How Much Charcoal Do You Really Need For Your BBQ?

With summer in full swing, it's the perfect season to be outside grilling. Whether you're making steaks, burgers, hot dogs, chicken, or vegetables, the amount of charcoal you use can make or break your barbecue session. While it may seem like you should just fill the grill with as much charcoal as it takes to stay hot, there is a right amount of charcoal to use, depending on what you're cooking.

Different methods for grilling yield varying results depending on what's being cooked. For example, if you're filling the grill, you'll only need to use around 100 briquets of charcoal, which is about four pounds. This amount should be enough to fill an entire grill with all of the charcoal spread evenly across the bottom. This is ideal for cooking thinner cuts of meat more quickly because it'll heat your grill to around 450-550 degrees Fahrenheit.

You can also just use 50 charcoal briquets, or around two pounds, but it depends on how you lay out the coals and how long you're planning on grilling for. Oftentimes, when you use fewer coals, it'll cook the food less directly, but you'll also need to add half the original amount of coals every hour you want to keep cooking. This keeps the grill at a consistent temperature without burning through all your fuel too quickly.

There are different ways to lay out the charcoal in a grill to achieve varying results. The most common method is to use direct heat, which is where you line the bottom of the grill with charcoal briquets and cook the food quickly. It's ideal for cooking thinner cuts of meat, and has some of the highest temperatures of any grilling method.

There's also the indirect-heat method, which is more suited for thicker cuts of meat or chicken breasts, which may get too tough if cooked too fast. Keep the hot coals only on one side of the grill to create a hot zone that gets to around 450-550 degrees Fahrenheit and a warm zone that stays around 100 degrees cooler. That way, you can slow-cook thicker cuts of meat on the cool side while searing the outsides directly over the hottest part of the grill. This will also help prevent flare-ups because the food won't be directly over the coals in case anything drips.

You can also use a grill to smoke meat if you arrange the charcoal properly. One method is to lay out unlit coals in the shape of a snake or the letter C around the outside of the grill, then light a few of the coals at the ends. This will allow the coals to slowly burn along the perimeter of the grill, so the heat stays lower and the smoke's flavor gets into the meat. It'll take much longer to cook than the other methods, but if you have the time, it'll be worth it.