How To Know How Much Charcoal You Need For Your BBQ Grill

There's a deep-rooted magic to preparing food using charcoal. Watching embers flicker and aromatic smoke waft up from a grill comes with an elemental allure that traces through several hundred thousand years of culinary history. Subsequently, cooking with fire comes with a nearly expected intuition, even though there's lots of intricacy to the process. Some mistakes, such as using lighter fluid, come before ignition even takes place. Another mistake is not considering the amount of charcoal you need.

Sure, it's tempting to dump coals into the barbecue and commence cooking, but their quantity and distribution influence both the heat and cooking duration — two critical qualities of grilling. The necessary charcoal volume also depends on whether you're using lump or briquettes, the size of your grill, and if you're cooking with direct or indirect heat. Since measuring charcoal by volume is a pain, it's best to gauge using a chimney or by the approximate number you take out of the bag. Pinpoint the correct charcoal quantity and the embers burn just right.

Before you reach for the bag of charcoal, pinpoint your cooking style and fuel source. With direct heat — the technique ideal for rapidly cooking up thin proteins and vegetables — you want a greater amount of coals spread in a thicker layer across the grill. For a grill roughly 20 inches in diameter, you need around 30 briquettes (adding on about 10 more for every 4 additional inches of grill width). With hardwood, this translates to starting at approximately ⅔ pound, also adding on the same amount for every 4 inches of extra grill width. Keep in mind charcoal sizes vary — you could also completely fill a large chimney and distribute the coals.

When it comes to indirect cooking, you want to slowly feed in charcoal. Start with half the amount you used for direct heat, whether it's briquettes or lump. As the low heat sizzles, add half the initial amount of fuel every hour. Arrange the grill in a two-zone method to enjoy the delicious merits of patient slow-cooking. Regardless of the technique, getting coals to light can take some effort; Alton Brown's cooking oil hack can help. Once the setup's aflame, avoid the charcoal timing mistake of putting the meat on too soon. You want a uniform flame, even when you're cooking with direct heat — around 20 minutes of warm up time is always required.