What’s not to love about a steak that’s lightly charred on the outside and tender and juicy in the center? The grilling cooking method cooks food over high, direct heat from flames or hot coals, so the surface browns fast while the inside cooks through. Here’s how grilling works, how to set up a gas or charcoal grill for direct and indirect heat, and the steps for juicy, smoky results every time.
Jessica’s Recipe Science
- Hot grates sear the surface quickly, triggering the Maillard reaction that creates browned, savory flavor and grill marks.
- Juices and fat that drip onto the hot coals or burners vaporize into smoke that rises and flavors the food.
- Food sticks to the grates until a crust forms, then releases on its own, so wait before you flip.
Featured Comment 1
“Great article on all types of grilling—I’ve been doing this for 60 years.”—Jack
Jump To a Section
What is Grilling?
Grilling is a dry-heat cooking method that cooks food on a metal grate over a direct heat source, like a gas burner, hot charcoal, or a wood fire. Most heat comes from radiant energy from the fire, while the hot grates sear the food where they touch, leaving grill marks. Closing the lid traps hot air, so the grill also cooks by convection, much like an oven.
Grilling is a lot like broiling, except the heat comes from below the food instead of above it. Cooking larger foods with the lid closed over indirect heat works more like roasting, since the hot air surrounds the food and cooks it more gently.
Grilling at a Glance
| Factor | Details |
|---|---|
| Heat type | Dry heat (radiant heat from the fire, plus conduction from the hot grates and convection with the lid closed) |
| Temperature | Medium to high heat, about 350 to 500ºF (177 to 260ºC) for most foods, and hotter for pizza |
| Heat zones | Direct heat over the fire for searing, and indirect heat on the cooler side for cooking through |
| What happens | The surface browns and chars quickly, while dripping juices create flavorful smoke |
| Best foods | Steaks, burgers, chicken, pork chops, fish, shrimp, vegetables, and fruit |
| Typical time | A few minutes for shrimp and thin vegetables, longer for thick steaks and bone-in chicken |
| Equipment | A gas or charcoal grill, long tongs, a grill brush, and an instant-read thermometer |
How to Grill
These steps work for most grilled meats, seafood, and vegetables. Check your recipe for specific temperatures and times.
Set Up a Gas or Charcoal Grill
- Gas grill: Convenient and quick to heat, with knobs that make the temperature easy to control. Keep a spare propane tank on hand so you don’t run out halfway through dinner.
- Charcoal grill: Can get hotter than most gas grills and gives you more ways to arrange the heat, but it takes longer to light. Lump charcoal burns hotter and faster, while briquettes burn longer at a steadier temperature.
The easiest way to light charcoal is with a chimney starter. Fill it with charcoal, set it on the bottom grate, place one or two sheets of crumpled newspaper underneath, and light the paper. When the coals are mostly covered in gray ash, about 15 minutes, pour them out and spread them into your heat zones.
If you use lighter fluid, follow the label, light the coals right away, and never add fluid to lit or burning coals. Wait until the coals are covered in gray ash before cooking.
Create Two Heat Zones
Setting up a hot side and a cooler side gives you control. Sear over direct heat, then move food to indirect heat to finish cooking without burning.
- Direct heat: Spread the coals evenly, or turn on all the burners, for thin steaks, burgers, shrimp, and vegetables that cook quickly.
- Two-zone fire: Bank the coals on one side, or leave one or two burners off. This setup is most useful for chicken pieces and thick steaks or chops.
- Indirect heat: Pile the coals on both sides with an empty strip in the middle, and cook larger foods like roasts and whole chickens there with the lid closed.
Preheat, Clean, and Oil the Grates
Close the lid and preheat the grill for 10 to 15 minutes. The heat burns off leftover food, so the grates are easy to clean with a grill brush. Then dip a folded paper towel in neutral oil and, using tongs, rub it over the grates. Hot, clean, oiled grates give you better grill marks and help food release.
Sear, Then Flip
Pat the food dry, or let excess marinade drip off, and brush it with a thin coat of oil. Place it on the hot grates and leave it alone until it releases easily. If it sticks, it isn’t ready yet. For crosshatch grill marks, rotate the food about 45 degrees halfway through searing the first side, then flip it once and cook the second side.
Control the Heat with the Lid and Vents
Leave the lid open for thin foods that cook in a few minutes, like asparagus or zucchini slices about ¾ inch thick or less. Close the lid for thicker foods like chicken breasts, thick pork chops, and corn on the cob so they cook through evenly.
On a charcoal grill, the vents control the fire. Open vents let in more oxygen, so the coals burn hotter. Partly closing the vents slows the fire and lowers the heat.
Check the Temperature
Use an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of the food. The USDA recommends these minimum internal temperatures:
- Beef, pork, and lamb steaks, chops, and roasts: 145ºF (63ºC), then rest for 3 minutes
- Ground meat like burgers: 160ºF (71ºC)
- Chicken and turkey: 165ºF (74ºC)
- Fish and shellfish: 145ºF (63ºC)
Many cooks prefer beef steaks medium-rare, removing them from the grill at 125 to 130ºF (52 to 54ºC), as in my Carne Asada. Let grilled meat rest for a few minutes before slicing so the juices stay in the meat.
Add Wood Smoke or a Plank
For extra smoky flavor, add soaked wood chips to a smoker box on a gas grill or right on the coals. Use seasoned hardwoods like hickory, oak, maple, apple, or pecan, and skip softwoods like pine, which give food a harsh, resinous taste.
To grill on a cedar plank, soak it in water for at least an hour, then cook on it over indirect heat. Charring the plank over direct heat first adds even more smoky flavor.
Best Foods for Grilling
Grilling works best for foods that taste great with a browned, smoky crust and cook through before the outside burns.
Steak and Burgers
Tender steaks like strip and flat iron cook quickly over direct heat. Sear thick steaks and roasts like tri-tip over the hot side, then move them to indirect heat to finish. Burgers grill best on a two-zone fire, so you can move them away from flare-ups.
Try my Santa Maria Style Tri-Tip, Carne Asada, Strip Steak with Chimichurri Sauce, Grilled Flat Iron Steak, or Perfect Grilled Burgers.
Chicken
Boneless chicken breasts and thighs grill quickly over direct heat. Chicken with a sweet glaze or marinade browns fast, so move it to the indirect side if the outside darkens before the inside is done. A chicken marinade adds flavor and helps keep lean breasts juicy.
Try my Grilled Chicken, Chimichurri Chicken, Huli Huli Chicken, Grilled Chicken Thighs, or Chicken Yakitori.
Pork Chops
Pork chops sear well over direct heat. Thicker chops can finish over indirect heat with the lid closed so they cook through without drying out.
Try my Grilled Pork Chops with Corn Salad or Honey Mustard Pork Chops.
Fish and Seafood
Firm fish like salmon and quick-cooking shellfish do well on a hot, well-oiled grill. Let fish sear until it lifts off the grates easily before you turn it. Thread shrimp onto skewers so they’re easy to flip, or cook fish on a soaked cedar plank so it doesn’t stick.
Try my Grilled Salmon, Grilled Cedar Plank Salmon, Grilled Shrimp with Honey Garlic Sauce, or grilled lobster tails.
Vegetables
Cut vegetables into thick slices or large pieces so they don’t fall through the grates, and brush them with oil. Tender vegetables like zucchini and asparagus take just a few minutes, while potatoes and sweet potatoes need more time over moderate heat.
Try my Grilled Zucchini, Grilled Asparagus, Grilled Portobello Mushrooms, Grilled Sweet Potatoes, Grilled Potatoes, or grilled corn on the cob.
Fruit
The natural sugars in fruit caramelize quickly on the grill, so use medium heat and cook just until grill marks appear.
Try my Grilled Peaches or Grilled Pineapple.
Pizza
A very hot grill gives pizza a crisp, lightly charred crust, much like a pizza oven. Learn the steps in my guide on how to grill a pizza, or try my Crispy Grilled BBQ Chicken Pizza.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Grilling
Advantages
- Big flavor: High heat browns and chars the surface, and dripping juices add smoky flavor.
- Fast: Thin steaks, shrimp, and vegetables cook in minutes.
- Little fat: A light coat of oil on the food or grates is all you need.
- Keeps the kitchen cool: Cooking outside keeps heat and smoke out of the house.
Disadvantages
- Flare-ups: Dripping fat can catch fire, so keep a cooler zone to move food to.
- Easy to overcook: Lean foods dry out quickly over high heat, so use a thermometer.
- Setup and cleanup: Charcoal takes time to light, and grills need regular cleaning.
- Weather: Rain, wind, and cold make the heat harder to control.
Recipes That Use Grilling
Try grilling with these reader favorites, or make my Mexican Street Corn Salad with charred grilled corn.
Frequently Asked Questions
Grilling is a dry-heat cooking method that cooks food on a grate over a direct heat source, like a gas burner, charcoal, or wood fire. The high heat browns and chars the surface quickly while the inside cooks through.
Grilling is a dry-heat cooking method. The food cooks from the radiant heat of the fire and the hot grates, without any liquid like water or broth.
Both cook food with intense, direct heat. When grilling, the heat comes from below the food. When broiling, the heat comes from above, usually from the oven’s top element.
Direct grilling cooks food right over the fire for fast searing and is best for thin, quick-cooking foods. Indirect grilling cooks food to the side of the fire with the lid closed, which works like an oven for thicker foods that need more time.
Leave the lid open for thin foods that cook in a few minutes, like vegetables or shrimp. Close the lid for thicker foods like chicken, pork chops, and roasts so the trapped heat cooks them through evenly.
Both work well. Gas grills are convenient and easy to control, while charcoal grills can get hotter and offer more ways to arrange the heat, but they take longer to light.
Tools for Grilling
- Chimney starter: Lights charcoal evenly without lighter fluid.
- Instant-read thermometer: The only reliable way to know when grilled meat is done.
- Long tongs: Flip and move food while keeping your hands away from the heat.
- Grill brush: Cleans hot grates so food releases and gets better grill marks.
Find all of my favorite grilling and kitchen tools on my Shop page.
Some of the links above are affiliate links, which pay me a small commission for my referral at no extra cost to you! Thank you for supporting my website.
Sources: USDA Food Safety (safe cooking temperatures).
More Cooking Method Guides
Learn how each technique works and when to use it, or start with the types of cooking methods overview:
Moist heat: Poaching · Simmering · Boiling · Steaming · Blanching
Combination heat: Braising · Stewing
Dry heat: Roasting · Baking · Sautéing · Pan Frying · Stir Frying · Deep Frying · Grilling · Broiling · Searing
Jack Wilson says
Great article on all types of grilling–I’ve been doing this for 60 years, the first 50 exclusively on charcoal, but as age progresses, the convenience of propane is winning me over, but there is definitely a sacrifice of flavor–but only part of it, the BBQ flavor is still there, but the final result will depend more on the sauce or rub