Charcoal Grills

Charcoal grills burn traditional lump charcoal or charcoal briquettes. Briquettes are made from compressed charcoal and a binding agent and have the advantage of being even in size and shape, they also tend to burn a little longer, but maybe not quite as hot as lump charcoal.

Many prefer lump charcoal for it's more authentic barbecue aroma, high cooking heat and lack of binders.

A downside of charcoal is that it takes more effort to light the barbecue than gas or electric, and then there is a wait while the charcoal heats up enough to start cooking. When using charcoal there is a limited amount of time before the charcoal starts to burn out and is no longer capable of producing the heat required for cooking. This may not be a problem if you are just wanting to barbecue a few burgers, but when cooking large quantities of food or for cooking over an extended period of time this can be a big drawback. You could add more charcoal, but you really then should wait for it to heat up again before cooking.

The only way of controlling the heat on a charcoal grill is to vary the amount of charcoal and by using the vents provided to control air flow. This may be enough, but other forms of grill such as gas can be adjusted instantly, or you could even have different grill areas at different temperatures. These are thing you need to think about before purchasing a charcoal grill.

The grills employing charcoal as a fuel are available in many styles and sizes from small portable grills to very large grills capable of cooking for many people.

Just Grills