Using a Charcoal Grill to Infuse Flavor Into Your Food

What is smoking over a charcoal grill?

There's nothing quite as comparable as the luscious smoky taste you get when grilling meat over a charcoal grill - talk about utterly delectable! But for novices, getting just the right amount of char (and flavor) on your meat takes a bit of practice. Smoking is a specialized cooking process done on a charcoal grill used to extract maximum flavor from a choice piece of meat or poultry. The unique smoky flavor derives from the smoke that escapes from burning wood and charcoal. This flavorful aroma then absorbs into the meat, giving it that unmistakable smoky, charry flavor. Smoking is usually a low and slow process that takes time, patience, and practice to get the perfect chargrilled smoky-flavored taste. However, cooking with the KUDU makes smoking meat and poultry (and even veggies) easy for everyone to do. Besides knowing how the slow cooking process works to give you that tender fall-off-the-bone piece of meat, you can also use charcoal to amplify that charred effect. And soon you'll be on your way to becoming a seasoned (char) griller in no time.

Charcoal types

Interestingly, charcoal is a broad term that can include a mixed bag of different coal types and variations, each with its own different smoky flavor profile such as:

Like it or lump it: lump charcoal

In this case, we'd choose both - lump charcoal is excellent charcoal to use on the charcoal grill if time is of the essence. It lights up quickly (albeit tending to burn out quickly too). Want to perfect the art of temperature control? Lump charcoal will help you in acing that medium or medium-rare effect you're after. From a flavor profile, lump charcoal is a firm favorite for grill masters far and wide. Versatile of note, lump charcoal is derived from wood and its different brilliant wood flavors - like apple, bamboo, cherry, and oak. Pro-tip flavor combinations: Use lump charcoal with bamboo and apple for a mild flavor impartation - best for poultry and fish dishes. Looking for a more vigorous burst of smoky where to order cheap tramadol flavor? Use lump charcoal on your charcoal grill made from cherry and oak to infuse extra deliciousness into barbecue staples such as pork, beef, and poultry. And of course, much has been said about using the popular hickory-infused lump charcoal for brisket and the lesser-known (but equally as tasty) pecan lump charcoal for a pork or salmon barbecue.

Charcoal briquettes

Charcoal briquettes are the most common fuel type for getting your charcoal grill going. Briquettes impart a mild smoky flavor to meat due to its slow-burning properties. However, it's worth noting that you shouldn't apply your meat directly onto the heat of charcoal briquettes as soon as the briquettes light up. Instead, wait a while until the charcoal briquettes look like ash before adding your meat to the charcoal grill. Doing so will avoid an unpleasant chemical taste from infusing into your food.

Binchotan charcoal

Binchotan charcoal is a Japanese native charcoal from the Ubame Oaktree. It sounds sophisticated because it is! This charcoal is on everyone's lips and features an all-natural ingredient that stays lit for hours without giving off smoke. Amazingly, the binchotan charcoal doesn't emit smoke but rather infrared waves of flavor into food.

Coconut shell charcoal

Coconut shell charcoal (yes, there such a thing) is one way of getting your coals to burn (and smoke) that much longer. Sadly though, if you were looking at getting some coconut flavor into your food, you won't be getting any from smoking with coconut shell charcoal. It is, however, a natural alternative to say briquettes, for example.

A charcoal grill not just for the professionals

The art of smoking is not just for the professionals; you too can be a master smoker if you have the right equipment and accessories on hand. So if learning to smoke meat has been on your bucket list, or you're just interested in learning more about how to use a charcoal grill, the Kudu Open Fire Grill can teach you how. Contact us today for more information if you want to create unforgettable, outdoor food-worthy experiences with friends and family.