Charcoal 101: A Beginner's Guide To Better BBQ On A Charcoal Grill

[@captjim97]

Lump charcoal and chimney are my essentials for whenever I’m using my kettle grill

[@ScottGeiss-yd2ux]

Yes please do a low and slow video! Thank you!

[@douglibby8694]

Yes, would love to see a low and slow charcoal video! Great and informative video! Thank you!!

[@smokingtarheel3003]

Lump is great for both kettles and kamado grills. I like the cleaner more-natural flavor of lump too. It produces less ash and is reusable, especially in more efficient kamado grills.

[@lancegentle6430]

Got three charcoal chimneys. Normally use lump when grilling. I typically use use briquets when smoking. Lasts a lot longer.

[@kevindose8666]

When I use the chimney and paper I give the paper a couple shots of vegetable spray then crumble the paper underneath,fill the basket and light em up.

[@michaelbauerjr5672]

Love this. I’ve always used propane because charcoal seems scary. But this makes it look easy. Thank you!

[@BeaverQB]

Yes please - do a slow and low smoking with charcoal video!

[@kerrywedge6977]

Thank you Susie and Greg for improving your video lighting. Love your knowledge and experience of BBQ ing.

[@Patrick-nv5ug]

I am old school. I use old paper inside the bottom of the Weber, put old sticks of wood, kindling, etc. Put the charcoal on top and light. 15 minutes later, I am ready to cook. I also am not hesitant to mix briquettes and charcoal together. Particularly adding the "throw away" small pieces of lump over the hot briquettes to add a Mesquite or Hickory flavor to the foods.

[@hector879]

GREAT video! I’ve been strictly using charcoal since about 2018. I’ve learned most of what you said here over the years. This video is a great resource for those new to it! Thanks for making this! Always enjoy your content. One of my favorite and go to creators! 😁

[@scottyd3736]

Great tip with the galvanized bucket with the lid. I use just a galvanized pail, but having a lid is a great idea.

[@geraldm7435]

Most definitely do a low/slow tutorial for charcoal grilling! I am 100% sure that Todd and the family will enjoy the results of it! 😊

[@impacking]

I’d love a video on how to do low & slow on a charcoal grill please.

[@MadPick]

Great video, thank you Susie. Yes, I'd love to see as many videos as you're willing to make on cooking on a kettle grill!

[@SonicBoomC98]

Great video. One thing I will say when she was talking about the variation of lump, I've seen seeing a few brands do what I used to see from cookers over seas, and that's "char logs." I've been using a chimney so long, I forgot when I started LOL. I'm thinking about getting a torch though. I've used the wax cubes, tumbleweeds, and little carboard or plywood squares to start it. Before getting a smoker I was getting into using small amounts of lit coal on top of unlit coal to get my low and slow on

[@fredschaffer7330]

Thank you for the video..Would love to see you do low n slow on the Weber Kettle

[@cupcakequeen6294]

This was great information! I am a total novice to grilling but this cleared up a ton of questions I had!

[@michaelmurray5578]

One quick tip is when you are shutting down your grill run the ash sweep several times while everything is still nice and hot. This prevents a lot of “stuff” from cooling and adhering to the bottom of your kettle. Great video!

[@dmp102]

Fantastic video, wish I had this a few years back when I started with charcoal, would have saved me a lot of googling.

[@chriscohoon3802]

I like both for sure. I even use a combo of them to get a nice bed of coals that last and have that good wood smoke flavor. If I had to pick just one then I would go lump.

[@kentcostello5286]

You need to make a video on how to homemade charcoal. It's easy and fun. And I love your videos because they are full of good information and hacks.

[@johnreeves3380]

Another great one. Would love to hear you charcoal low and slow talk

[@datrumpet5]

Thank you so much. I made the transition from gas and pellet grills to also learning charcoal with my Weber Summit Kamado. Do you have a video on reverse searing where you do low and slow smoking followed by a direct sear? I have two levels for the charcoal, which makes for more options and indecisiveness!

[@troyshankles4747]

Love your stuff I use a lot of your methods and recipes. Hey show us some of your sausage from scratch recipes

[@jimhlee]

Thanks for the refresher, I have a weber performer also. Love it. Would like to see your tips and tricks to keep charcoal on for long cooks, like 8 plus hours. Adding charcoal during cooks seem to add that horrible taste. Do you add more only after it's been lit from a chimney?

[@Heygrillhey]

It depends on the temperature that I'm trying to maintain. If I'm going hot or I've let my coals burn out for too long I'll add from a lit chimney, otherwise I add unlit ones.

[@ryancowles3296]

Same!

[@jimhlee]

@@Heygrillhey thanks, for the long cooks, adding coal is the biggest challenge, especially in the WSM. Easy when they are unlit, but I don't like the taste they leave. To lite them beforehand, it's a disaster waiting to happen.

[@LifeIsBetterWithLove]

I need my husband to understand this!😭😭😭😭 Great video❤❤❤

[@mikebracey8832]

Susie, love you and your videos.

[@Pattygti72]

One of the nicest briquettes I've use is Olive Pip Co, made from olive pips. Not sure if its available in the US as I'm in Australia

[@olmilfishrock]

Very good information. Your grilling videos are AWESOME!! It would be great to see a smoking video. 👍😎

[@UnkleAL1962]

I like lump charcoal but it seems after shipment and the bags being thrown around there is a major amount of breakage and small unusable chips or dust, I have a collection and not sure what to do with it! All good tips thank you. I just made your Huli Huli chicken today and it turned out amazing! I really like tumbleweeds to start the charcoal but today I used a homemade firestarter of 2 cotton makeup discs with vaseline smeared in the middle, like a sandwich, and the coals were ready to dump in 20 minutes.

[@thefirstingredient]

Great Charcoal 101! We love using FOGO 🔥

[@ryancowles3296]

I'd love to see more videos about longer cooks with charcoal. Can you add briquettes during a cook? At what point should they be added? How can you go low and slow for hours for a brisket, pork butt, ribs, etc.?

[@Heygrillhey]

Stay tuned! It's on the schedule!

[@mstringham]

My charcoal grill does not seem to have enough airflow even with the bottom and the top open all the way. If I open the lid, then the charcoal gets really hot so I tend to just keep it open when I’m grilling, hot. But I did recently start doing the two method and that works really well.

[@JCSteel2112]

On the subject of safety, I typically grill in flip flops...I have to pay real close attention to the dumping of the chimney into the kettle to ensure that the top of my feet down get burned. I know, shoes would be best, but I happen to love flip flops.

[@Heygrillhey]

I burned a hole in the bottom of my foot and my flip flop playing with my offset a few months ago. A coal got caught between the two. I didn't learn though. Still grill in flops -Brandon

[@stevenbrooklyn4825]

Great information Please make video on the next steps

[@JoeyKirkland]

I'd love to see a video on smoking meat with charcoal. I have an Oklahoma Joe Bronco Drum smoker, so it's a little different for me, but the concepts are still there.

[@Heygrillhey]

Stay tuned! It's on the schedule!

[@jhaas68865]

The quick light charcoal does smell. My neighbors have one and I am about to buy them a chimney and bag of lump to get that lighter fluid smell gone. Lump may take longer to light but it last so much longer. For me it was cheaper getting those long burning coals vs a bag of the quick stuff. Coconut shells have been used for quite awhile for charcoal used for smoking hookah as it burns cleanly and even.

[@jrmotorsports55]

Great info! Thanks for sharing.

[@LtKregorov]

You can’t start to really understand how better charcoal cooking is compared to propane without talking about low and slow. That’s where the real fun starts. Great introduction, but low and slow must be next.

[@gagedevaney5115]

Got myself a junior pit barrel recently. Currently using lump charcoal cowboy brand so fare

[@AspyreFGC]

I've been grilling for about 5-6 years and this would have been a great video for me when starting. I remember really struggling to get my grill fired up and using a lot of lighter fluid... it was bad. Using a chimney with a couple tumbleweeds makes it super simple and consistent.

[@hayleyherrera1137]

This was great thank you!!!!!

[@randypoe560]

lump only here. i add wood splits and if i need more heat i can add a few chucks of lump to boost the charcoal bed

[@brian.crosta]

Absolutely!!!! I would love to do like a pork butt smoked on a charcoal grill

[@boodaghost6896]

I've cooked on gas and charcoal for 40 years. Gas is great if you're in a hurry and just need to get something on the table. Charcoal is more of a hassle but the flavor of the food is way better. Charcoal is definitely the way to go, time permitting.

[@leolalley4708]

Susie, Yes please on the video low and slow smoking with charcoal. Thanks for all your videos.

[@herb7877]

Great info !

[@soumynonareverse7807]

You mentioned that bucket you put your used coals in. Is it advised to get a giant one to use for burnt charcoal and compost or other natural garbage (weeds, bananapeels etc)?

[@Heygrillhey]

You can do that, but I'd still make sure you let your coals sit for longer than 24 hours before putting them into any container with potentially flammable materials in it.

[@weswalker1208]

What a wonderful video brilliance

[@jaybailleaux630]

I grew up with a lite coal oil flavor when my dad would grill back in the 60s😅

[@weswalker1208]

Once the Ash has cooled off and there is absolutely no heat whatsoever coming from it I would suggest days at rest do not be in any Rush with this tip Ash can be used in the flower garden

[@johncoffey8645]

Well, everyone else seems to have just forgotten about simple Kingsford and charcoal lighter fluid!!! I wonder how we ever got here?🤔 The absolute only way you'll get a starter taste, is if you don't allow the burn-off time! Many many years experience, and on competition levels. I always use regular bricket style charcoal with a charcoal lighter fluid ("starter"). And I always keep a charcoal starter ("chimney") going, in case I need to add more heat. NEVER USE match-light for cooking! Maybe a fire in the woods! The 2 styles of charcoal placement is 100% correct depending on the situation. One thing not noted, is it's super easy to smoke when using charcoal. Just get a local fruit or nut tree, cure the wood, cut in smaller pieces, soak in vinegar, and Walla. You can save tons of money! You can even store in the freezer for future use. Especially if it's a fruit wood hard to get. Once your coals are ready, place the smoke wood directly on the coals, add your meat/veggies and close the lid. Best for cooking indirectly, but you can add to a full cook bed, for those wings. Lastly... Suzie, if you've never tried fig wood, as I asked last month.... TRY IT! Our entire yard was flooded with the sweetest smoke ever! I generally use soaked hickory, apple, or pear. Sometimes oak, some exotics, mesquite,etc.... But fig is a knock out of the park!🥃🤙

[@dubblearr7622]

Sometimes - I put a grill grate on top of the chimney to sear a thick piece of steak before I dump the charcoal into the grill.

[@johnwd4]

When you're done grilling close all vents and what ever is left over the next day you can use again.

[@gearardlefore]

Thank you for this tip!

[@omaribarra5843]

Barbeque season here I come

[@adamwright6433]

Did you mention that you can stop lump coal from cooking and reuse it and that it's ashes are about a tenth or less than charcoal?

[@Heygrillhey]

Solid points!

[@dapardine]

I would love to see a low and slow, charcoal grilling video.

[@80goal]

Thanks for your video. But in my opinion there are lots of missing tips. Exemple, you didn't say how to fire up the lumps with the chimney as you only fired up the briquettes. Another exemple is to spray water on the charcoal after you finish grilling so that you save the rest of charcoal from burning and reuse it next time.....etc etc etc

[@bruceloethen480]

HGH. Love your videos. Check out Charcoal Chimney Charcoal Bullseye for a simple safer way to light your Weber.

[@jim3578]

Would like to see a video cooking on a Kamado

[@Heygrillhey]

We have a few on the channel! A couple within the last year or so.

[@samtx5518]

So what do you do with the ashes after a month…?

[@Heygrillhey]

They are great for your garden! After they're fully burned out though you're safe to just throw them in your garbage can.

[@NewVenari]

Those marshmallows need to be black so you get that good flavour, so use the super hot lump charcoal for it!

[@LadysFarm]

❤❤❤

[@Bigmick0679]

I use tumble weed to start my charcoal chimney… 👌

[@markplacek6657]

I use b b

[@apistosig4173]

an empty tuna can half-filled with Metho gets my coal burnin'. Personal Opinion: Charcoal Chimney - No Children and No Pets

[@thomabb]

Never never never use matchlight charcoal for anything ever. I've met people who claim they hate food cooked over charcoal fire only to find out their only experience is matchlight. If you have to use lighter fluid, don't put your food on until the charcoal is 100% ashed over for at least 30 minutes.

[@chrisb48907]

Any tips for us dumbasses who bought the kettle with no temp gauge..LOL duh !

[@Heygrillhey]

Use an external thermometer! Or get comfortable not knowing your grill temp all the time. I've had a couple kettles over the years that lacked the gauge and most of the time I just wing it. I've used it enough to know when I'm in the range I want to be. -Brandon

[@BearPapa49]

Your pretty eyes match your shirt

[@nighthawk_predator1877]

I never use lighter fluid and never use regular charcoal any more.. Ugh. It's 2024 and we should be so beyond that carcinogneic material. With healthier options, why go there?

[@floopyc1428]

Then, what do you use?

[@northernerlivingthedream7373]

@@floopyc1428 crickets…

[@jasonflanagan5048]

LOL

[@DarthTerminatti]

​@@floopyc1428He uses the Force.