Charcoal Grill Care

You have a charcoal grill that you love to cook with, but are you using and taking care of it properly? Here are a few tips to help you out.

To start, remove the lid from your grill and remove the top cooking racks.

Make sure that all of the vents are wide open.

Place 2 pieces of newspaper in the bottom of the grill, crumpling it well.

Set your chimney starter on top of the newspaper. Place the briquets inside the chimney.

Light the paper on fire, and allow to heat up until the coals have a light coating of ash, usually about 20 minutes.

Wearing protective gloves, carefully lift the chimney and pour the coals onto the fire grate.

Carefully spread the coals where you want them. Full coverage for total grill cooking, or off to one side for indirect heating

Replace the cooking grate and close the lid. Allow to heat for a few minutes.

Using a wire brush, clean off any buildup from the grate.

Place the lid on the grill and adjust the top vents to control your heat. Open more for hotter cooking and closed more for cooler cooking. (keep bottom vents open or your coals will die out)

Start your cooking process. Don't forget to add more coals 20 minutes before you need them, as it can take at least that long for them to reach full temp.

When you are done cooking, open all vents and let the charcoal burn out. Let the grill cool down. Pour your ashes into a non combustible container.

I use my ashes in the garden, so I then fill the bucket with water to make sure to put out any embers, then pour onto my garden.