charcoal grill advice
- Thread starter CYVADER
- Start date
I've never owned one, but always assumed you had to shut off the gas once the grill was going to your standards.
I have a Big Steel Keg like Bigsag and I love it. About half the cost of a similarly equipped BGE. Grills like a champ and is a very effective smoker as well. I did six pork butts on it last year for our Utah tailgate and they turned out great. The grill is really efficient in its charcoal use and is of a very high build quality. That being said, if I were just starting into the charcoal world, I would buy a Weber kettle hands down. I have a Smokey Joe that still gets use if I am only doing a steak or two. The 22 inch kettle can be an effective grill for a little or a lot of food. I would buy the kettle now and start saving for a Keg or an Egg.
Lump charcoal and chimney starter: +1
I have a 18" weber that I use for a lot of grilling (tend to grill a bunch on the weekend, nosh on leftovers thru the week...not a charcoal time thing, just my schedule). If it's just a steak or 2, I have a lodge hibachi grill that can't be beat. Uses about a half a chimney of charcoal and the big cast iron grate holds heat well for a good sear.
Lodge Cast Iron Cookware - America's Original Cookware - South Pittsburg, TN USA
I have a 18" weber that I use for a lot of grilling (tend to grill a bunch on the weekend, nosh on leftovers thru the week...not a charcoal time thing, just my schedule). If it's just a steak or 2, I have a lodge hibachi grill that can't be beat. Uses about a half a chimney of charcoal and the big cast iron grate holds heat well for a good sear.
Lodge Cast Iron Cookware - America's Original Cookware - South Pittsburg, TN USA
I've been a charcoal guy for a long time now. One of the most important things to consider is to be able to control the heat/temp and air-flow within the grill. Weber's are perfect for this b/c they typically have an air-vent on top of the grill and on the bottom of the grill (also where you discard the coals). If you can find another basic charcoal grill with similar vents so you can control the temp, then it really doesn't matter if it's a Weber or some K-Mart brand.
Also, lighter fluid is never needed with charcoal - as other's have already stated, all you need is a cheap charcoal chimney starter, some newspaper and a lighter. These things are the way to getting your charcoal started - hands down.
One more thing I'll add.....Weber's charcoal grills come in a few different sizes. If you have room for it, I would recommend the biggest (22.5") b/c they're big enough to use as a smoker (using indirect heat) too. I have the 18.5" and it's not big enough to fit a rib rack or beer can chicken (I use a separate smoker for those though).
Good luck and have fun!
Also, lighter fluid is never needed with charcoal - as other's have already stated, all you need is a cheap charcoal chimney starter, some newspaper and a lighter. These things are the way to getting your charcoal started - hands down.
One more thing I'll add.....Weber's charcoal grills come in a few different sizes. If you have room for it, I would recommend the biggest (22.5") b/c they're big enough to use as a smoker (using indirect heat) too. I have the 18.5" and it's not big enough to fit a rib rack or beer can chicken (I use a separate smoker for those though).
Good luck and have fun!
Yep, you attach one of the portable propane tanks, set your coals, and fire it up. I would say it takes a little longer than a normal propane grill, possibly 5-10 minutes. After you see your coals are white hot, you can turn off the propane, and grill away!
This! My brother was the one that turned me away from using lighter fluid (and to start using a chimney) as he realized that using fluid to to start his coals was causing him to have digestive issues periodically. Nothing serious, but noticable. I think I can tell the difference myself. I have found the 'quick start" charcoals (with fluid in them) DO have a very noticable and not-so-welcomed after effect.
? For those that use a chimney and have a Weber, do you open the bottom vents while getting the charcoal going and hot or keep them closed? I've been experimenting both ways to see what works best. Be interested in others opinions.
In my experience, it doesn't seem to matter that much, but I have had some windy days where the newspaper actually goes out, so when it's pretty windy, I'll close the bottom vent. Once those coals start rolling though, I usually open the vents back up to get more airflow and speed things up.
Here's another tip for those that have a gas grill w/ a side burner.....you can also put the charcoal chimney directly on the side burner to heat up the coals (no newspaper or lighter needed). Just be careful when using a gas side burner...if you leave the chimney on too long your side burner may experience a meltdown!
You can also use a few sheets of paper towel sprayed with non-stick cooking spray instead of newspaper in the chimney starter. It's supposed to burn more completely than newspaper and makes less of a mess, but I usually stick with newspaper.
For my chimney starter, I used to a little cooking oil on my 'shred pile' paper. doesn't go out as easily, burns longer, less ashes than plain paper. More smoke, though.
Now I use a couple of sticks of fatwood.
Thx!
Yeah, it definately "speeds things up", but I'm finding the coals more evenly heat up when I keep them closed. i.e...when I have the vents open at the bottom, some of the coals at the bottom of the chimney are pretty spent by the time I'm ready to spread them (compared to those at/near the top).
Still haven't decided which is best which is why I was interested to hear how others handle.
No problem - I guess I was thinking in terms of heating the coals evenly (just quickly), so that may be the case if the vent is closed. To get a nice even heat before throwing any meat on, I'll typically pour the coals into the grill when the edges of the top layer of coals in the chimney start to get white, then I'll put the grill grate over the coals, close the lid, adjust the vents and let it sit for another 5-10 minutes to get that nice even heat and let the coals calm down a bit. Then the grill grate is nice and hot and easy to scrape before putting on the meat.
Man, I'm getting hungry and thirsty w/ all of this grill talk.
