How to Grill

Charcoal Grill Prep

Opt for a charcoal grill if you want that classic, smoky flavor. Charcoal grills are a little more involved than their propane counterparts, but they’re generally considered more authentic. The charcoal will impart a dynamic, smokey flavor that gas just can’t replicate. If you’re new to grilling but you want to do it the old school way that’ll produce the tastiest food, go charcoal. With that said, charcoal grilling is a little more difficult. If you don’t have a grill yet and you prioritize keeping things easy, you may want to consider a gas grill.

Choose whether you want to use briquettes or lump charcoal. Lump charcoal, also known hardwood charcoal, burns a lot hotter than briquettes, but it also burns out a bit faster. This makes briquettes ideal for slow cooking or long-term grilling sessions where you’ve got a lot of mouths to feed. Since it burns hotter, lump charcoal might be better if you want to sear meat or get a smokier flavor. Lump charcoal tends to be a little purer in the sense that briquettes can contain wood by-products that aren’t technically charcoal. This makes lump charcoal more popular with grilling purists.

Open the vent at the bottom of the grill. This is the other major difference between how propane and charcoal grills work. With charcoal, the vent at the bottom controls how much oxygen comes into the grill, while the vent at the top controls how much heat escapes. Before you load the grill with charcoal, open the vent at the bottom all the way. The vent at the bottom should basically always be open. If you close it, the fire will struggle to get enough oxygen and your charcoal may go out prematurely. Back to that top vent, opening it allows air to rush out while you’re cooking. That actually exposes your food to more heat (you might think it’d be the other way around). If you want to keep the temperatures as high as possible, open the top vent.

Light the grill with starter fluid for a faster, simpler option. If you’re in a rush, load the grill up halfway with your charcoal, add a few squirts of starter fluid, and light the charcoal with an extended match or a piece of newspaper with the tip lit. Once the charcoal ignites, put the top on the grill and let it burn for a few minutes. This way, that chemical smell and flavor will have more time to burn away. If you are going to use starter fluid, opt for the kind of lighter fluid designed specifically for grilling. It tends to be less chemical-ly than the generic stuff. This is an easier way to light the charcoal, but it’s an extremely unpopular option among pitmasters, grill enthusiasts, and cooks everywhere. Even if you burn away most of the starter fluid, you won’t be able to get rid of all of it.

Start the grill with a chimney starter to enhance the smoky flavor. Avoiding the starter fluid will ensure that you don’t get into that gnarly chemical flavor. Stuff some newspaper or cardboard at the bottom of a chimney starter, fill the chimney with charcoal, and then light the paper products at the bottom. Let the fire burn until you see smoke and then dump the red-hot coals into the grill. If you dump the chimney too quickly, all of the coals may not be lit. If you wait too long, some of the coals may go out. You should see smoke and ripples of heat coming out of the top of the chimney; that’s when you know you’re ready to dump the coals. Let the charcoal burn for 10-15 minutes before you put any food on the grates. This will ensure that the charcoal is fully, evenly heated.

Add wood chips to amplify the smokey, charcoal flavors. If you want to smoke any meats or veggies, add 1-2 handfuls of grilling wood chips to the charcoal. The wood will burn and infuse your food with that woody, rich flavor. You can’t do that with a gas grill! This is not the same thing as “smoking” meat in a smoker. That’s a unique process that requires different tools and materials.

Propane Grill Setup

Get a propane/gas grill if you want to prioritize ease of use. Propane doesn’t have the same mystique and allure as the classic charcoal grill, but it’s a lot simpler to use. If you don’t want to mess around with charcoal briquettes, ash, or starter fires, propane grills are the way to go. They also come with all kinds of optional features that make grilling easier, like automatic cooking timers, uniform heat distribution, and more. If you’re out of propane, take the used can to a replacement center and buy a new one. You can typically buy propane at gas stations, home improvement stores, and grocery stores. Gas grills make it a lot easier to control the temperature, set up different heat zones, and cook food to a specific temperature. Unfortunately, gas grills won’t impart that classic, smokey flavor of charcoal.

Connect the propane tank and open the gas valve. Remove the nozzle on the propane tank and screw the grill’s intake valve into it. Turn the coupler on the connection clockwise to lock the connection and prevent leaks. Then, turn the valve on top of the propane tank counterclockwise to open the gas line.

Open the lid of the grill before starting it. Running the gas with a closed lid is a recipe for disaster. The gas can build up inside of the closed space and then create an explosive hazard once you start the grill. Always leave the lid open before lighting a gas grill.

Turn the knobs or press the button to ignite the burners. There are two ways to ignite gas grills. Depending on your model, you either have to press the ignition button and then adjust the heat with the knobs. If there is no ignition button, you turn the knobs until you hear a cracking noise and wait for the flame to catch—the same way you would light a normal gas stove. The knobs on the front of the grill correspond to different burner zones, the same way they would on a stove.

Grilling Food Effectively

Clean your grill and then lightly oil it before cooking anything. If the grates don’t look particularly smooth and clean, scrub the grates with a coil brush or nylon scrubber. Then, run the grill to burn any particles off. Shut the grill down and spray the grates with a vegetable oil. You can also use a brush and some oil to manually coat the grates. If you don’t oil the grates, anything you put on the grill may stick and burn to the grates.

Set up a side table next to the grill and grab your supplies. You’ll need a place to set cooked food if it finishes early, season uncooked meat, and set your utensils/tools down. If your grill doesn’t have a built-in platform, put a small table out near the grill. Then, grab your grilling tools. Every pitmaster needs: Tongs, a spatula, or a fork to rotate and turn food as it cooks. Oven mitts. Grill handles get extremely hot when you open and close them.

Create direct and indirect heating zones to control the heat. With charcoal, move the hottest coals to one side of the grill. With propane, simply turn half of the burners down halfway (or off entirely). This will create a direct and indirect heating zone. Use the direct side to sear, cook through, or singe your food. Use the indirect side to keep food warm, finish it off, or give the food more time to cook. Direct heat is generally better for red meat and any items you’d like to cook quickly. Indirect heat is perfect if you want to slowly cook something. A lot of it is a matter of personal preference, though. For example, you might use the hot zone to sear a steak and then set the meat in the indirect zone to finish cooking through. Alternatively, you might warm veggies up in the indirect zone and then reverse sear them over direct heat before serving them.

Use an instant-read thermometer to check meat temperatures. Unlike a normal oven or stovetop where the heat is basically uniform the entire time your food cooks, grilling outside involves all kinds of fluctuations in the air flow and changes in temperature. Always use a digital thermometer. It’s especially important with outdoor grilling—this is the only way know your food is safe to eat. If you have any doubt about whether your food is safe to eat or not, go ahead and overcook it a tad. It’s better to have some slightly dried-out chicken than salmonella.

Close the lid if the flame gets out of hand. Grilling can be overwhelming if you’re new to it, but you’ve got a perfect “get out of jail free” card—the lid. If you lose control of the flames, food catches fire, or things just generally get out of hand, throw on an oven mitt and close the lid. The flame will go down with the lack of oxygen. Remember—that lid is basically a “slow things down” lever for your cooking time, so don’t forget to extend things a bit if you cover the lid for long periods of time.

Clean your grill as soon as you’re done using it. Food tends to stick firmly to the grill grates when it cooks. Use a coil brush to clear any debris off as soon as you reasonably can after you’ve served your food. Scrub the grates thoroughly and then use an oiled cloth to clean the surface metal off. If that’s not enough, use a hard scraper tool and some degreaser or dish soap To get rid of the coals in a charcoal grill, slowly pour water over the charcoal until there’s no heat or smoke. Then, dispose of the ash in a firebox or lidded metal trashcan. Always shut off the gas valve when you’re done using a propane grill. Wheel the grill indoors when it’s totally cool or cover it with a grill cover.

Foods Ideal for Grilling

Make some burgers or cook some hot dogs. These are classic, easy-to-cook options for the grill. Nobody showing up to a cookout is going to be upset if they see you hooking up some burgers and dogs. Simply flip the burgers and check the temps before you serve them, and turn the hot dogs over periodically to cook them evenly. Easy and delicious! Want something a little more interesting than the boring old hot dog? Italian sausage, bratwurst, and Polish sausage are all dynamic, flavorful alternatives. Burgers shouldn’t take more than 5-10 minutes to cook. Hot dogs are normally pre-cooked, so it’s really just a matter of heating them up and achieving the texture/level of finish you prefer.

Cook some chicken for a leaner option. Chicken breasts and drumsticks are extremely popular over the open flame, but they can be a bit of a more delicate option. You can eat red meat medium-rare or redder, but chicken must be cooked all the way through. Chicken’s cook time depends entirely on the thickness and heat level. Always use a meat thermometer with chicken to ensure it’s at least 165 °F (74 °C) internally before serving.

Cook up some ribs, grill lamb, or or cook steak. These higher-end options are absolutely delicious on the grill (especially ribs, if you’re cooking over charcoal). You would prep and cook these options more or less the same way you’d cook them over direct heat on the stove. All of these items can be cooked to your desired level of doneness, and how long they take can vary depending on the cut of meat. You really need a clean grill and careful eye for fish, shrimp, or lobster. Seafood can be delicious on the grill, but it’s an advanced challenge for a grill master. It’s easy to overcook, and tender cuts often fall apart on the grates, so low and slow is the name of the game here.

Make veggies, like asparagus, corn, or zucchini. Any veggie that you could cook on the stovetop or in the oven you can cook on the grill. Just be sure to cut larger pieces of vegetable; smaller pieces will fall through the grates and burn up in the flames below. Brush them with butter or oil and toss them in salt and pepper. Simple, elegant, and delicious. Grilling veggie skewers can be a fun and enjoyable option if you want something a little easier to eat with your hands. How long veggies take to cook depends on the specific variety and how much direct heat you use, which is a matter of preference. Indirect heat is usually better if you like softer veggies, while direct heat is great if you like snappier, crispier dishes. You can grill shrimp. It cooks very quickly and takes 10 seconds per side to grill it. You can cut one open to check. If it is translucent in the middle, it is not well cooked. Put it back on the grill for another 10 seconds, and it will be ready.