Charcoal Grilling Guide For Beginners

Summer arrived late this year, but it’s here now, and that means that more and more people are being tempted to light up the barbecue and enjoy some al fresco dining.

Of course, lighting a barbecue is nothing like turning on the grill or hob in the kitchen and can take a bit of practice in order to get it right. If you’re new to the world of charcoal grilling, your best bet is to do a bit of research first, rather than just trying your luck and hoping for the best.

To that end, we’ve compiled this handy beginner’s guide, to give you the best possible chance of getting it right first time. But before you even try to get things alight, you need to make sure you’ve got the right tools for the job.

Choosing the right accessories

Here are a few things you’d be advised to acquire before you even start to think of trying to light your barbecue:

• Chimney – an essential tool that makes lighting charcoal much easier. We’ll cover this in a bit more detail later.
• Thermometer – not for checking whether it’s actually warm enough outside for a barbecue, but for testing the temperature of the meat you’re cooking. It can be easy to cook the outside too quickly so that it looks done, but it may not be on the inside. This is particularly important when cooking chicken.
• Grill brush or scraper – charcoal grilling can be a messy business, and the sooner you clean up after the event, the easier it will be. A good quality brush will make the job quicker and easier.
• Heat resistant gloves and tongs – you’re going to be handling things that will be very hot, not something you want to be doing with your bare hands!
• Fire extinguisher – accidents happen, so it’s always best to be prepared.
• Good quality charcoal – we can’t overstate the importance of this, which is why we’ve devoted the whole of the next section to it!

Choosing the right charcoal

 

It’s easy to find cheap bags of charcoal, particularly at petrol stations and DIY stores, and it can be easy to get tempted into buying them to save a bit of money. But cheap charcoal is usually cheap for a reason – and one common reason is that it’s not pure, instead containing chemicals designed to make it easier to light.

Unfortunately, those chemicals will also often leave a nasty taste on your food, more than wiping out any benefits you might have accrued by saving a few pennies buying it and a few minutes lighting it in the first place.

Only restaurant grade charcoal – like the professional cooking fuel we sell here at KG Smith & Son – will give you the taste you should be aiming for. And trust us when we say that you will notice the difference.

We explored how charcoal grilling is such a great way of bringing the best out of your food – and why you want to use the best possible charcoal to get the best possible results – in this earlier blog.

How to light charcoal

We’ve already alluded to the best way to light your charcoal. But before we explain further, we want to start with perhaps the worst – and that’s lighter fuel. 

Not that it won’t get the job done – it’s just that, much like that cheap charcoal we’ve already warned you against, using lighter fuel will leave an unpleasant taste on the food that you cook. Again, the very noticeable difference in the final taste makes putting in that extra bit of effort more than worthwhile.

The best – in that it’s the safest and quickest – way to light your charcoal is to use a chimney with a few bits of kindling or scrunched-up newspaper at the bottom. 

You can read more about the best way to light charcoal in our recent comprehensive blog on the subject.

How long do you let charcoal burn before cooking?

You’ll probably be burning your charcoal for about 15 minutes or so before it’s ready to cook, but you should be looking at the charcoal itself for the answer, not your watch. It’s usually ready to start cooking when it gets white-hot and goes an ash-grey colour.

That indicates that it’s hot all the way through and not just on the surface.

For top-quality charcoal that’s used by professional chefs, pizzerias and steakhouses across the country, ask the coal experts at KG Smith & Son. We always have great deals and fast delivery available, or you can pick your charcoal up immediately from our Northampton head office if you’re local to our area.

Find out more by getting in touch with us or place your order online now.