Oxygen is what makes fire possible and makes your coals burn.

Abundant oxygen makes the coals burn hot and fast.

Limited oxygen decreases cooking temperatures and lets the coals burn more slowly.

The vents on the top and bottom of your grill let you change the flow of oxygen to increase, decrease and stabilize coal temperatures.

For high-heat grilling, or to increase grill temps, open the vents wide to allow more oxygen in. This makes the coals burn hotter.

To reduce heat, slow down the cooking process or increase your cooking time, close down your vents.

Always leave the vents partially open so the fire doesn’t completely suffocate.

It’s tempting to put flare-ups out with water, but this will cause ash to fly up onto your food — which can ruin flavor and cause a fire hazard.

The best way to manage grilling flare-ups is to create a two-zone fire, covering one half of the grill with the coals, and leaving a void, or coal-free zone, on the other half. Flare-ups happen — don’t worry!

With a long-handled, metal spatula, simply move your food to the cooler side of the grate until the flames subside.