Charcoal BBQs

Buying guide

Charcoal gives the flavour and searing heat that many people think of as proper barbecue. It asks a little more of you than gas: lighting the coals, waiting for them to be ready and managing the heat. This guide explains the types of charcoal BBQ we sell, which fuel to buy, how to control the heat and how to use one safely.

Types of charcoal BBQ

Permanent

Masonry BBQs

Pre-cast concrete BBQs with a 54 x 34cm grill at four heights. Most take logs after cooking and double as an outdoor fireplace.

Shop masonry BBQs

Precise heat

Adjustable grills

The Firepits UK Katherine Wheel winds a 68 x 56cm grill plate up and down on stainless steel wire, so you set the height to the heat.

See the Katherine Wheel

Take it with you

Portable BBQs

The Firepits UK Pitnic packs its grills inside for the car or campsite, and the Lifestyle Explorer weighs just 3.5kg.

See the Pitnic

Fire pit and BBQ

Fire pits with a grill

A fire pit with swing arm BBQ racks cooks over charcoal or embers, then keeps everyone warm.

Shop fire pit BBQs

Why choose charcoal?

• Flavour. Fat dripping onto hot coals and the coals themselves give charcoal cooking its taste.
• Searing heat. A well-lit bed of lumpwood gives intense heat right at the grill, which is why steaks love it.
• The ritual. Lighting the fire is part of the evening, and on a masonry BBQ the fire carries on as a fireplace afterwards.
• No gas bottle. Nothing to connect, leak test or refill.

The trade-offs are time and tidying: allow 20 to 30 minutes for the coals to be ready, and clear the ash once it is completely cold. If you want to cook on a Tuesday evening with no fuss, a gas BBQ is the better tool.

Lumpwood, briquettes or wood?

Many cooks light lumpwood for heat and add a few briquettes to keep a long session going. Buschbeck says its masonry BBQs take charcoal (lumpwood or briquettes) for cooking, and most models then take logs as an outdoor fireplace; the Carmen with side table is charcoal only. The Firepits UK Katherine Wheel is designed for charcoal, while the Katherine Wheel Dual burns charcoal or wood.

Whatever you burn, keep it dry. Damp charcoal smokes and struggles to light (see can you use damp charcoal?), and cheap charcoal can spark and spit (see why cheap charcoal sparks). In England, firewood sold in volumes under 2 cubic metres must be certified Ready to Burn, which means 20% moisture or less.

Lighting and when it is ready

1. Clear old ash so air can reach the fire.
2. Fill a chimney starter with charcoal over a natural firelighter, or build a small pile over firelighters on the grate.
3. Light it and leave it. A chimney gets lumpwood going in roughly 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Tip the coals out when the top pieces are glowing and starting to grey at the edges, and spread them for two zones.
5. Set the grill height and give it a few minutes to heat before cooking.

Skip lighter fluid: it is not needed and can taint food (see how to light a BBQ without lighter fluid). Never use petrol or similar to light or revive a fire. And do not wait for every coal to turn fully white, because by then the best heat has gone: our guide to when charcoal is ready explains why.

Controlling the heat

A charcoal BBQ has three controls: how much fuel you use, where you put it and how far the food is from it.

• Two zones. Bank the coals on one side for direct heat and leave the other side clear for gentle, indirect cooking and resting food.
• Grill height. Buschbeck masonry BBQs have four grill heights. The Katherine Wheel and Katherine Wheel Dual wind their grills up and down, and the Dual has two independent plates so you can cook hot and gentle at once.
• Air. More air means more heat. Keep ash cleared so the fire can breathe, and on lidded BBQs use the vents as the manual describes.
• Patience. Raise the grill or move food to the cool side rather than adding fuel. Our guide to temperature runaway explains how to bring heat back down.

What to cook, and how

Most charcoal cooking comes down to choosing between direct heat over the coals and gentler indirect heat beside them.

• Direct, close to the coals: steaks, burgers, chops, kebabs, prawns and sliced vegetables. Cook fast and turn often.
• Sear, then move: chicken thighs, drumsticks and thick sausages. Colour them over the coals, then finish on the cool side so the inside cooks through without burning.
• Indirect: whole chickens and joints need a lid or hood to roast, or a raised grill and patience on an open BBQ. A meat thermometer takes out the guesswork.
• In the embers: potatoes and onions wrapped in foil cook happily at the edge of the fire.

For a light smoky flavour, add a small chunk of dry hardwood to the coals and wait for it to settle to thin, pale blue smoke before cooking; thick white smoke tastes bitter. Our guide to white vs blue smoke explains the difference.

How to choose

• Permanent or portable? If it will live in one spot, a masonry BBQ or a Katherine Wheel on its stand is the most capable choice. If it needs to travel, choose the Pitnic or the Lifestyle Explorer.
• How many people? Use the grill sizes below. The Katherine Wheel's 68 x 56cm plate and the Dual's two 50 x 48cm plates suit family gatherings; a Pitnic suits one to four.
• Warmth as well as cooking? A masonry BBQ with a chimney, or a fire pit with a BBQ rack, keeps everyone warm after the food is done.
• Base and access. Masonry BBQs weigh 360kg to 510kg and the Katherine Wheel 77kg with its fire bricks, so plan the base and the route from the kerb.

Grill sizes compared

Using a charcoal BBQ safely

• Use it outdoors only, on firm, level, non-combustible ground. Firepits UK notes that grass underneath can scorch, and timber or composite decking is a fire risk.
• Keep it clear of fences, sheds, hedges and overhanging branches, and keep children and pets back while it is lit.
• Never take a lit or cooling BBQ into a tent, garage, porch or caravan. Charcoal gives off carbon monoxide long after the flames die down.
• Keep water or sand nearby, and never leave a lit BBQ unattended.
• Let ash go completely cold, ideally overnight, before emptying it into a metal bin.
• If you live in a smoke control area, you can still use an outdoor barbecue: government guidance says so. Use dry fuel so the smoke does not bother the neighbours.

Looking after it

Brush grills while warm and wipe them with a little cooking oil (Firepits UK advises against olive oil on its steel). Clear ash after every use once cold, because damp ash holds water against the metal or masonry. Bare steel BBQs from Firepits UK weather to a russet patina, which the maker says does not affect their life. Masonry BBQs need little more than a brush and a cover in winter: see masonry BBQ care. For rusty grates, our guide to cleaning rusty grates without harsh chemicals will help.

Buying from Glowing Flames

We sell charcoal BBQs from makers who build them to last: Buschbeck masonry BBQs from Germany and Firepits UK grills handmade in Wales, plus the portable Lifestyle Explorer. Delivery to England and Wales is free, with large items delivered on a pallet at the kerbside. If you are torn between a masonry BBQ, a Katherine Wheel and a fire pit with a BBQ rack, contact us with a photo of your garden and we will talk you through the options.