5 Common Mistakes When Grilling Over Charcoal

Sure: a gas BBQ is practical, looks professional, and when it comes to cleaning, you never end up with your wrists in a cooled-down layer of gray ash just when you need to sneeze. But charcoal—oh boy, charcoal—is truly the ultimate if, like us, you’re a fan of that smoky flavor and the feeling you get when you close your eyes, forget the neighbors for a moment, and imagine yourself as a prehistoric human. But you do need to make sure you don’t make the following mistakes!

Because grilling over charcoal is just a little more labor-intensive than randomly tossing a steak into a pan (also delicious), but you get plenty in return. No, really! So pay attention for a moment, because if you manage to avoid these common beginner mistakes, all your guests (and you) will be grateful:

Not cleaning the grill grates before putting anything on them

Always brush the grill grate clean with a special (metal) brush before putting anything on it, and preferably do this after cooking too, before the BBQ has cooled down completely. I know the latter is difficult, because usually long before then you’ve already spotted a good bottle of wine, and it’s also so wonderfully cozy to settle down after that delicious meal and deal with it tomorrow. But believe me: the sooner you do it, the easier it is. So if you’re going to (dry-)scrub at the beginning of cooking, let the coals heat up for ten minutes and the job will be done in no time. This prevents old bits of food from sticking to your beautiful fresh ingredients.

Putting the food on too early

From start to finish, grilling requires a fair amount of patience. Heating up takes about fifteen minutes, depending on which and how many coals you use, and you really need to wait until everything starts turning gray and ashy before putting anything on the BBQ. Otherwise, your food will stick to the grate, or you may get strange off-flavors from certain briquettes. What a waste!

Not paying attention to the heat your food needs

You can think of it this way: the heat from charcoal is direct heat. Things that don’t need to be on the grill for very long can be seared and cooked perfectly over direct heat. Still, I prefer to always leave part of the bottom of the BBQ clear (without charcoal or briquettes), so you can move your meat (or whatever you’re cooking) there on the grate if everything starts going too fast. That’s cooking over indirect heat, often with the lid on. But you can easily cook a thin piece of meat or poultry over direct heat. Sear larger pieces directly over the flames first, then let them continue cooking on the part of the grate without coals underneath. The most important thing is to know exactly what your meat, fish, or vegetables need before you start.

Forgetting to work with airflow

Most standard charcoal BBQs have ventilation options both on top (in the lid) and underneath. Check how they work before you start, because they help you gain and maintain some control over the temperature. Two things can happen if you forget to open or close them: your coals burn out before your food is cooked, or the flames roar so high that your food burns. So play around with them, and don’t be afraid. Open the vents when lighting the coals and heating everything up. Once the food is on, adjust the size of the openings to raise or lower the temperature.

You can’t keep your hands off the lid

Lids—they’re difficult, aren’t they?! Of course you really want to check constantly whether everything is going well in there. But just like with the vents: the more air gets in, the hotter it burns. Especially when you have larger items on the grill (on a section without coals underneath; indirect heat), you need to trust that everything is going well in there. Of course, you can take a look once, and the lid has to come off anyway when you need to turn everything over (with a long pair of kitchen tongs). But otherwise: just let it do its thing!

Bonus tip

Finally, here’s the tip you’ll truly benefit from for the rest of your life: buy a meat thermometer. Or ask for one for your birthday, but either way—you need one. It will save you so many question marks and/or frustrations, and in my opinion, this thing is worth its weight in gold. Now get grilling!

Also read:

• 5 Common Mistakes When Barbecuing
• Five Perfect Fish for the Barbecue
• 7 Tips for the Best Grilled Vegetables (+ Extra Frozen Vegetable Tips!)