when the lid is off, because there is a more oxygen reaching the coals. Think of the bottom vents like the gas pedal in your car. wide open vent is like mashing the gas pedal down. The top vent on the lid is like the brake pedal in your car. The more you close the vent, the slower the combustion gases can escape, the slower the fire. I find the top vent gves you the most control out of the two vents. Lid open? Fuggeddaboutit. Blazing heat is the result. I try to keep the lid on for the majority of my cooks. Nice choice on the Webber. I love my Webber performa grill, (nifty built in table) but I've barely used it since I bought a big ceramic egg shaped kamado grill.

Close all vents and cover the lid, the fire will die in a matter of minutes, so you can leave the house pretty soon after grilling.

I've achieved temperatures of 900F using a "vortex" in a Weber 22" charcoal grill. For the record, I also have gas and pellet grills which I use for different purposes. I've been refining my grilling (and smoking) techniques for many years. I'm a big fan of your kitchen tutorials and would be honored to share my experiences with you.

Hi Helen 👋 I'm happy that you're giving charcoal another chance. It does take time and experimentation to find out what works for you. I'm surprised you hadn't called your friend Chef John for some advice. He uses charcoal quite a bit.

For moving food from High heat to low(er) simply rotate the grill inside the kettle by using handles - you don’t have to handle the food and you can move back and forth and get right combinations of heat/cool. Use spatula for fish and burgers, tongs for veggies and steak, ribs, etc.

How to fire management on a weber. If it's not windy, leave the bottom vent completely open. Control temp by location of fire, size of fire, and exhaust vent. If windy, place fire inside kettle downwind and close off bottom vent half way, continue control with exhaust. You always want very thin smoke. Billowing clouds of smoke = dirty combination = lighter fluid taste.

Love your channel Helen! When I first started charcoal grilling I used kingsford and the smoke output when first lighting them was so horrible and stinky, I felt bad smoking up my neighborhood. Switched to B&B briquettes and they are far better - significantly less smoke, less ash, and last longer. If you want even less initial smoke, try hardwood lump charcoal which has no binders. From my research online it seems to be the binders in briquettes that are the cause of the initial smoke

One tip I'd say is start piling your charcoal up high and on top of each other. I know you want them evenly spread out, but you also want to kake sure your heat source is close enough to the thing you want to cook. One layer of brickets at the bottom is like if you started a gas stove but then lifted you pan up above the fire expecing it to cook. You need to close that distance so try and get your coals to be closer to the grate.

I have Webber's Art of the Grill book. It does a really good job of showing how the heat circulates within the grill and how to change heat flow, particularly with the use of the charcoal baskets and the upper and lower dampers. For me, understanding parts of this was not exactly intuitive, but I used the diagrams, and they nailed it. Most of the time, I do use the charcoal baskets. I have a lot of control that way. Me personally, I just will not use a gas grill. I use either charcoal or wood in the fire pit with the iron swing grill.

Helen, it's the same as gas grill. The fuel source is different and imparts a wonderful primal taste. And you don't need alot of charcoal. Close vents leave grill alone, use coals next time.

Place the vent on the top of the grill over the direction you want the heat to travel. You can get medium and high heat by setting up your grill for indirect cooking and put a grill gate over the chimney starter with lit coals in it, essentially turning it into a mini grill.

Heat zones will depend on how you bank your coals - the closer they are to the grate, the higher the heat will be. With regard to the smell when lighting, I have found (consistently!) that lump charcoal lights faster and smokes less than briquettes, but it's less consistent and more expensive.

You can create three heat zones by dividing the grill into thirds where 1/3 has no coals, the middle third has a single layer and the final third has two layers or more of coals. It significantly reduces your cooking area, but does give you three heat zones. I’ve never needed to use it.

Best tip I can offer other than keep at it and trust your gut is to use cotton balls soaked in denatured alcohol for your starter. It's a very clean burn and it only takes three to get a full chimney lit (very cost effective). I put them on a folded up square of aluminum foil under the chimney. Other advice, which goes for grilling in general would be to get a pair of welding gloves. The Weber kettle exposes you to more of the cooking surface so even with the long tongs you have they are great to have. Harbor Freight has some pretty cheap ones. I would also try to avoid using the oven as you learn because it is way possible to do long cooks. I cook the Thanksgiving turkey every year on my Weber kettle. I sometimes use the oven to finish depending on weather conditions but the whole point of using the grill is to impart flavor. Best of luck, it's worth the effort in my opinion.

Other folks are already pointing out plenty of things to watch and methods for gaining more control, like the use of coal baskets you noted. But a major thing to keep in mind is that heat from burning solids is simply less controllable. This means you have to monitor your food closely, especially for high heat grilling. I don't even bother putting the lid on for direct heat with charcoal, only for indirect heat cooking so I can direct and control the airflow. It requires a little experience to judge how hot the grill is running, just like learning to judge a gas range or a broiler.

On a propane BBQ, you control the flow of the fuel. On charcoal, you control the intake of air. So being careful with the vents, and when you take the lid off, is important to manage.

Helen, have you check to see if your Grillgrates fit into this Kettle grill? This really is a good application for it (if it fits correctly). No advice for me as far as charcoal goes, as I’m a lifelong gasser :) This isn’t a grilling channel but I love your enthusiasm on it. Makes me want to grill this weekend too.

if you suffocate the coals...will they go out and can be used again to resume where they left off? that would make it seem less wasteful of...charcoal 🙂

One of those starter cubes is enough. You don't need two. Fifteen minutes should be enough time on a summer day to start the briquettes.

I've been grilling on a 22" Weber kettle for decades. Here's my two cents. 1. Add wood chunks to your grill. You can buy Oak, Hickory, and various fruit woods at pretty much any hardware store or big-box store. I live in Somerville, and I get mine at Tags (the Ace hardware store in Porter Square), Home Depot, or Lowes. Put wood chunks on whatever you use for the hot zone. Some folks use a little charcoal at the bottom of the chimney and fill the rest with wood chunks -- I prefer to add the wood afterwards. 2. Get yourself some "Charcoal Rails". They clip onto the charcoal grate (the lower grate), and make it easy to pour charcoal on each side, making two hot sides and a warm zone in the middle. You can do something similar with your basket -- the two sides separate so that you can make a hot zone on each side. I find the rails easier to manage. 3. For two-zone cooking like you tried, position the rails side by side a little towards one side of the center. They'll hold your hot coals in the hot zone and leave the cooler zone clean. 4. Keep at least one side of the moveable parts of the grate over the hot zone -- if you use two hot zones, then align the grate so that the opening on each side is directly over the hot zone on that side. Then just add more charcoal or wood chunks during the cook if your grill is not hot enough. 5. Most steaks don't need the cover. For regular grocery-store steaks -- less than an inch thick -- temper the steaks inside for an hour or so. Salt them the night before and leave them in your fridge overnight uncovered. Then temper them for an hour. Mine are usually around 50 deg F when I put them on the grill. Put them on the hot side, and use a timer (I never worry about a temperature probe). For a typical 3/4" steak, 3-4 minutes a side is about right for medium rare with nice browning. I like a a long-handled spatula. I set a timer for 1.5 minutes, then rotate the steak 90 deg and restart the timer. Then flip the steak and do the other side. Adjust the time to your taste -- you'll get lovely grill marks. A timer is MUCH easier than mucking with a probe, and gives very reproduceable results. 6. Oil the item to be grilled, not the grill. Any oil you put on the grill immediately burns off. For veggies like zucchini, I use a stainless steel bowl and olive oil I cook veggies on the hot side, no cover, and turn them until I get the char I like. I think the char is delicious. My family LOVES grilled onions. Get large sweet onions (Vadalia while they're in season) and cut them into thick (1/2") slices. Oil each slice, and put it on the hot side. They go great with steak -- just use a spatula to move them to the cool side while your grilling the steak on the hot side. 7. With two hot zones, one on each side and wood chunks on each hot zone, you can do fabulous roasts. I routinely do chicken, pork roasts, lamb shoulders, beef roasts, and so on. Put a temperature probe in the roast, get the grill going. put the roast on the grill, and cover it. Use the vents on the top and bottom to adjust the heat up and down. I usually just open the top and bottom vents all the way and let it go. A 4 pound whole chicken takes about an hour to an hour and a half, most similar sized protein roasts take about the same. 8. When you're done, close the vents, put the cover on, and forget it. It takes an hour so for the coals to go out -- I'm not sure, I never babysit it. 9. Before you start, be sure to clean out any old coals, ash, and accumulated junk. The metal sides of the bowl reflect heat and all that stuff acts as an insulator. There's a tray underneath the grill that will collect the juices from fatty proteins like chicken. You can get foil liners that make it a breeze -- just discard it after it's cool. 10. Pay no attention to the naysayers and dogmatic types. The paraffin cubes work great, I use them all the time. They burn off almost immediately and don't add any flavor that I've ever been able to taste. Paper is a royal pain -- it's harder to start, less reliable, and you'll end up with paper ash flying all over the yard. Finally -- perhaps most importantly -- charcoal NEVER starts properly unless you sit near it with a refreshing libation. I'm partial to higher-quality lawnmower-swill like PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon) or Miller. Drink it from a glass, never a can. Bottled beer (in glass) is a favorite of mine. My German-born wife swears by Campari and soda. By the time your libation is finished, the chimney is probably ready to go.

an answer for "how to high and med heat": the only way i do this is wait for coals to burn down to med heat, usually towards the middle of the cooking time of the coals for example steaks/burgers/veg first then med heat is next this is when you add more coals or cook on med heat stuff like fish or thin blacken chicken breast, then it's low heat for things like pineapple chunks apple slices delicate veg, I sometimes shock my herbs like basil cilantro on low heat on the grill to keep their color in relishes and salsas etc.

I may have missed it but the single best advice i can give you: do NOT clean your grill with a wire brush. the wires can dislodge from the brush and find their way in your food causing real harm. Use a leftover piece of flat wood or small scrap piece of 2x4 (something you can hold in your hand) and just run it across the hot grate. Works like a charm, is much safer, and shouldnt cost you anything. (its the same concept as those shaped wooden scrapers you spend too much for at the store)

I’m going to say this in the off chance that I have the amazing opportunity of giving YOU a tip for a change. You’ve helped me so much that I hope this helps you. That paper towel you used to oil the grill? Toss it into the cooled chimney starter and use it next time you use your grill. Place it under the starter and light and it will get your coals going. No fluid or other starters needed.

If you want more of a smoky flavor, you need to use some wood chips. They often to sell them, where the grill equipment is. Grill temps can be tricky, depending on many factors. For one thing... Grills that have thin metal walls... can be effected greatly if its cold and windy outside. If you can shield the grill from the winds... that will help keep the temp higher, and more regulated (such as using a high wooden fence, or a brick wall niche)... More below... One thing you have to be careful of... is if actual Flames are rising up, and burning the food. This often happens from "Flare Ups", when the fat and oils from the meats, catch on fire. With grilling, you want Radiant heat, not actual flames. When there is a flare up.. try moving the meat to a different part of the grill. You could have a medium heat zone.. by using less coals near the middle section of the grill. Sometimes, you wrap things in aluminum foil, to keep the heat in better.. and to prevent external burning. When its mostly cooked, you can remove the foil, the continue cooking to char the surface. If the coals are starting to get lower in heat, you can often just add more coals directly on top of the existing coals. Some grills have a Height Adjustment... where you can set the Grill Grates at a higher or lower position. This helps to increase or degrease the Heat levels. Marinating the meats overnight before hand... not only gives better flavors... but also, tends to help cook the foods faster. One other thing... if you have no way to shield the grill from cool winds, at least point the cool side of the grill towards the winds. That way, the Hot side, is better protected from the wind gusts. Finally... Grilling and BBQ, are actually two different things. Grilling is mostly what you are doing here... While BBQ is slow and low cooking... usually taking several hours worth of time (sometimes over 12 hrs). The use of a Smoker, is best for BBQ, as the meat will much better absorb all of the smoke flavors... deeply into the meats.

Charcoal makes things taste sooooo good!

OH NO Helen, i'll need to shop for a new grill because of you!

There are electric elements sold that you place in the charcoal lumps to start them burning, no smelly starter or chimmney needed. It looks kinda of like a stove element. Place your lumps evenly when cold. Gently lift out element when the charcoal is 25 percent white.

Haha, wow I was just checking your older Charcoal v. Gas videos the other day so this is a nice surprise. My pennies: -Getting to know your hotspots every firing is much easier than trying to achieve a perfectly even temp across the entire grill every time. -Try the brown fiber firestarters. They don't have the gross chemical smell of those white weber cubes or liquid starter and avoidddd using paper or cardboard - this will just send paper ash flying everywhere. -Different charcoal makes a big difference. Royal Oak sells a great charcoal that is just actual chunks of charred wood instead of briquettes and the flavor and heat it gives is noticeably better than Kingsford and those style briquettes that can have a slight petrol smell. -Charcoal + Smoking is where it will really shine, or anything slow-cooked, especially vegetables. For quick cooking, marinate those things in oil, acid and whatever you like - it will let them cook longer without burning the surface. You can even try slow-cooking burgers under a low flame and the smokey taste will be much more pronounced. They won't develop a crispy crust, instead it is more of a reddish skin, keeping all the juices locked in. -Get long sword skewers - Remove the grill grates and kebab and brochette everything over open flame - this is great for veggies, since they'll cook more evenly if they're not touching the hot grates.

I recently discovered Frontier (brand) Tumbleweeds as charcoal chimney fire starter material. Works great! I've dabbled with a Weber 22 for decades. Lately I've been trying to learn to do it "right" and consistently. I'm far from an ace, but I think (at least in my case) using it frequently so that one remembers what happened 'last time' and why it likely happened - is crucial.

They have grill “table” attachments which you clip into place on the side of these kinds of grills. Very helpful to have a convenient place to put prepped food. I pile the charcoal on one side of the grill. Heat goes from very hot to cool on the other side. Point is to sear the meat on the charcoals, then move to cool side. Once everything has the exterior color I like, I cover the grill and it basically turns into an oven (like with your day 3 ribs). Time foods so they finish about the same time, else taking them off one by one has that opening the oven door effect. You can buy separate wood chips for grilling (cherry, hickory, etc) to impart smoke flavor. You soak the chips beforehand, and toss them into the hot coals for smoke. Gets extra smokey if you do this before you cover the grill.

Use a thermometer attachment. Use lump charcoal not briquettes for better flavor. A Slow N Sear attachment is awesome to reverse sear. You should put your to either side and a drip pan in the middle to smoke ribs add wood for extra flavor.

Lump charcoal made from oak or mesquite will impart a much more pleasing smokiness than charcoal briquets. Because of lump charcoal's inconsistent size, you'll have another variable to juggle, but I promise: the improved taste is worth it. And as another commenter pointed out, the starter cubes aren't necessary. Newspaper, waxed cardboard... any number of highly flammable things can be used to start the charcoal. My rather fire-happy spouse just uses a flamethrower nozzle (yes) at the bottom of the charcoal chimney.

Nothing beats experience!!!!!! Use up 1,000 lbs of charcoal and you will have some skills. How long did it take you to learn to be proficient with your oven????? Same thing with the grill. I love your videos as they flatten my learning curve!!!!!!!

Please make a tutorial on how to smoke meat with one of those. Play around with different types of wood (and cold/warm smoking) whenever you feel like experimenting. Some friends smoked pork loin to make Canadian Bacon and it turned out divine, way better in comparison with what we find at the store for a fraction of the cost. It was one of the best treats I have ever had, to be honest. Keep us posted. I hope I can do the same again. I only had it once and it was an unforgettable experience! I wish I took notes back then!

Hi, I have a Webber Grill. I suggest closing the lid and paying attention to the temperature dial on the outside of the lid. When I cook steak or picanha I put them on the grill when the temperature reaches 450 - 500 degrees. I've never done vegetables because I am on more meat based diet. However, I'm guessing veggies taste better on a quick high heat too. When cooking something very fatty, I don't recommend a grill hotter than 500 degrees. The fat will drip fast and cause flames. I'd suggest going on Webber's website too. They have lots of information.

I tried briquette charcoal grilling once... never again... smoked out the whole neighborhood. Then I tried a Japanese Konro Grill with Binchotan charcoal and it was a revelation... no charcoal smoke, no disgusting odor, even infrared heat, burns for hours, and then you can put the coals in a pot and reuse them.

Good counsel from most. 1. Lump charcoal is good, but I keep going back to briquettes because of their easy arrangement and predictability. 2. Want some more flavor? Just keep a bag of apple, cherry or mesquite chips nearby. Throw them on top of the coals and close the lid. It will add a nice smoke flavor to your food. 3. Lid off when searing fatty meats. Flip to another spot when they start to flare up. Move to the cold zone to finish with the lid on. Otherwise, you will be smoking with fat vapors that resemble a petroleum smell and taste. This is often mistaken for lighter fluid starts. 4. Buy another bottom, charcoal grid and turn perpendicular to preserve more of your charcoal. 5. Yes, I close up all the vents and preserve the extinguished charcoal for the next grill. No need to stay and babysit if there’s nothing flammable nearby. 6. When searing steaks make sure you have at least two layers of charcoal underneath. Add the grill and don’t put those steaks on for 10 minutes. You’ll get some nice grill marks then. I’ve always enjoyed your videos because you bring the scientific approach. Charcoal grilling is a science and an art. Welcome to the adventure.

Try a smaller table top BBQ grill. Easy to manage. Or buy 2, or 3. Set them up for different Temps if you like. You can use Kingsford charcoal. You can throw in some of your favorite woods also. Table Top BBQ grills do not require a lot of fuel for quick cooks.

More smoke flavor: buy wood chunks and put 2-3 in the baskets before dumping the charcoal. Airflow: place the vent over the cool zone to draw heat and smoke over the food from the hot side.

The smell you’re experiencing is likely from “easy light” briquettes of coal, those are pre-soaked in lighter fluid that can produce a nasty odor. I always opt for the charcoal without that descriptor. Using the chimney and the webber starters you’ll have no issues lighting the charcoal (Easy light is for a park, camping, or beach BBQ situation in which you probably don’t have access to better tools / equipment)

Best charcoal experience is easily those ceramic eggs, with a small torch for lighting. The small ones are only about $200 and make getting a consistent temp easy and give you amazing smoke flavors. Torch gets the charcoal lit in under 10sec.

Well done Helen, I found the Acorn komado style BBQ's/smokers very very efficient and have stable temp control. Also I use two types of charcoal depending on what I'm cooking. I use fast burning light weight (cheap) charcoal for searing and Japanese Binchotan white charcoal for super intense searing or low and slow cooking. The flavour is much better with natural charcoal than the bricks. I also use an electric starter so no stinky kero smell. I hope this helps!!

I’ve found my Webber cools fairly quickly when all vents are closed off. I can usually put my cover on the grill within about 45 minuted