Charcoal questions

[DandD2015]

My wife and I grill about every 4-5 days, whether we're at home or on the road. At home, we have a Char Broil infrared gas grill that does pretty well. For the road, we bought a highly rated portable gas grill from Home Depot, with a 10 lb tank. That proved to be more than we were willing to carry in our Chinook Concourse (plus now you have a greasy grill in your living space etc.), so we reverted to charcoal.

I use a Weber chimney to quick start it in the campground fire ring. So far, so good. But what I find is that with the coals on the ground, it doesn't stay hot enough long enough.

A couple possibilities come to mind. First, I suspect that this is because the coals cannot get enough air. I wonder if I could suspend a grate over some rocks to allow air to feed it from below. Is anybody doing this or working around it another way?

Second, maybe we need better charcoal (we get the cheap stuff at Big Lots). Does anybody have any preference for brand?

[magnusfide]

dons2346 wrote:
Kingsford only. I have tried some of the cheap stuff and it doesn't cut it.It either burns to fast or doesn't put out the heat.

Double ditto.

[garmp]

FYI, in St. Louis Lowes & Home Depot has charcoal on sale for Memorial Day 2-18.6 lbs for $9.98.

[2012Coleman]

OP - are you using a Weber chimney starter? It sounds like you aren't. The Weber chimney starter holds the coals above the ground and has vent holes in the bottom to allow the air to circulate - like the video you posted. You could always put the starter on top of the grate vs the ground. I put mine on a patio block or use the charcoal grate in the grill itself. The ash from the paper just falls through the bottom.

Putting the coals directly on the ground is most likely causing your issue. Lots of good ideas posted already about that.

As for grills, I use the Weber Jumbo Joe as it has a built in lid holder to keep it closed while not in use.

Using a grill is going to give you a better cooking experience, but in some CG's the fire pit has a hinged grate that works goo for cooking over a wood fire.

Buy your Kingsford charcoal at Walmart. They have to 14 lb bags on sale all the time for 9 bucks. I get my cedar planks there too - great for cooking Salmon on the grill - over charcoal of course.

[NYCgrrl]

jeeperdude10 wrote:
When we are faced with a no fire ring, etc in which to use the chimney charcoal starter.., I just use the grill...take off the cooking grate and put chimney (filled with paper and amount of charcoal you need) on the fire grate and light.....after reaching the desired lit/heat....just turn chimney over right there on the fire grate, and of course put the cooking grate back. Works for me!

Me x2 and it works like a charm.
Whether using charcoal or propane a carrying case can be a good thing. I use a large padded camera case with multiple pockets and a slide back section to store all my charcoal gear in one spot. Takes up no more than 2' of space and gives me point of use.

[jeeperdude10]

When we are faced with a no fire ring, etc in which to use the chimney charcoal starter.., I just use the grill...take off the cooking grate and put chimney (filled with paper and amount of charcoal you need) on the fire grate and light.....after reaching the desired lit/heat....just turn chimney over right there on the fire grate, and of course put the cooking grate back. Works for me!

[tplife]

We switched from a Weber Tabletop Gas with 1 lb. bottles to a Smokey Joe, and between having to re-stoke the thing with charcoal, carry the additional chimney, and moisture issues in the mountains involving briquets, went back to the Weber with pleasure. You might consider a Weber Q1000, which like the Tru-Infrared you and I use at home, is top-rated by Consumer Reports. We are tent campers and carry our grill in a nylon binocular cover where it doesn't dirty up anything inside our vehicle. I'll upgrade to the Q when my Weber Tabletop wears out.

[GoPackGo]

Get the Weber Smokey Joe. And you won't need a chimney to start things either, so you save that amount of space. Just pile up the kingsFORD, add fluid and light it off.

I also second the idea of using wet hickory or mesquite chips for flavor (just soak a handfull in a bowl for 15 minutes). I think that being able to put the lid on the grill to 'smoke' your food, even for a short time is a definite advantage to using a Smokey Joe over an open grill.

Then dump the used charcoal in the fire ring to use as a base for the evening camp fire.

[BigBlockTank]

I've been cooking on a Weber of some sort for right at 40 years. I have a 22.5" in my motorhome, that I take apart and put in black trash bags. I have a Smokey Joe, and I have a small little gas grill. I can use either on them depending on how many I'm cooking for, or if we have a fire restriction (in southern AZ it happens every summer).
I will never be without some kind of Weber that burns charcoal. I've been a pit master for many years, and I can't get the same flavors from gas that I can from charcoal. You might like gas, and that's fine, I grew up with wood and charcoal.

[dewey02]

x2 or x3 on the Weber Smokey Joe.
Easy to use, works well, and it fits in a sealed tote for storage when travelling, so grease and smell are contained.

We also use it when we are dutch oven cooking. We put the charcoal on the grate, put in the DO and charcoal on top. That way we can DO cook and still have a fire in the fire ring at the same time. Makes clean-up easy too.

[John_Burke]

We also use fire rings at the campsite. But I will lay a flat piece of firewood down, arrange my charcoal on that. After the coals are going just a bit, I add some wood over that. W
Tastes like cooking over a wood fire and the charcoal keeps the temp pretty consistent. Works great.
Also will use 8-10 pieces of charcoal the same way if the wood is damp, coals help dry it out and keep the fire going.

[rexlion]

I have an EcoQue grill. Mine is 12" but I camp alone, so you'd need the 15". http://www.ecoque.com/portable-grills/15%22-grill The entire grill is stainless steel. It is made in sections so it comes totally apart and folds flat for storing. They make foil liners for easy cleanup, but if you just use it on weekends you could easily live with a little grease and stuff until you got home to wash it (maybe in the dishwasher).

I like to throw a few wet hickory chips on the coals and put on the upper lid section, to get a nice smoky flavor in my food. Of course, the soot is harder to clean off than grease, but the taste is worth it. Especially with grilled fish!

[NYCgrrl]

garmp1 wrote:
I would have to say a definite yes, or rather a MUST, on the Kingsford charcoal.
Being a B camper I know the value of space, that's why I would recommend something likethis.

Yes that's the actual chimney starter I have. Sorry the manufacturer discontinued it but there ya go. My version has a high heat plastic handle instead of oak but that's the only difference.
Glad you were able to make your own version.

[garmp]

I would have to say a definite yes, or rather a MUST, on the Kingsford charcoal.
Being a B camper I know the value of space, that's why I would recommend something likethis. Granted it is expensive and I didn't pay that. You can find this type on the web for all sorts of prices. I had a friend in the HVAC business cut 4 pieces of sheet metal to my specs with air hole in the bottom, bought a 4' piano hinge. Cut it to 12" lengths and pop-riveted it together. Cut an old BBQ grate to fit inside, with stops. Then made a folding handle. A lot of work but fun. Just to see if I could do it. Turned out great.
My other suggestion would bethis grill. We bought the complete package with the propane adapter and love. We like to dutch oven cook so it is great. A really nice grill and with the propane attachment and 12"cast iron skillet is an excellent (fish) fryer.

[DandD2015]

By the way all, I might should mention that my wife and I don't camp full time. We're both in our fifties and we get away on weekends, but then we're back at work on Monday.

If we camped for months at a time, packing up a grill and setting it out, only having to clean it once in a long while, would be worth it. But on such short trips---not so much.

NYCgrrl wrote:

OK got ya now...........prolly I hadn't enough caffeine when I posted earlier, LOL.

Most campground fire rings I've seen have air holes in them so my guess is lack of air flow isn't the problem.

I was thinking about Webers, etc. The coals have room underneath for air to enter and stoke them. If I could just get the coals an inch or two off the ground, I thought they'd burn better.

NYCgrrl wrote:


Do you pile the charcoal in a mound to cook with or spread it out to facilitate the start of the night's wood fire? Mounding first will give you a quick and concentrated grilling fire. You can spread the embers out after for a fire. I travel with my own fire pit/grill and generally still have live embers the next morning to start up breakfast. One of my fav local state parks only rents fire pits (gives new meaning to a money pit) so buying my own made sense but it had to be easy to store since I've neither a garage or attic. It's a multi tasking tool that I consider one of my best pieces of camping gear:

Snow Peak portable fire pit/grill

For the same reasons I bought a collapsible chimney:

http://www.amazon.com/AMOS-Barbecue-Collapsible-Foldable-Thermoplastic/dp/B00YEGBVYU

similar to the one in the link except my version has a handle that swing locks to the side thus even easier for storage. Think they don't make it anymore so I'm holding on to it for dear life:).

HTH and have fun out there!

The linked items look pretty sweet. Perhaps one day...

edm3rd wrote:
Don't understand the problem using the park grill with non-removable cooking grate - every one I have used is adjustable for height above the fuel (4-5 notches), and can be moved and set vertical for access to your fuel. Carry a short handled shovel to clean out the last camper's fuel, fire up your chimney until fully heated, and dump into the grill. Oil/pam the cooking grate, and return to horizontal, and start cooking!

I'll have to check and see if the grade can be moved to vertical...seemed like that piece was fixed in there. Firepits were as you describe, however---the grate would essentially fold over, 180 degrees.

If we can't move the grate out of the way, I thought we'd have to "toss" the coals from the chimney into the box. But maybe we could manage to find some sort of scoop to transfer, that sort of thing.

As it is we can use the coals to start the campfire so the ring works ok.

Thanks for the replies, everybody!

PS-I stumbled across this years ago. Who knew Henry Ford was behind Kingsford Charcoal?

https://www.kingsford.com/country/about-us/#CFOuFxDirErQS03I.97