Charcoal Grilling

[rgbeard]

My wife and I have been doing a grand experiment.  Charcoal grilling instead of the oh-so-easy gas.

I grew up with gas grills, and know exactly jack-shit about Charcoal.  Thus.....

We purchase a little bitty starter grill such as this:



Here's what I know so far.

Starter Chimneys - wow.  Mega-cool.
Lump Charcoal - nice stuff - but it's like managing a fireplace, and the grill I have seems too small to do it effectively.
Kingsford Match Light - OMG - Wicked Cancer Agent shit.  We just did some shrimp on it - my mouth tastes like I swallowed a gallon of gas, and over half the shrimp got thrown away.

Where from here?

[CLAY]

Weber kettle grill.  A c-note, and well worth it.  One of these:
http://www.amazon.com/Weber-741001-22-5-Inch-One-Touch-Silver/dp/B00004RALU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1340423551&sr=8-2&keywords=weber+kettle

Use Kingsford charcoal in the chimney with one full sheet of newspaper at the bottom, NO lighter fluid, and NEVER buy matchlight.   That stuff is crap.  You have to burn it 45 minutes just to eliminate the lighter fluid impregnated in the coal.

You can stick with the grill you have, but I think the Weber kettle is the best bang for the buck.  I have a really nice Weber gas grill, but I fall back on the kettle ANY day I have time to do the charcoal- and with the chimney and newspaper it doesn't take much longer than gas.  If you want some fun stuff to make, let me know!  The old beer-can-chicken is a classic.  

 

[M.Brane]

 What he said.

 That little charcoal grill is a cruel joke played on you by Kingsford's marketing dept. Get yourself a real Weber kettle, and explore the world of slow indirect charcoal grilling.

 In the absence of lighter fluid or a starting chimney a propane torch makes a good coal lighter.

[greench440]

What CLAY said.  I switch back and forth between gas and charcoal (both Weber btw) depending on how much time I have and how hard it is raining. The only problem I have when I use charcoal is that I end up using too much and it's too hot to get that slow cooked charcoal goodness.  I've found that half a chimney is plenty to cook a nice dinner for two.

[denydog]

I used Weber kettle grills for years, and they did a pretty good job, after I learned from experience how much charcoal to use. After going through a couple of them, I started to yearn for a gas option. I never really considered gas for serious grilling, but it seemed like it might be convenient for certain things.

This is what I've been using for the last few years.



Char-Griller Duo S-5050 gas and charcoal grill.  Paid $250 on sale at the local home store, and I still see them occasionally advertised at that price, but more often around $300.  I seldom use the gas side (three burners) except for an occasional roast chicken or to grill some vegetables maybe. The charcoal side on the right is what I use 95% of the time. It has an adjustable height charcoal tray, which is nice to help regulate temperature.

Each side has three rectangular, removable, porcelain cast iron grates. For a couple medium steaks or other meats, I only need to put in one of the grates, thus saving on cleanup. I keep the grates perfectly clean between uses, and the porcelain is holding up very well. I've been experimenting lately with putting the grate(s) in the dishwasher after a quick rinse.

The real beauty of this setup is that I can click the side burner on, and set the starter chimney directly on the burner for 2-3 minutes, and then dump the lit coals on the charcoal grate, ready to cook in another minute or so. I've never had any odor or taste from lighting with propane this way.

The Char-Griller is nothing fancy, and is made of mild steel, painted black, so it probably won't last as long as a porcelain/steel or stainless unit will, but mine seems to be holding up pretty well with moderate care. They do sell other similar units without the propane. Some day I might buy the $50 attachable smoker box for this one, but I have a separate smoker/slowcooker that I use now.

BTW- I'm such a diehard believer in charcoal for grilling, I even used it on the boat, though I no longer have a boat, and the grill is currently listed on Craigslist.

[cruisin]

I too, would recommend a larger grill.  The main reason for that, is so you can cover only about two thirds of the bottom with charcoals, leaving one third for a "cool zone" in order to set some items aside for slower cooking.  I also would take a look at grills that have dual level racks so you can not only put some items aside, but get them farther away from the main heat source.  I learned about the "cool zone" watching one of those outdoor cooking shows (don't recall the name of it) where a guy had about five or six different grills set up and on all of them, he kept a cool zone.

btw; I use a starter fluid with Kingsford mesquite charcoals and typically let it soak into the "pyrimid" of brickettes for at least 5 full minutes before lighting.  I then gradually spread them out to a progressively shorter pile until they are all just beginning to get white around the edges.  I rarely notice any taste of gas in my meats.  My method does take at least 20 to 30 minutes to get the coals going just right though.  However, having seen someone's suggestion above about using newspaper as a starter medium is certainly worth consideration and I will give that a try in an effort to improve my methods.

I also tried grills with lava rock and gas for a while and simply did not think the flavors were nearly as good as using real charcoal, espcially when comparing to the mesquite variety.

If you want to add just a touch of flavor to your charcoals try putting dried twigs (from 1/4" to 1/2" in diameter) from various trees on top of the charcoals; like mesquite, peach, apple, appricot, or apple branches.

[shil]

I've got a 25 year-old Weber. How do you 'go through' these?

[bomber]

Hey, don't pick on match-lite coal, fellers . . . . eat 5 or 6 brats cooked over newly lighted match-lite stuff and you can see colors and stuff . . . .. .

[mxvet57]

Hey, don't pick on match-lite coal, fellers . . . . eat 5 or 6 brats cooked over newly lighted match-lite stuff and you can see colors and stuff . . . .. .

Hippie


You know someone had to say it.

[bomber]

I have come to counbt on you, Ed ;-}

[JReazor]

What everyone else said. Get a Webber kettle. It'll last forever if you take care of it. If you have the space, a nice masonry charcoal pit is also a good way to go and as cheap as a pile of bricks if you can do the work yourself.

Lump charcoal is the way to go. Makes sure it's in small enough chunks to fit in the chimney and give it enough time to get going before you pour it out of the chimney. It burns for a good long time and won't require any more management than any other charcoal.

[mxvet57]

I'm still kicking myself in the ass for giving away my Weber kettle when i got a gas grill.

I do still have a Smokey Joe but that's not the same.

[sammyseaman]

Hey, don't pick on match-lite coal, fellers . . . . eat 5 or 6 brats cooked over newly lighted match-lite stuff and you can see colors and stuff . . . .. .

Hippie


You know someone had to say it.

Damn you, Ed! Ya beat me to the punch (hug)  

[Eric308]

 :thumbsup:again for the Weber kettle. Here's my turkey from last Thanksgiving.

[BigBeavk]

Get the Weber Performer with the one touch lighting. No fluid or chimney needed.  

http://www.target.com/p/weber-performer-with-touch-n-go-ignition-green-22-5/-/A-11691699?reco=Rec|pdp|11691699|ClickCP|item_page.adjacency&lnk=Rec|pdp|ClickCP|item_page.adjacency

[Mrs. DantesDame]

Weber and a chimney - that's all you'll need (well, other than the charcoal and the food)  


I had a Weber kettle grill that I picked up for $40 at a yard sale. Grilled the hell out of it, but left it behind when I moved in with Dan. We thought we'd be like Dr. Gil and picked up one of these


But found that the gas lighting feature wasn't worth it. The chimney is a much, much better solution.

Something like this


is a great way to round out your grilled offerings. Nothing beats some fresh-cooked veggies hot off the grill!



Happy grilling!  

[Yankee Dog]

This what I got a couple of years ago. I love it.  

- Adjustable height fire. This is important because grilling steaks and roasting chicken require the flame to be a different height from the meat.

 -Enough linear space to allow the fire to be offset from the meat if need be. Again you dont want the meat directly over the flame when you are slow cooking. An offset also allows you to add more charcoal without disturbing the meat.  

 - has an ash catch tray which lifts out for easy disposal. Its a pain if you have to tip the grill over to dump out the ashes.

[stromgal]

Check Craigslist for a used Weber and save some $$. Speaking of which, I have two, I really ought to sell one of 'em.

[Meemuh]

Google "beer can chicken".  Works fantastic on my Weber, just be patient.

[coucours grad]

Tip number one!  Experiment with the amount of charcol you use....Less is better....Lump only. Augment the charcol with a few pieces of good smoking hardwood. I buy large chunked Cherry and Mesquite at home depot.


  Tip number 2: any time you light the grill inspect it for rust. If you find any spray the rust lightly with veggie oil when the grill is still warm to the touch but the embers are dying. The oil/heat combo will kill the rust in place. (spray oil is highly flammable.....excercize caution.)


     Thats a great little grill and I've done Turkeys, 50 plate family events and 2 person quick meals in mine for the last 10 years. Spend your next dollars on a good smoker and You'll be a charcol only fanatic in less then one season.

[Aviator]

What about the Kamado style charcoal grills like the Big Green Egg.
Folks who have them embark on a lecture about them at the very mention of the word "egg".

[JReazor]

What about the Kamado style charcoal grills like the Big Green Egg.
Folks who have them embark on a lecture about them at the very mention of the word "egg".

I would love to pick up one of those. They're a little out of my price range though.

[Tritium]

What about the Kamado style charcoal grills like the Big Green Egg.
Folks who have them embark on a lecture about them at the very mention of the word "egg".

I've had a large BGE for about 6 years now. It's a great all-purpose grill, but I wouldn't recommend it for someone that wasn't seriously into grilling. It's expensive. heavy, fragile, and requires a desire to learn how to make it sing. If that sounds like fun, they're worth every penny.
It's the antithesis of the gleaming, even more expensive, miles-of-brushed-stainless gas grills, and will produce better tasting food.

Get a Weber Kettle. It's a classic and the perfect tool to use when learning to cook on charcoal.

[Gat]

I'm no expert but I found the Char-Griller Akorn (available at Menards, Lowes, Meijer, etc) to be a good alternative to the BGE.  It is all steel construction, double wall insulated so it holds the heat well.  I got mine for $220 after a mail in rebate (standard price seems to be in the $250 range).

I have had mine since March and use it at least once a week.  It's great for long smokes as well as grilling steaks and burgers.  I also use it to make pizza with the kids.  Since I brought this home we rarely use the gas grill.

Watch out though as charcoal grilling/ bbq'n is addictive!  I recently picked up a Weber Smokey Joe for camping and I'm looking for a larger kettle for around the house.  I also want to build a UDS one day...