How to Regulate Temperature in a Charcoal Grill

Use a match, a lighter or an electric starter to light up the charcoal.

Increase the heat by placing some unlit coals on top of the burning ones with the help of tongs.​ But if you're using briquettes containing lighter fluid, make sure you don't do this step. Here are some more ways to increase the charcoal grill temperature:

• Use a chimney starter: You can also use a chimney starter to increase the heat inside the grill​.
• Adjust air vents: In charcoal grills with air vents or dampers, you can increase the temperature with the help of exhaust vents. First, open the intake vent completely to draw more oxygen inside the grill. It will burn the coals hotter.

Now open the exhaust vent fully using tongs to heat up the grill. If you want medium heat, adjust the exhaust vents to a half-open position. The right amount of vent opening depends on how smoky you want the food to be.

When the temperature has reached the required limit, remember to close the intake vent a bit. If you leave it completely open while cooking, the coals can get too hot and burn your food.

• Create cooking zones: Create two cooking zones in a cart charcoal grill and a barrel charcoal grill. Use tongs to move all the burning charcoals on one side to get a high-temperature zone. Use this cooking zone for smearing. The other side can be used for indirect cooking.

​Place a water pan inside the grill while cooking to prevent sudden heat spikes. Take the help of air vents to maintain the required temperature. To decrease the temperature, close the vents a little. Open them if you want to increase the heat.

In order to maintain the inside temperature, monitor it with the help of an in-built thermometer. If your charcoal grill model does not have one, consider investing in a grill thermometer.

If you want to reduce the heat at some point during the cooking process close the exhaust vents. Reduced oxygen flow will lead to lesser burning of charcoals, It will help to lower the temperature inside the grill.

After cooking, it is necessary to close the charcoal grill. First, let the charcoal grill cool down completely. To achieve this, close the grill lid and vents completely. This will cut off the oxygen supply. Also, it will stop the charcoal from fully burning.