The best way to grill pork chops, burgers, steaks, chicken, and pretty much anything else is to use the indirect grilling method. This is the only way I use my Weber grill and my suggestion for how to barbecue with charcoal. There’s a lot of margin for error with indirect grilling and it helps prevent burning your meat on the grill if you get distracted.  I set my charcoal grill up for indirect grilling and cook the meat slowly. I relax and drink a beer because I don’t have to stand over the grill flipping things constantly so they won’t burn.  Here I’ll show you exactly how to set up your charcoal grill. Here’s what you’ll need:

Charcoal grill – I use a Weber

Charcoal chimney – Weber, again

Strike-A-Fire fire starters

Plain charcoal –  I like Royal Oak, but you can use whatever you like as long as it doesn’t have lighter fluid in it.

Rule Number 1 – NO LIGHTER FLUID! EVER! NEVER USE LIGHTER FLUID AGAIN! No really means no. Ever tried getting rid of that taste of lighter fluid, but just can’t fully get rid of it? Yeah, me too. It’s always there lingering like wondering if you left the garage door open when you left home for work today.  I started using Strike-a-fire starters a while ago and have never turned back. You can use these on their own, or use them with a charcoal chimney. I highly suggest using a charcoal chimney. My Weber charcoal chimney is my favorite.

Now let’s get started. Clean your top grate and then set it aside for the moment. Set your charcoal chimney on the bottom grate to load it up with charcoal. I reuse some of the unused charcoal from the last time I grilled with new charcoal to help save on our grocery bill. After that, clean all the old ashes from your grill.

Use one or two Strike-a-Fire sticks and lay them in the middle of your bottom grate. I usually just break one in half because I like to save money. It works fine, but just takes a couple extra minutes to get all the charcoal good and lit. If it’s your first time, use a full stick or two. I just decided to ration mine. Enough about me being cheap.  Now set the charcoal chimney on top of the Strike-A-Fire and let it do its thing. Note: this will create a good bit of smoke while lighting, so you will want to close any windows if you are near the house.

Once you have nice, hot coals in your chimney, go ahead and dump them to one side of your grill. You now have one hot mess of cooking power to last you for hours.

Finally, place your top grate back on and place the lid on your grill. I leave both vents on the grill wide open. The top vent I place on the opposite side of where my coals are, right above the meat side. Give the grill grate a few minutes to heat up and place your meat. I’m just cooking some simple country style ribs here. It does take a little longer to cook this way, but it is totally worth it for great smoky flavor. The fast way to grill is not necessarily the best.

This is practically the only way I use my charcoal grill. You have hot coals on one side so if you want to sear a steak or burger, you can. I also like using the hot side to crisp up chicken skin right before I take it off the grill. You can now make your steak tender and juicy, make smoked pork chops, add great flavor to burgers, and cook perfect chicken. Let me know how it works for you.  Remember to connect with us on Facebook for more ideas and recipes.  Now get to grilling!