Tips for maximum efficiency from lump charcoal

Hell Fire Grill · Last edited by Hell Fire Grill on Jun 27 2011; edited 2 times in total

1. Double your fire grate. Turn the top one 90* from the bottom one. Another trick is to cover the fire grate with expanded steel or just about any kind of screen that will hold the charcoal off the bottom of the cooker until it almost completly burns up.

2. Dont overheat the charcoal. Lump charcoal dont need to ash completly over before its hot enough to cook with on a grill. If your using a cooker that takes advantage of the minion method then youll need most of the charcoal IN YOUR CHIMNEY to be lit so youll have a predictable temprature in the cooker.

3. Reuse the charcoal that dident burn completly the last time you cooked with it. I made a sifter out of a metal bucket and some 1/2" hardware wire that helps remove the tiny pieces and ashes.

The lid helps keep the ashes from getting airborn and keeps the charcoal coverd until you want to use.

4. Try to keep the the charcoal bunched up together while your grilling with it. Having it spread out to much increases the air flow through the pile and encourages it to temporarily burn hotter and faster than it needs to. After it burns down so far, and causing a spike in temprature, it can go out from not having enough air flow.
When you fill a charcoal basket with lump, shake it around when it gets full, this compacts the charcoal and will allow you to get more charcoal in the basket which results in a longer slower burn.

5. Never use lighter fluid.

6. Keep a long, cheap pair of tongs handy so you can rearange the hot charcoal if you need to. I always have tongs and a coal spreader next to my grill. The coal spreader doubles as a cleaning tool to remove most of the excess muck that accumulates in the kettle(I ground it to the same diameter as the kettle).

7. Always keep any type of charcoal covered and off the ground. Charcoal is a moisture magnet and it'll suck up moisture in the air, in concrete, or steel. It can pull it through a paper bag even. I keep all my bags and containers off the ground, (on 2X4s), closed and covered in my detached garage and it all stays very dry when I do this. It dont take much to cover it, I use empty charcoal bags. Alot of moisture in the air comes from up high and settles down onto the charcoal so keeping it closed and covered is one oth most effective ways to keep your charcoal dry. Allowing it to absorb moisture can make it burn unpredictably and can contibute to it poping, snapping and blowing small embers around when it does that(IMO).

My charcoal mess.

ckone · Posted: Jun 06 2011 Post subject:

Good tips. How does the food cooked with the blue bags taste?

Not the K Wink

.
_________________
22.5 Weber Kettle
OK Joe
The Bubba Keg

Hell Fire Grill · Posted: Jun 06 2011 Post subject:

day_trippr · Posted: Jun 06 2011 Post subject:

"If your using a cooker that takes advantage of the minion method then youll need most of the charcoal to be lit so youll have a predictable temprature in the cooker. "

Too encompassing. It's true for a grill, but not at all for a smoker...

Cheers!
_________________
Save the planet: it's the only one with beer!
FrankennBrinkmann ECB
Char-Broil Commercial Gasser

Hell Fire Grill · Posted: Jun 06 2011 Post subject:

day_trippr · Posted: Jun 06 2011 Post subject:

Hell Fire Grill · Posted: Jun 06 2011 Post subject:

Thanks for sh!tng on my thread day tripper. It started being a helpfull and informative thread that I put a couple hours of my time into, that now is going backwards on account of its not meeting your standards.

day_trippr · Posted: Jun 06 2011 Post subject:

Aw, c'mon. If you really wanted to post a dictatorial manifesto, you're in the wrong place for that.

Unbunch your panties and accept what should have been taken as a helpful comment from the peanut gallery. Or don't. Your choice, but you're coming across as a rather petty poaster...

Cheers Wink

_________________
Save the planet: it's the only one with beer!
FrankennBrinkmann ECB
Char-Broil Commercial Gasser

Hell Fire Grill · Posted: Jun 06 2011 Post subject:

Look whos talking about petty. Thanks again asshole

Awning Guy · Posted: Jun 06 2011 Post subject:

Great tips HFG. it all adds up
_________________
First Build[/url]
Pig Cooker
Pizza Oven
Disco

ckone · Posted: Jun 06 2011 Post subject:

day_trippr · Posted: Jun 06 2011 Post subject:

MGeslock · Posted: Jun 06 2011 Post subject:

Thanks for the post. I always have left over from my UDS and didn't know how to sift.

Where did you find the bucket for the sifter? That is a great idea. I may use it BEFORE I put fresh in the pit. That way the dust and small parts will not make it.

Oregon smoker · Posted: Jun 06 2011 Post subject:

Thanks for taking your time to do a write up in time when many might need this information as we are moving into the summer months. Cool

_________________
#3 LIAR

Hell Fire Grill · Posted: Jun 06 2011 Post subject:

SoEzzy · Posted: Jun 06 2011 Post subject:

Back off the insults or I'll close it down and let it die.
_________________
Here's a change Robert.

I still work here!

Hell Fire Grill · Posted: Jun 07 2011 Post subject:

Any kind suggestions, tips or comments are still welcome here.

Hell Fire Grill · Posted: Jun 07 2011 Post subject:

Q-in · Posted: Jun 07 2011 Post subject:

Thanks H.F.,
awesome job!

cityevader · Posted: Jun 11 2011 Post subject:

I've personally had terrible results lighting my whole backet of charcoal so "it's all lit" and placing that in my UDS and then trying to fight enormous temperature issues only to throttle it back so much, that once all the nasty dense white smoke (from it choking so badly) eventually dissipates to a proper cooking temp/TBS it's been at least an hour from first match strike to food placement.

It's vastly better to have your starterr chimney fully burning and placing it on unlit charcoal (minion) to have nearly perfect smoke/temp right from the get-go.
_________________
Since Christ DIED for us, we should LIVE for Him!

To make the ° temperature symbol, hold the Alt key while typing 248 on keypad.
.