Do you love cooking food on your charcoal grill?
Do you love that authentic smoky taste?
If yes, you would certainly know that while cooking on a charcoal grill is easy, but controlling the heat is not. Once you attain the right temperature, you can enjoy that authentic smoky taste. However, many people don’t know how to achieve the right temperature in a jiffy.
Today, we will share with you not 1 but 5 different ways in which you can regulate the temperature of a charcoal grill. Doing so ensures that you can cook your food at the precise temperature that will help you get the right taste and texture.
Without any more delay, let us now look at the methods which you can use to regulate the heat of your charcoal grill.
Using The Vents
When we are speaking about the vents, we are taking into account both the vents. These are:
- Top vents
- Bottom vents
While they might seem similar when you first look at them there functioning is a bit different. That is why we will go into the functioning of both these vents to help you understand how you can use them to regulate the heat.
Top vents:
The top vents are generally on the lid of the grill. These vents provide an outlet for the gases and pull in some oxygen for the coal. The task of pulling in the oxygen for the charcoal is secondary for the top vents. The top vents eliminate CO2 as well as other gases from the charcoal grill.
If you close the top vents, the CO2 will remain within the grill, which will not allow oxygen to get to the charcoal. As a result, the charcoal will stop burning, and the heat will start to reduce as a result. Similarly, if you keep the top vents completely open, it will eliminate CO2 from the charcoal grill and bring in oxygen. As a result, the charcoal will burn ferociously.
Thus, by adjusting the position of the top vents, you can control the temperature of the grill.
Bottom vents:
The bottom vents are much nearer to the burning charcoal. The job of the bottom vents is to expose charcoal to oxygen. If you close these vents, the oxygen supply will be almost all the way cut off and therefore the charcoal will stop burning. It will start decreasing the heat within a few minutes. When you open it fully, charcoal will come in contact with a significant quantum of oxygen, which will cause it to burn at an accelerated pace resulting in higher temperatures.
Fortunately, almost all grills that use charcoal allow you to adjust the bottom vents in multiple positions. That is why, by keeping the vents partially open, it will be easy to control the heat of the grill.
Once you start controlling the heat with the top and the bottom vents, the thermometer on the lid will help you see what the temperature is in the grill. That will help you adjust the temperature and set it where you want it.
Using the right amount of charcoal
The amount of charcoal which you use in the grill is directly proportional to the heat produced. If you want to generate more heat, you can add more charcoal to the grill. If you use a small amount of charcoal, the heat will be on the lower side.
It is one of the easiest ways to regulate the temperature of a grill. However, adding a small amount of charcoal will result in less smoky flavor in food and less cook time. So, you have to fine-tune the balance between the amount of charcoal and the cook time. Irrespective of the type of grill which you use, this method will ensure that it becomes easy for you to control the temperature of the grill.
Pro Tip: Normally a full chimney starter is more than enough for an hour or more of grilling. No matter what it’s a good starting place to see how much charcoal you need. If it’s not enough to get your grilling done you can adjust for next time.
Set up different cooking zones
Do you know about the charcoal layering technique to control the temperature inside the grill?
You need to keep in mind that it requires preparation. We mean that before you fire up the charcoal grill, you need to execute it.
You’ll have to place charcoal in different layers underneath different zones of the cooking surface. It will ensure that the heat over the cooking surface varies in zones.
The general principle which you can follow is to follow a sequence. You can either go from front to back or back to the front or left to right or right to left to layer the charcoal. You should increase the charcoal layers in a particular sequence. Doing so will ensure that some of the cooking surfaces are at a higher temperature. It will allow you to cook foods quickly like steak.
There are certain foods that you need to cook slowly like chicken. You can place them over the cooking surface where the layer of charcoal is on the lower side. It will ensure that you can cook chicken at a slower pace while keeping it from getting dry.
Many people create a charcoal free zone beneath their cooking surface, as well. The advantage of this zone is that you can use it to take away the meat from direct heat or to keep it hot instead of cooking it. It ensures that if you do not have a separate heating space on your grill, then you can keep your food warm.
How you layer the charcoal is entirely up to you. However, doing so ensures that you can regulate the heat of not just the grill but also of individual cooking zones, which makes it easy to use the same cooking surface for cooking various delicacies. The cooking zones also reduce the cooking time considerably as you can cook different foods at the same time. The method comes in pretty handy during parties and get-togethers.
One thing which you need to keep in mind when using this technique is that the temperature gauge on the lid will not show the accurate temperature since it picks up heat from only a single zone. So, you need to rely on trial and error and experience in layering to execute this technique.
Use the grates
As heat travels away from the charcoals, it disperses. It means that if the food is at a greater distance from the coal, it will get exposed to less heat. This principle can also be used for heat regulation on a grill that uses charcoal.
When you’re using the charcoal grill, you can adjust the position of the charcoal grate to ensure that the food gets exposed to the right amount of heat. The cooking grates act as an additional layer between charcoal and the food that you wish to grill. It will help you keep the food away from the direct heat of the charcoal and reduce the temperature.
Another technique that you have is to create different zones, as described in the method above. After that, you can place the grate over the entire area to further insulate the food from the heat. Doing this will ensure that if you want to slow the cooking of one piece of meat, even more, you can do so easily by moving it to a low charcoal zone or a charcoal free zone.
When using the grate after layering the charcoal you can raise and lower the charcoal grate. Which will adjust how much heat your food gets exposed to, and then shift it over to a charcoal free zone to make sure that it does not get overcooked or burned. Thus, by using this method as well, you can adjust the temperature of your grill to cook delicacies as per the heat requirement.
Use a shield
The solution that we are highlighting now is a temporary solution. However, if you cannot execute any other method, this one will work.
It involves using something to shield your food against the immense amount of heat produced by charcoal. If you have accidentally put in more charcoal or due to some reason, charcoals are burning more fiercely, you can always shield your food against the heat being emitted. The procedure to do so is pretty simple. We will highlight that below.
- You have to grab a roll of aluminum foil.
- You have to then fold it in such a way that the thickness is of 2 to 3 layers.
- You need to place it on the grill, and after that, put your food on it.
This setup will ensure that you can shield your food against the immense amount of heat. It will not insulate the food entirely, but it can add a few additional layers between the heat and the food. You will get at least a few minutes to salvage the food and prevent it from burning. In the meantime, you can work towards reducing the charcoal quantity or using the vents to reduce the burning of the charcoal. If you’re looking for a method to execute in a jiffy, this is the one which you should try.
The good news about this process is that you can add as many layers of aluminum foil as you want. It will prevent the food from getting burned.
Since aluminum foil is relatively cheaper, you do not have to incur a lot of costs when using this method, either. That is why, even though it is a temporary solution, it certainly works.
Pro Tip: If you find yourself in a situation where you just don’t have time to use aluminum foil you can place a baking sheet under your food. It will give the same effect as the aluminum foil but will take less time. This comes in handy if you have a grease fire mid BBQ and need to move fast.
Conclsion
So, do you often find it challenging to regulate the temperature on a charcoal grill?
If yes, you can use any of these five methods to your advantage. With our guide above, you will never face such a problem again. You can cook precisely at the temperature which you want according to the delicacy you are preparing. It is now time to enjoy the charcoal grill without having to worry about temperature flare-ups or excessive burning of charcoal and thereby spoiling your delicacy.
As Always, Happy Grilling!