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By the first three words, I have 100% faith in this gentleman's grilling knowledge.

I heard the accent and I was immediately like "You, this guy knows his grills for sure"

"If you're looking you ain't cooking" wise words!

I have no interest in this topic whatsoever, but I have to say this is a really well done lesson. I learned more in 4 minutes than I would ever have expected. A good teacher is a blessing to his students.

Ive been a chef for over 25 years and all your tips are perfect. Happy Grilling

2 additional tips to mention. 1) use the vents on top and bottom to control how hot or cool you want cook at. 2) try hardwood lump charcoal that is real natural charred wood, it gives good flavor and cooks very well and hot. Hope this helps someone.

I was making all of these mistakes for years! It wasn’t until I got a Weber and decided to really research how to BBQ I started to have better cooks. Thanks for the video!

Very good tips for beginners. I've been grilling for 40+ years and these are great basics for getting the best results.

Greats tips. I like to fill the Chimney about half, then i pour cold charcoal on the grill. When the charcoal in the Chimney are done, then on top of the cold ones. Then give it about 20 minutes. And you have a good stack of charcoal that last for a great while. That's how i do it.

I’m 58 and from 🇬🇧 and I’ve never used a bbq, I’ve been looking at quite a few training videos but this is one of the most comprehensive and informative one that I’ve found. Thank you for taking the time to pass on your skills, it is very much appreciated 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 liked and subbed

Been cooking exclusively on coal for about 10 years now. My $200 charcoal grills have out lasted all of my $8-900 gas grills. Great tips here. Also, I have always said, if you are in a hurry for BBQ then go to a restaurant or use your microwave.

I love it when you said----"Don't ever use lighter fluid...your feeod will end up tasting like lighter fluid; and nobody wants to eat lighter fluid." Move over Chef Booby Flay, a new man is in town! Thanx for your video cuz I know nothing about grilling and I just placed an order for myself from Butcher Box; you're a life saver!!!

I think lighter fluid is fine as long as you let it burn off. Once the coals are white all over. If you use lighter fluid and start grilling before the coals are ready is when you get lighter fluid taste.

As an intermediate charcoal griller, these are great tips! All that I've learned about charcoal grilling are from your videos. Just want to say thanks and wish you all the best. Cheers!

You know what. I trust all that this man says about BBQ. I'm upgrading to a charcoal to level up my grilling experience.

Putting the chimney in the grill at the startup is pretty genius. Imma steal thay. Thank u !

A tip I would add is only use as much lit coals as you need. If you’re trying to cook at 225-250, there’s no need to use a full chimney (which can be 70+ coals. it’ll take forever for that temp to come down.). I’ve figured out that if I want to cook at 225 to 250, I only need to start with 30 - 40 lit coals…but all grills are different, so be sure to take notes on how many lit coals you started with and what temps you were hoping to cook at and it won’t be long until you know how many lit coals you need in your grill to cook at different temps.

Hands down the best and clearest explanation video I’ve been able to find on how to use a Weber kettle grill. Agree 100% with everything he says.

I could listen to this dude all day lol

This was a comprehensive not-to-do list that could help many charcoal noobs Thank you.

I never thought of having a safe zone on my grill. Thanks for the tips, I really appreciate your channel. You talk about all the issues I’ve had grilling. Thank you

I can second everything this man has said. Don’t forget to keep practicing and experimenting. As with all great skills, becoming a grill master takes a lifetime.

Good instructions for beginners using charcoal grills. Been using my Weber kettle for over 40 years. Never been disappointed.

Clear, concise, and to the point. Really well done video. I've been charcoal grilling for decades and it's easy to forget that someone new to it doesn't know these things.

Several things to add. Grill size is also something to think about. The little kettle grill I use for hamburgers hotdogs and fish. You just have to remember to stay with the grill and sear then put the lid on an cook for a few more minutes. And the lid is very important for smoking and indirect cooking moving the vent’s opposite of the food will draw smoke and heat over the items you are cooking. Have fun cooking with charcoal it’s the only heat source I use.

"When you lookin, you ain't cookin"

Loved the video. Short and straight to the point.

This was helpful, grilling is one of those easy enough kinda things "anyone can do it", but watching this, there are a few things that can really make a difference in upping my game

I usually use my chimney - what a great purchase! - but it is okay to use lighter fluid if you let all of it burn off before starting any meat. I use lighter fluid on my offset to get a nice big bed of coals (the chimney just doesn't hold enough to really get the offset going) but it is usually at least 45 min to an hour before I put wood on top of that. Now I could of course just start with wood but it takes a lot to get it up to temp which gets expensive so charcoal is perfect for getting the coals then wood for the smoke. Anyway, the point is that lighter fluid is okay IF you let it COMPLETELY burn off before adding anything else. I can't imagine much of a use for it on a kettle smoker, though. (One bottle will last me an entire barbecue season.) Hey, these are excellent tips, though! I am thinking back to when I first started and I made every single one of the mistakes that you mentioned in the video! EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. Ha!

Great and clear explanations on charcoal uses and its temperature control. I've been watching for about 3 months and love all your videos. Keep up the excellent work!

This is so good on so many levels.

Great summary of all the bbq tips you need and i also use. Thanks.

Thank you brother. Been at it awhile and I've become complacent but this little lesson not only put me back on track but got me thinking of some strategies to take advantage of my coals. Happy grillin

Great video! Straight and to the point. Hit all of the key points without a lot of unnecessary banter. Well done.

Thank you for sharing the facts! It is nice to see a good old fashioned charcoal grill being used still!

Totally agree, thanks for the refresher!

1- Don't use lighter fluid. Use cooking oil. Slowly soak your charcoals with cooking oil. There are numerous videos explaining this process. There are also " tumbleweed " fire starters on the shelf. Use the cooking oil method. 2 - Get a good thermometer. You can get a nice wireless 4X thermometer for $50 that will give you the grill temp and 3 meat probes If you're smoking or slow cooking - you really need a thermometer. 3 - When smoking or slow cooking you will need to feed the fire with charcoal. Put the desired amount of charcoal in your chimney and place it on top of your grill. This dehydrates, preheats and prepares the charcoal to catch quickly with much less foul smoke.

Never owned a BBQ but looking into now, this video has really helped me and made things really clear. Thank you

you are awesome and im so glad that you don't use lighter fluid or firestarters of some kind

Great tips old Country, thank you!

Great tips! As a first time charcoal bbq'er, these helped me a lot, especially using a chimney instead of lighter fluid. Thank you.

Thanks for the lesson bro. I am a beginner and this helped me a lot . I was making several of these mistakes. thanks again

These are great tips. With lighter fluid and pre-soaked charcoal, you can use it without letting your food taste like lighter fluid, but you have to give it plenty of time to burn off. That's when you get in trouble. And like you said in this video, people tend to rush things. Grilling is a relaxing venture for me. It's weekend labor of love. I cook with a 22-inch Weber as well. You can't go wrong. It's so versatile. I'm using apple wood to smoke some jerk chicken this weekend. Pimento wood is traditional, but that is too pricey for my blood. Good luck to all, and happy grilling!

Thumbs up because of his voice. He looks like a griller as well. “Well done” pun intended.

I made all those mistakes when I first bought my Weber years ago! I have a pellet grill now but one more tip I can add is you can close off the vents when done cooking to kill the fire and save what is left of the charcoal.

That’s a deep southern accent there brrrooother. 😂

These are very useful and straight-to-the-point tips! GREAT JOB!

Great instructional video. Makes me want to start my grilling journey

Thank you so much. I am guilty of all 5 mistakes at 1 time or another. I also have to admit that I only recently learned that you could cook on the grill without lighter fluid. I have been to cookouts where everyone has gone running because they were out of lighter fluid. Thank you for this information. I look forward to your next video.

I really loved this video and your beginners video. Still hesitant to try but I do feel a little more certain that I could maybe do it! Will report back when I finally do it! Thanks for taking the time to explain everything. You make it look easy and your explanations are simple!

Excellent information. He makes the whole process more relaxing and at the same time more efficient.

All good sensible comments and advice. We thank you for your content contribution.

Hank would be upset to see your not using propane, but il tell ya what there Bobby. These tips are exactly what i needed to hear! Im pretty patient with my cooks but i wana get a coal cooker and this gives me the confidence to take the leap! Much appreciated 🙏

Thank you so much for these videos sir! Dad wasn't around much growing up so I'm just now learning these things. Thanks for helping us out! ❤

This man knows his stuff👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

Thanks so much I really appreciate you taking time to make this video, I did not know about the cooling zone, and not waiting for the charcoal to ice over. Keep up the good work. Thanks again.

Ryan, this is awesome! Great tips for the beginning griller, hope more people would watch this. Now, if only I can convince my girlfriend to follow these tips! 😂 She has a gas grill but many of these tips apply. Good to hear from you and hope your homesteading is going well. Thanks so much, Rob

In defense of lighter fluid it will get burned off of the coals eventually. If you put your food on grill before it burns away, then it will certainly taste like fluid. Can usually smell when the scent of burning fluid is gone. HOWEVER, I like the idea of not using any!

Thank you for this video! I have recently become interested in learning how to grill, and I know nothing about it. I have also watched your basic charcoal grilling video. That was most informative. I now feel like I have a basic knowledge of charcoal grilling, and I'm looking forward to getting started! 😀

Thanks for the great video. Just got a new Weber Kettle Grill and I am so excited to learn all the great ways to use it.

Great tips and it aligns with what I do. The only thing I do differently is use lump coal vs briquettes. I stopped using briquettes years ago and don’t miss them one bit. My reasoning is that I like using all wood instead of using a by product of it and the flavor is much better in my opinion, especially when I add my hickory, grape, etc. wood chunks.

Always your biggest fan! I am so proud of you!

Thanks so much for not listing 10 mistakes. 5/5 was enough for me! Great, concise info. I'm so glad I spent a few minutes. It helped tremendously.

This was extremely helpful and Iappreciate how straight to the point you were. Thank you so much.

I agree with everything you said except for not using lighter fluid. By the time it’s burned off, it has no bearing on the taste of the meat if you know what you’re doing with tips 2-5. It’s a matter of splitting hairs of course. Good video for beginners. Currently teaching my daughter and her roommate on how to use gas and charcoal grills at their home. I’ve given them the same tips. Great video.

Great tips as always Ryan! I just celebrated my one year anniversary of switching to charcoal. Your channel was instrumental in helping me learn and I continue to learn from all your content!

Most excellent advice and thanks for sharing that. The part on lighter fluid is so true. It does leave an unwanted after effect.

Some great tips fella … I’ve been struggling for years on this topic. Thank you 👍🏻

I grill year long. I have made all of the mistakes you mentioned. The patience is worth it. I haven't cooked over a gas grill for 2 decades. I firmly believe gas grill impart a bad flavor. Propane and natural gas have additives so a leak can be detected. If a grill is burning efficiently and combustion is complete there's no problem, just an absence of extraordinary wood flavor. 99 percent of outside grills do not burn efficiently. The food has the taste of the additives meant to help detect leaks. Great tips, thank you.

Just started my first spring of grilling ever and this is PRIMETIME BBQ content thank you!

Thank you for all of your help!

You definitely are the most helpful grilling guy I have found on the internet about grilling. Thanks very much for sharing your knowledge with charcoal grilling tips- Tim in MI

Thank you sir! Teaching my 6 year old how to grill and I was determined to show her the correct way! My mom taught me and I’m passing it on! There were a couple tips I knew and a couple I learned! Had to use lighter fluid this time but we’re going to be purchasing a chimney for the next time!

Another suggestion: Regulate the temperature with the air intake and not the exhaust vents. I follow this rule whether using the Weber kettle or my offset smoker. On both I leave the exhaust fully open if there's a fire in the cooker. Regulating at the exhaust can cause a creosote buildup on the food if there's hardwood in the fire.

We love cooking over charcoal and appreciate your tips, especially the stainless steel Weber cooking grate!

Best video I have seen for beginners. Straight to the point and helped me a ton.

This guy gets it and is super cool. I've been grilling for a little while . . . but I like to always refresh with the basics. This dude's got a great demeanor & a very good delivery, unlike 90% of the yoyo's here in California. This cat makes you wanna get out and grill ! That's what it's all about 1 Thank you Sir !

I grill twice a week for the last 20 years, you are right 100% ! Well done brother.

Tip no. 3 is a life (and meat) saver!

Great job and thanks for sharing this

Good content. Great advice for newer grillers to zone their charcoal. There's definitely a difference between smoking, grilling, and cooking. I have a chimney, but often use fluid instead simply so I can "fire clean" the grilling surface. As long as I let the coals (Kingsford Blue) fully ash over (about 20 - 25 minutes) I don't get any lighter fluid taste at all.

Nice vid. One other rookie mistake I made in the beginning was when trying to lower the temp on a low and slow cook. I set the vents so close that the coals starved for oxygen for a while. The food ended up tasting like unburned hydrocarbons, or raw fuel. Unfortunately it was for my in-laws. It would have been much better to let the temp run higher and take the food off earlier.

Thank you buddy!

These are excellent, thank you!

After a lifetime of using charcoal lighter fluid, I prefer to use it with my charcoal to get it lit and up to temp quicker. I have never found that my food ever tasted like light fluid so long as I never started to cooking on the grill before the coals are fully up to temperature. By then any lighter fluid has cooked off. All the other recommendations apply. Cooking over a charcoal grill is not rocket science so don't be afraid to try it and learn as you go as well. We've all been there.

As an English person, I have to say how impressed I am that the subtitles translated everything this fine Gentleman said.

I needed this video to get better at grilling

Love your accent and the simple, straightforward delivery. I learned ao much!!!

Nothing wrong with lighter fluid, but thanks for trying to help.

Great job!

Thank you for the tips! I especially appreciate creating zones with charcoal. God bless you

I have to add another one, learn a cooking style before trying something new. Cooking steaks is not the same as cooking hamburgers or fish. Learn how to cook 1" steak but doing it several times. Then try something different, and get good at that. (Note: I but a slab of NY Strips, and have the butcher cut them to 2 thick, 1 normal, and 1 thin. This way all the steaks are done at the same time. Yes, I usually have 18oz steak, while my wife likes an 8oz. My daughter listens to her piece of meat for moo echos and my son, well I am not sure he actually tastes it.) I must reiterate about fast cooking of meat, 3-6 minutes a side. Figure out your heat and guess at a time to cook based on the thickness of the meat. Do not open the lid as that will always increase the cooking time. Then flip the meat. If it looks a tad underdone, add a minute, overdone, subtract a minute. Get your meat cut the same thickness. (I love pork steaks on a grill, actually, I only like them on a grill. I talked to my butcher about why they were 1/2, and he said because that is what sells in this store. Next time I got them 1" thick. For me, that was too much so next time I will have them cut 3/4".

Nobody wants to eat lighter fluid- Kitchen Alpha.

Thanks you sir, you have giving me the answers that I was looking for without the filler 👍🏼

Amazing tips, thanks

I 💯% agree with this guy! I just learned about a grill chimney just now lol, but he is correct, on everything!

Thx, I’ve made ALL those mistakes before!! It really made a difference ❤❤❤❤👍👍🤌🏼🤌🏼

The cool zone is genius !!! I’m taking that with me

Thanks man. My prep sucks so this will help