It’s Summer, and it’s prime grilling time! Although we LOVE cooking indoors, we love cooking outdoors just as much. It becomes a favorite when it’s 117 degrees and you’re trying to avoid heating your kitchen. Whether you’re using gas, wood chips, or charcoal, or a combination of the last 2, totally up to you; we’re just glad you’re on the grill. Some of the best dishes are created with the help of the smoke from the grill, and we’re going to share some tips to help you start and keep the fire lit for hours.
Foundation of a Strong Fire
Being that grilling is such an art, there are many approaches to creating that long-lasting, strong fire, such as newspapers, fire starters, wood chips, chimneys, etc. None are technically right or wrong; it’s really what works for the Grill Master (that is you), in that moment. We’re all about keeping it simple, so we’ll share what’s worked for us for many years, and you can certainly use the methods if it makes life easier; we’ve got you!
Cost Efficient
- Now y’all will see our grill in the videos – nothing fancy – still gets the job done effectively! It’s also affordable and easy to travel with, if we want.
- You can grill large amounts of meat and other dishes to last a few days for the family or a crowd.
Marinate Your Meats and Vegetables
- Flavor: With charcoal alone, you’re infusing that smoky flavor, but in marinating your meats…now you’re stepping it up a level, as the grill can tend to dry out your meats. The drippings from your marinated foods that fall on the hot coals will create a steam effect and enhance that smoky flavor.
- Moisture retention: That heat produced by the red-hot coals cooks your food directly, so make sure to keep your lid closed as much as possible while grilling to lock that heat in, as it’ll prevent your grill temperature from dying down so much and produce juicier meats.
Dual-Heating Options (Low and High)
- Low and slow, to smoke and infuse intense flavors
- High to sear for crispy bites with intense grill marks
Stay Lit for Hours
In the event you want to slow-cook your meats – on a low heat for a long time – or you have a lot of food to grill, fuel and airflow are what you mainly need to focus on. We noticed a lot of you searching for ‘how to keep a charcoal grill lit‘, so here’s what’s been working for us for years.
Type of Charcoal
- Wood Chips: Provides a variety of great, distinct wood flavors such as apple, hickory, or mesquite. But they burn much faster and hotter, so for us, they’re great to use in conjunction with briquettes!
- Briquettes (aka Briskets 🤣🤣🤣): We use them because they burn more evenly and for a longer period, due to their identical size and composition.
- Due to late-night editing and audio, briquettes were referred to as ‘briskets’ in the video lmao – Give B a break y’all!
Charcoal Arrangement
We only use one method, and it’s simply the pyramid. There are others, but having never tried them, we can’t vouch for them and therefore won’t talk about them. Feel free to try others, and best of luck; surely, let us know how it goes! The pyramid method is when you stack your charcoal briquettes on top of paper, in a pyramid form, lighting the paper underneath and any additives (see section below), to create an even burn starting from the bottom up.
Custom Approach(es)
By this, we mean the additives that you add to your base charcoal choice(s). We primarily use the first 2, but felt that the latter were honorable mentions, as they were highly talked about within our video comments…
- Old Newspapers/Bills (that have been paid, of course😉): Any old choice will do, as they burn fast and help to ignite the briquettes.
- Fire Starters: We’ve used the matches and the cubes, but they also have tumbleweeds.
- Lighter Fluid: Old school method that isn’t necessary, but some people still appreciate the fast-ignited (and sometimes short-lived) fire that it creates.
- Chimney: We just heard about these once our video reached the masses, and if you choose to use, Kudos! If not, it’s okay too…you can still create a great fire!
Managing the Airflow and Wind Protection
This is THE MOST CRITICAL aspect of managing your burn time and temperature. You may need to make slight adjustments to the vents where needed, and give the temperature time to steady again, before making any additional adjustments.
- Top Vents (Lid Dampers): Manage the exhaust of heat and smoke. The fire needs that airflow to thrive, so keep them slightly open to allow smoke to circulate and avoid smothering the fire. If you’re going for the long-lasting burn, then you’ll want to close them a bit, but not all the way, unless you’re done with the BBQ.
- Bottom Vents: Manage the amount of oxygen that reaches your coals. The more they are open, the hotter and faster the burn of the coals, while the more closed they are, the cooler and slower your burn goes. When fully open, the more intense your fire is, and when fully closed, it’ll extinguish your fire altogether.
- Wind Tips: If that wind kicks up, the extra dose of oxygen will also kick up your burn rate and even the fire. So, try to position your grill in a sheltered area away from high wind bursts or be prepared to keep adjusting your vents.
Keep Lid Closed Until Necessary
Once your charcoal is lit, smoke is going, and your food is on the grill, keep your lid closed as much as humanly possible. We know it’s tempting to look, but if you’re constantly opening it, you’re letting out trapped heat (which helps with moisture retention) and burning your charcoal too quickly by allowing excessive oxygen. This could be why your meats are dry and your fire keeps going out so fast and won’t stay lit.
We hope this helps and that you enjoy your grilling ventures from here on out! Stay cool and well fed, ya’ll! 🧡