How to Control the Heat When Grilling With Charcoal

What You'll Need

To make the process flow smoothly, be sure to gather everything on the list below before you get started. And as always, use Kingsford™ Original Charcoal Briquets for a great grilling experience.

FUELS AND TOOLS

Kingsford™ Original Charcoal Briquets
Match Light® Charcoal Briquets
Charcoal Grill
Standard Charcoal Chimney Starter
Long-Handled Tongs or a Long-Handled Metal Spatula
Matches or Lighter
Water

What You Need to Know About Oxygen

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.

How to Keep Your Charcoal Grill Hot

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

How to Cool a Charcoal Grill Down

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.

How to Manage Flare-Ups

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.

How to Increase Heat on a Grill

It’s easy — simply place some unlit coals on top of the bed or coals that are already lit. There’s no need to add lighter fluid, the lit coals will ignite the new coals. The unlit coals will light fully in about 15 minutes, so you may want to plan ahead a bit.
Another option is to light a chimney with new coals and then pour in the hot coals when ready.
Just keep in mind, if you’re using Match Light® Charcoal Briquets, don’t add more Match Light® Charcoal once your fire has been lit, because it contains a small amount of lighter fluid. If additional charcoal is needed, add Kingsford™ Original Charcoal Briquets.