Choose your fuel carefully. I prefer hardwood charcoal to briquettes--the
flavor the hardwood
coals impart is truer.
Pile the charcoal in your grill to make a layer that's about 6 inches thick
over the entire surface.
If you are using liquid starter, you should douse the charcoal thoroughly with
it.
Next, mound all the charcoal in the center of the fire bed and douse it again.
This charcoal
mountain ensures even starting. Now ignite the charcoal carefully from the
bottom of the pile.
Allow the charcoal to burn until you've got glowing, ash-covered embers.
Then, using a large
barbecue spatula, redistribute the embers evenly across the firebed.
Put the grate on the grill as close to the fire as possible and let it get
very hot. When you're
ready to cook--and only then--adjust the grill to the proper height. Wipe the
grill with an oiled
cloth and you're ready to go.
Remember--never grill over flames; embers are hotter than flames. To avoid
flare-ups, make
sure that any marinated seafood has been well drained before grilling.
Mollusks (clams, mussels, and oysters) grill well when wrapped in foil and
steamed in the coals.
Check seafood doneness every 5 minutes or so.
Grilling fruits and vegetables: almost any fruit or vegetable can be grilled
with delicious results.
I love the idea of grilling several components of a meal at once. Your grill
gets a good workout
and you produce a complete meal with a minimum effort.
Edward Brown , Executive Chef, The SeaGrill
Grill Tips
Great outdoor grilling means managing the grill properly and that takes no
talent at all, just a
little practice.