Common Charcoal Grilling Mistakes to Avoid

As an independent consultant for institutional investors, Delaena Kalevor spent over 6 years at Synchrony as the vice president of strategic initiatives and payment solutions. In his free time, Delaena Kalevor enjoys playing soccer, writing, and grilling on a charcoal grill.

While there are many benefits to charcoal grilling, it’s easy to make mistakes. Here are a few common mistakes to avoid next time you fire up your charcoal grill:

1. Using Lighter Fluid

Using lighter fluid to start your charcoal grill can leave a chemical flavor on your food. Instead, light the coals with a chimney starter. Pack the bottom of the starter with newspaper, fill the rest with charcoal, and light the bottom. Let the coals heat up for 15 to 20 minutes, and then pour them into your grill’s base.

2. Cooking the Wrong Foods

With charcoal grills, the charcoal is your direct heat source and cooks food similar to the high heat settings on a gas grill. Because of this, it’s easy to burn or overcook foods that are not suited for high-heat cooking, such as hot dogs, sausages, and some fruits. This doesn’t mean you have to avoid these foods, but make sure to pay extra attention to the cook time for foods that only need indirect heat.

3. Forgetting the Grill Vents

Manipulating the top and bottom grill vents on your charcoal grill gives you a lot of control over the grill’s temperature. The more open you leave them, the hotter your grill will get. This will cook the food faster, but you’ll need to be extra careful so that you don’t burn what’s on the grate.