Transcription
I put together a list of five mistakes that beginners make when using charcoal. But before we get into them, let me know in the comments where you think you're struggling, or where you think you might be able to use a little help when it comes to using a charcoal grill. So let's dig in.
Mistake number one: using lighter fluid. Don't do it. When I first started using a grill, I would use lighter fluid, or I would buy the charcoal that's already pre-soaked in lighter fluid. And you get the same results every single time: the food ends up tasting just like the lighter fluid. Nobody wants to eat lighter fluid. So get yourself a chimney. These are inexpensive, and when you make the purchase, you'll be able to use the same one for years and years.
Mistake number two is not allowing the charcoal to become fully ignited before you put it onto the grill. If you're using a chimney, the charcoal will start lighting from the bottom up. So how do you know when it's ready? You want to look at it, and when all of the charcoal is completely iced over, it's ready to put on the grill. You'll get better results if you'll wait and just give it a few minutes. It usually takes 20 to 25 minutes for a full chimney of charcoal to become ignited.
Mistake number three is not cooking with zones. When I first started, I would pour all the charcoal out, just spread it evenly on the bottom of the grill. But when you do that, you don't have a cool zone, or what you could call a safe zone. You need different zones; you need a cool area, and you need a hot area. That way, one, if you're going to put a sear on and cook it indirectly, you can move it to the other side. And two, you're going to have flare-ups, and you'll be able to move the food over away from the flames and get it in what you call a safe zone for a few minutes. You can always move it back and forth as you need to. Secondly, when cooking with zones, you're able to concentrate more charcoal into one pile, and it gets a little hotter on top of that charcoal. You need a good hot fire to be able to properly sear your food.
Mistake number four is not allowing the grill enough time to come up to temperature before putting on the food. When I first liked the grill, I like to put the lid on with the vents fully open and give it a few minutes to come up to temp, lets the grate get hot. That way, when I start putting food on it, I can get a good sear. When you're smoking foods, you want to give it a little time to get to the target temp. You might have to make some adjustments on your vents and let it stabilize before you actually put the food on. One thing I've learned since I started using a charcoal grill is that you really have to have some patience.
That leads us to mistake number five, and that is rushing the cooking process. Most of the time when grilling, I like to get a good sear on the food on both sides, then I move it over to the cool zone and cook it indirectly until it comes up to the desired cooking temperature. A lot of folks like to start flipping it or moving it around before that it's ready, and when you do that, you don't really get a good sear on it. A tip is: when you try to flip a piece of meat or something on the grill and it's still sticking to the grate, you need to wait a few minutes; it's not ready. Now, when you're smoking food, it's going to take hours to get done, so you might as well be prepared for that and know up front that it's going to take a while to get done, especially during longer cooks. Also, you want to get used to leaving the lid on and not taking it off to look every few minutes. There's an old saying that says, "When you're looking, you ain't cooking." I know it's hard to wait, especially when you're hungry, but it's worth it.
If you want to get more serious about using charcoal, I put together an online course that you might be interested in. I'll put the link in the description below the video; you can check it out. It's all in video content, similar to these videos that I upload to YouTube. I've thrown in a few recipes and some written content that you can print and keep with you when you're using the grill. And once you enroll, you can access the course anytime you like. You can go back and repeat videos as often as you like, and you can keep it forever. If you've gotten any value out of this video, give it a thumbs up, and let me know in the comments below. If you haven't already done so, hit the subscribe button and click the little bell so that you can be notified on all of my videos. I do a lot of grilling, cooking in general, and even some homesteading videos. Be glad to have you on board. So until the next one, God bless you all.