Fire

A good fire is the key ingredient,

Control your fires ingredients, it needs oxygen and fuel to create heat.

Use good ingredients. Don’t use pre treated instant lighting charcoal. Create a small fire with proper BBQ lighting blocks or use tinder and small sticks.

Use a good quality charcoal such as Kamado Big Blocks or other good quality restaurant grade charcoal.

Don’t use lighter fluids or accelerants, what you use in your fire will influence the flavour of your food. You may ruin your grill forever if you taint it with chemicals.

Airflow More air means more heat. It comes in at the bottom and out of the top. Simply increase the flow to increase the heat and reduce the flow to slow the fire down. It is easier to take the temperature up than it is to cool things down. So don’t leave it unattended for half an hour or you will have a very hot grill that will be too hot to cook on and will take some time to reach a stable temperature as well as wasting your fuel.

To start with keep the bottom vent fully open and the lid of the grill open. After 5 minutes when the fire is established, close the lid and open the top vent fully. After 10 minutes you should have a good fire going and most of the coals should be alight. Burp the lid and take a look. Put the control vent back across and slide it so that it is open fully.

Insert your heat deflectors and cooking surface and get the grill to the temperature you want.