Grilling with lump charcoal

[RedTop]

Just had my first experience grilling my Weber with lump charcoal. Tried chicken wings. There were assorted sizes from small to LARGE. The small grilled up well. The large did not cook throught.

I guess I treated the lump like I would a briquette fire, and got uneven results.

Tonight I'm attempting hamburgers on the grill, using lump again.

I would appreciate any sure-fire suggestions to become a master at grilling with lump charcoal.

[rasputina]

If the large didn't cook through it was because you didn't cook them long enough. It's basic cooking 101 that larger food items take longer to cook than smaller ones. This has nothing to do with briquettes vs lump.

[JuniorBalloon]

I would agree that it has little to do with whether he uses briquettes or lump and more to do with the technique. If you spread the coals out and put the pieces directly over the fire the outside will cook at the same rate. So if you cook the bigger pieces longer they will be burnt. Using indirect heat you can control the cooking process and get an even doneness on a variety of sizes in the same amount of time.

jb

[lyndak]

+1

[thew]

um - cook the bigger pieces longer?

[Davwud]

Use good quality lump charcoal. It burns longer and more evenly.

DT

[JuniorBalloon]

I'll chime in with the 2 zone, indirect heat grilling advice as well. I use lump most of the time and cook a lot of wings as they're a favorite. With indirect you control how much heat each piece is getting. I usually have at least two rows and can move them around as they cook to expose them to more or less heat.

Good grilling.

jb

[RedTop]

Will put your advice to use tonight, UB and JB. Will report results after dinner!

Thank you.

[RedTop]

Banked the charcoal as instructed. Worked the bottom and top vents as instructed. Moved the burgers as instructed and got a great meal. All four hamburgers finished med-rare, as opposed to medium. I'm more than okay with that.

Thanks all. Can hardly wait to grill again.

[Uncle Bob]

Bravo!!!!!!!!

[JuniorBalloon]

Congrats! Learning to cook with fire takes a bit more fiddling than using a steady heat source. You'll find that sometimes the heat from your fire fluctuates and you have to adjust. Moving things closer or further from the heat or cooking things longer. In the case where pieces are different sizes you don't neccessarily have to cook them longer as you can move them a bit closer to the heat, so ignore the comments below.

jb

[Uncle Bob]

"The small grilled up well. The large did not cook throughout"

This seems to be your issue....not lump vs. briquette charcoal ~~ Try to buy and cook more uniform pieces of...whatever...for more uniform results.

Grilling with lump is not that much different than briquettes....just as long as your remember that lump burns at a higher temperature ---- time over direct heat will be less....

Use a two zone fire set....Charcoal on one side...none on the other.
Grill/Sear/brown/etc over direct heat....Top vents open and over meat...Bottom vents open
Finish to desired degree of doneness on the non-charcoal side....Top vents open and over meat...bottom vents closed down 25% more or less....HTH

[RedTop]

"This seems to be your issue....not lump vs. briquette charcoal ~~ Try to buy and cook more uniform pieces of...whatever...for more uniform results."

Wings from Kroger are always the same size. Wings from my favorite butcher shop are never uniform.

[Uncle Bob]

Recommend you buy from Kroger or tell your favorite butcher you want uniform size....

Enjoy!

[lyndak]

Lump charcoal burns much hotter than briquette charcoal.

I'm not that proficient at grilling so what I do is keep the coals to one side. I'll bbq the meat on the side with the coals and then move it to the non coal side to finish cooking with the lid on. Watch the meat carefully, it gets pretty hot under the lid. I also try and regulate the heat by adjusting the vents on the bottom and top, fully open for a hotter fire and almost closed for more of a "simmer" fire.

Grilling with charcoal is a fine art that comes with years and years of practice.

good luck!

[RedTop]

I don't think I have "years and years" left in me, lyndak. Thanks for this first step advice!

[lyndak]

I'm a slow learner so I would need years and years. Most people can probably figure it out much quicker than me ;)

[Isolda]

This is exactly what I do, and I consider myself fairly proficient (although certainly not expert) at grilling. When cooking lots of meat or large things like whole chickens, you do need to add extra charcoal because the natural stuff does burn up faster.

Also, for certain cuts (pork tenderloin, for example) it helps to bank the coals to one side, then on the other side, put a disposable foil loaf pan with a couple of inches of water, wine, beer or cider in it on the same rack as the charcoal (not the grilling rack.) Then place the meat on the rack over the loaf pan, and grill with the lid on. You'll get a really nice tender piece of meat with a pleasant smoky taste.

[bagofwater]

This is how I make wings, and the results are great every time. RedTop- you should be able to poke the wings with a toothpick, and have clear juices run out. Then you know you're done.

If you want, you can also hit the wings up on direct heat at the end of cooking, in order to crisp up the skins a bit.