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Know what you're trying to find. Even heat circulation is key, and it's achieved by adjusting the vents to let oxygen in and out and stacking the coals to create indirect and direct cooking zones. You also want a blazing-hot fire. Charcoal does not contain water, allowing it to reach those white-coal temperatures that develop the perfect sear on a steak or char on a cob of corn.

Sure, there are various types of charcoal grills, from barrel formed to flat-tops. Even a fundamental Weber Original Kettle grill (premier in Customer Reports' "Best Charcoal Grills of 2020") can exceed the others simply based on its timeless shape, which is ideal for heat circulation.

If you want the highest-performing, the majority of heat-efficient charcoal-burning grill on the market and cost isn't a deterrent, think about a Kamado, whose designs consist of The Big Green Egg (see opposite page). Fuel. Choose lump charcoal over briquettes. Swelling burns hotter. Zerkel likewise likes to add smoking (seasoned wood) chips, which offer a more extreme, smoky flavor.

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Forget the lighter fluid. Buy a chimney. This hollow metal cylinder with a bottom grate holds the charcoal. You use paper and matches or an air-driven lighter to help the charcoal ignite and never have food that tastes like lighter fluid. Image by Aliza Baran Tighten up your poultry game.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

One failsafe method is to choose for thigh meat, which has more fat and for that reason greater juiciness and taste. Purchase bone-in, skin-on breasts and prepare them thoroughly over indirect heat.

The way you cook this lean breast meat makes a difference, too. To keep it from losing its precious juices, "I would burn it and move it to the cold side of the grill" to prepare slowly, he states. He also purchases entire chickens, cuts them up and has parts he can prepare in a different way grilled thighs, poached (in liquid on the range) breasts for ramen.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Initially, season your meat with salt and let it come to space temperature. (You can even season it up to eight hours before cooking and let it sit in the fridge.) Position the steak on the hottest part of the grate and burn it for 2 to 3 minutes on each side.

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Move the meat to the cooler part of the grill to complete it off to whatever temperature you like. "I'll put a half-cabbage on the 'cold' side of the grill, get a great char on it, and it softens and ends up being something else" something terrific, he states.

"The crust it forms will likewise help it separate" from the grate without falling apart, he says. Before utilizing it each time, Zerkel scrapes the grate and wipes it down with oil.

Weber Original Kettle 26," $329 at Village Ace Hardware (2170 N. Possibility Ave.) Proponents claim the big advantage is the flavor it imparts to food that enticing smoky taste. Zerkel, a professional chef who's accustomed to using a stove's knobs and temperature controls with precision, enjoys this method of cooking for its unpredictability.

Image by Aliza Baran The Big Green Egg can bake, slow-smoke, saut and sear. If rate is no object, this grill just might be for you. Photo courtesy of Didriks You might have heard of this gizmo a green, egg-shaped ceramic grill that can cook a pizza at 700 degrees in minutes and smoke a beef brisket at 220 degrees for 14 hours.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

The Big Green Egg is a barbecuing investment that might make good sense if you prepare to utilize it a lot. Todd Minkin does. The Fein Brothers co-owner keeps his Egg in routine rotation in summertime. What does he like about it? "Due to the fact that of the thickness of the ceramic, it holds its temperature level well.

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The Egg doesn't need much charcoal, and for those who loathe cleaning grills, this one is low-maintenance. To purchase: Particularly excellent for steaks, ground meat and pork ribs, bone-in roasts, chops.