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Charcoal · Chimney starter · Two-zone fire
How to Light a Charcoal Barbecue, and How to Tell When the Coals Are Ready
Fill a chimney starter with lumpwood charcoal, light two loosely crumpled sheets of newspaper underneath and leave it alone for fifteen minutes. Tip the coals out when the top pieces turn grey at the edges, bank them to one side, and start cooking once they wear a coat of white ash and show no flame. From match to first steak takes 25 to 35 minutes.
- Chimney starter and newspaper; no firelighters under the food
- White ash, orange glow underneath, no flame: now you cook
- Two thirds of the coals on one side, every time
Most steaks are ruined before they touch the grill
They are ruined in the fire. If the coals are wrong, the cut on top of them hardly matters. A proper fire is cheap and takes half an hour, most of which you spend doing nothing.
The bag: what to buy in a Spanish shop
Buy lumpwood charcoal (US: lump charcoal), which in Spain is carbón vegetal. Charcoal made from holm oak or from quebracho, a South American hardwood, burns longer and cleaner. Cheap briquettes are held together with binders that give off a sweetish smell, and the smell sticks to the meat. If briquettes are all you have, let them burn for longer before you start cooking.
| On the label or at the till | In English | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Carbón vegetal de encina | Holm oak lumpwood charcoal | Buy it |
| Carbón de quebracho | Quebracho lumpwood charcoal | Buy it |
| Briquetas | Briquettes | Usable; burn them longer first |
| Chimenea de encendido | Chimney starter | Buy one |
| Pastillas de encendido | Firelighters (US: fire starters) | Never under the food |
| Brasa, brasas | Embers: the glowing coals you cook on | What you are waiting for |
Three things never go near the fire: firelighters underneath the food, methylated spirit (alcohol de quemar) and, it should go without saying, petrol (US: gasoline). A firelighter does not burn away completely, and what is left rises with the smoke straight into the meat. No amount of seasoning removes a chemical taste.
The chimney starter, step by step
A chimney starter is a metal cylinder with a grate inside. It costs little and it is the best thing you can buy for a barbecue (US: grill).
- Crumple two sheets of newspaper loosely and put them under the grate. Pack them tight and no air gets in, so they will not catch.
- Fill the cylinder to the top with charcoal.
- Light the paper from below, through the holes, and walk away. Do not touch it for fifteen minutes.
- When the top pieces are grey at the edges, tip the lot into the barbecue.
No chimney: the pyramid
Build a pyramid of charcoal with paper and a few sticks of kindling inside it. It lights just the same, but it takes longer and you have to resist the urge to poke it. Every time you stir the coals, you cool them.
How much charcoal
The butcher’s counter rule: a layer of charcoal as thick as your hand, covering twice the area of the meat you are going to put on. Better to be left with spare fire than to have meat waiting and coals dying.
How long until the coals are ready
The coals are ready when the charcoal has a coat of white ash and you can see orange underneath. No flame. If there is flame, wait: flame burns the surface of the meat and leaves the inside raw.
From lighting to the first piece on the grill takes 25 to 35 minutes. Count backwards from the time you want to eat, and add the resting time for the meat on top. Hurry is the great enemy of the barbecue.
The hand test
Hold your palm a hand span above the grill bars, roughly 20 cm, and count the seconds until you have to pull it away.
| You can hold it for | You have | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| 2 seconds | A hot fire | Searing a chuletón, skirt steak and other thin cuts |
| 4–5 seconds | A medium fire | Finishing thick cuts, chorizo, vegetables |
| 7–8 seconds | A gentle fire | A rack of ribs, long cooks, keeping things warm |
Two zones: the mistake hardly anyone corrects
Do not spread the charcoal evenly. Pile two thirds of it on one side and leave the other third almost bare. Now you have a hot zone for searing and a gentle zone for finishing without burning.
This is what separates grilling from scorching. With a single zone, a thick cut chars outside before the middle is cooked, and nothing rescues it. With two, you sear a chuletón over the hot side and move it across to finish, while a thin skirt steak never leaves the hot side at all. The gentle zone works on the same principle as an asado a la cruz, where the fire burns beside the meat and not under it.
Something worth lighting the fire for
A mature cow chuletón uses both zones; skirt and flank want the two-second fire; asado short ribs sit on the gentle side. For eight to twelve people there is the criollo asado box, and the other boxes are on the barbecue boxes page.
Chuletón (bone-in rib steak), retinto cow, approx. 1 kg
Chuletón Vaca Retinta - MAS VENDIDO57,90€ VAT incl.Add to basketSkirt steak (entraña), retinto yearling beef, 1.5 kg
Entraña Añojo Retinto 1,5 KG29,90€ VAT incl.Add to basketCriollo asado box (approx. 5.6 kg)
Kit Parrillada Criolla del Maestro95,00€ VAT incl.Contains processed meat: ask us for the allergen listView product
Questions about lighting charcoal
How long does charcoal take to be ready?
About fifteen minutes in a chimney starter, and 25 to 35 minutes in all from lighting to cooking. Ready means white ash, an orange glow underneath and no flame.
Can I use firelighters?
Not under the food. A firelighter does not burn away completely and the residue rises with the smoke into the meat. A chimney starter needs only newspaper.
Lumpwood charcoal or briquettes?
Lumpwood, ideally holm oak (encina) or quebracho, which burn longer and cleaner. Cheap briquettes contain binders with a sweetish smell; if you use them, give them more time to burn off before the meat goes on.
There are still flames. Can I start cooking?
Not yet. Flame burns the outside and leaves the inside raw. Wait for white ash and an orange glow, then check the heat with the hand test.