A Beginners Guide to Using a Charcoal Grill

[Music] this is a beginner's guide to using a charcoal grill i'd like to thank you for checking out my channel and make sure you hit the subscribe button before you leave and maybe even give this video a thumbs up if you like it [Music] the grill that i'm using in this video was a weber 22-inch kettle this grill basically sets the standard for all other charcoal kettles out there my grill has a hinged grate that allows you to add charcoal to either side during the cooking process without having to remove the food this is handy during a longer cook [Music] now this is the charcoal grate this is where you pull your hot coals and where they'll be during the cooking process now this part is called the damper and its use is to help regulate the airflow into the bottom of the grill that and that's what you use to help control the temperature the damper on these river grills also serves a dual purpose by opening and closing it using the lever on the outside you can knock the loose ashes in the bottom of the grill through the holes the top lid also has a vent that you can open and close and use in conjunction with the damper to control the airflow and the temperature of the grill now i'm going to show you a couple different options that you have when choosing charcoal the first type of charcoal that i'll show you is a natural lump charcoal now this one has no additives and as you can see there's no consistencies in the sizes they're all different this charcoal heats up really fast and gets screaming hot but it doesn't last as long as the brick hits that i'll show you next now in this bag is the kingsford original briquettes this type of charcoal is more uniform in size and shape and is generally a better charcoal when you're cooking something that takes maybe a few hours wood chips are optional you can use these or you can use wood chunks to add smoky flavor to your food now it's time to talk accessories this is a charcoal chimney and this is what you'll use to get your coal started you can use lighter fluid or you can even buy the type of charcoal that's already soaked in fluid but i recommend using one of these chimneys and just a couple pieces of newspaper you'll need a good brush with some good stiff wires on it to clean the grate before every use you'll also need some good cooking utensils i recommend a good pair of tongues a good spatula with a long handle an instant wreath thermometer this is essential especially with larger cuts of meat making sure that you get to the right temperature also handy is an oven thermometer you can put this on the grate next to your food lastly a pastry brush or silicone one like this to mop your meat with to start your charcoal simply place your chimney on the charcoal grate inside your grill and wad up two or three pieces of newspaper and insert those into the bottom of the charcoal chimney the next step is to fill the chimney with the type of charcoal that you'll be using good general rule for most cooks is to fill it about three quarters of a way full [Music] once you've got the chimney full you'll want to light the newspapers in the bottom and this will ignite your coals [Music] you'll want to give the charcoal about 15 or 20 minutes and once it's ashed over you're ready to pour it on the grate [Music] now you'll notice that i poured the coals on one side of the grill this is called a two zone fire and this is what you'll want to use most of the time when you want to sear food and cook it at a higher temperature you'll place it directly over the coals when a recipe calls for indirect cooking or you just need a safe zone to get away from flower ups in the high temperature you'll place your food on the side opposite of the hot coals now put your cooking grate back on the grill and place the lid on the top with the vent open give it about four or five minutes and let the grill heat up to at least 400 degrees and you'll want to take your grill brush and clean the grate off by allowing the temperature to get so high you'll kill any kind of germs or contaminants that may be on the grill all right now the grill is hot and the grate is clean and it's ready to put your food on it thanks again for checking out this video i hope you enjoyed it and learned something and be sure to subscribe to my channel so you can catch other videos thank you

Channel: Kitchen Alpha

Views: 3,489,254

Keywords: charcoal grill, bbq, weber grill, grilling, food, kitchen alpha, a beginners guide to grilling, how to use a charcoal grill, kettle grill, how to

Id: 3QyJGpYqrVY

Length: 5min 21sec (321 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 22 2017