Grilling Guide

Take Your Charcoal Grill to the Next Level

Spring is when the outdoor tailgating season finally ramps back up. In this guide, you’ll find out how to take your charcoal grill to the next level.  Whether you plan on playing sports and grilling afterward or enjoying some refreshments on the sidelines, a charcoal grill is a classic piece of tailgating equipment. You can use it to serve freshly cooked food to your family members and friends.

However, you can make yours stand out this year by giving it a few upgrades. In this guide, you’ll learn how to take your charcoal grill to the next level.

Use Oil on Your Grates

Picture this: you’re getting ready to enjoy your mouth-watering meal when, suddenly, your food gets ripped in half because the bottom sticks to the grill. Ugh! You can avoid this catastrophe by oiling your grates before you fire up the grill.

You can use any oil you like, including canola, grapeseed, or even avocado oil. All you have to do is wet a paper towel with your oil of choice and gently dab your grates as the charcoal starts to warm up. Doing so will lower the risk of burning your food and prevent it from sticking to the grates.

Distribute Your Briquettes Evenly

Putting charcoal briquettes into a grill is as simple as dumping a bag of your favorite brand into the pit. Nonetheless, this won’t allow the heat from the burning charcoals to disperse evenly, so you’ll want to lay out your briquettes in an intentional manner.

Rather than pouring your bag onto the grill, you’ll first want to create an even layer of charcoal. Creating a flat surface on the bottom of the grill will ensure that every spot gets an even amount of heat. So you won’t have to worry about one hot dog getting undercooked while the other gets burned to a crisp. Also, using coconut charcoal briquettes or another type of sustainable charcoal is one of the best ways to make your BBQ grill more eco-friendly.

Try Out Some New Marinades or Rubs

Finally, you can significantly enhance your food’s flavor by trying out a new rub or marinade before grilling. Marinades are liquid mixtures that you soak your food in before you grill, and you can put anything you want in them.

Most marinades have one primary flavor, an acid, and a fat. For example, you could use canola oil for the fat, vinegar for the acid, and pepper for the flavor.

You typically leave your meats and veggies to marinate overnight, but you prepare a rub on the same day as your grilling session. Rubs are just a combination of spices that you “rub” onto your food before cooking.

Overall, grilling season is such an exciting time. Now that you know how to take your charcoal grill to the next level, you can look forward to countless memories and delicious meals this spring.