Weber Charcoal BBQ

Weber Charcoal Barbecues - Direct Cooking

Grilling with a direct heat source is the most common technique among the experienced and inexperienced alike because of its speed and effectiveness for cooking the bulk of barbecue dishes. Ideal for meats and veg with a relatively short cooking time such as steaks, sausages and kebabs, an intense heat is applied from below which sears the meat on one side which can then be flipped over to cook the other leaving no rawness in the middle.

Ensure you fully preheat your barbecue and food is placed directly above the white hot coals (for quick, simple hot cooking coals, check out the Weber Chimney Starter below). Try only lifting the lid to flip the meat and check for doneness at the end of the suggested cooking period.

Weber Charcoal BBQ - Indirect Cooking

Indirect grilling (also known as roasting) works similar to your kitchen oven allowing you to thoroughly cook large joints of meat and full poultry because it is the air convecting around the meat that heats up rather than the meat directly. Heat has time to penetrate right through the meat rather than singeing the outer layer. Simply arrange the coals on one side of the barbecue or on the edges with a space in the middle and rest the meat in a roasting rack if available so that air can fully circulate the elevated food.

By placing a foil drip tray below, the juices collect and can be reused in sauces and also save on clean up time! (psst, add water to the drip tray to regulate temperature during longer cooking periods which will help keep the meat moist and prevent the juices burning). Try only lifting the lid to baste the meat and check for doneness at the end of the suggested cooking period.

Weber Chimney Starter

Charcoal barbecues have always struggled against gas bbqs in terms of lighting and convenience, as lighting the charcoal fuel and getting it to the perfect even temperature can often prove troublesome – particularly in windy conditions. The Weber Chimney Starter is one of the most useful (and consequently popular) charcoal barbecue accessories we stock. By using simple physics, the chimney starter gives perfect cooking coals every time without the need for chemical starter fuels that often taint the flavour of the food cooked above the charcoal.

How does the Weber Chimney Starter work?

The stainless steel body has air holes cut into the bottom section (which feeds in oxygen) and a wire cone sits above those in the tube, upon which, the charcoal rests (incidentally, the chimney starter holds the perfect amount of charcoal for a Weber 57cm BBQ when filled to the top).

The chimney sits over a small fuel source such as crumpled up paper or firelighters and the heat rises through the length of chimney evenly heating the coals as it goes. After around 10 minutes the coals are fully cooked and ready to be poured into the barbecue using the two handles for ease.