Mark Jenner

The minion method is a way to configure, light, and burn charcoal in your smoker to get many hours of controlled, low-temperature cooking and smoking.

Grilling on a charcoal deck comes with some issues. Not only can you easily ruin your decking by dropping charcoal and charring it, but it’s an obvious fire hazard too. So you need to protect it and manage the fire risk. Here’s how to grill on your decking safely.

When planning a meal or party, you need to know how much meat to buy and cook per person. It’s not always obvious and depends on the type of meat, whether a main ingredient or side and how much weight is lost during cooking. That’s where this guide will help you.

You can’t just buy a brisket, rub it up and throw it on the smoker. For the best results, you need to trim it first. And though it’s a big, intimidating piece of meat, trimming a brisket properly is easy if you follow the advice below.

Here’s how to take any cut of meat from tough to melt-in-your-mouth tender. With five different methods to choose from that suit any kind or size of cut, there’s bound to be a way for you, using stuff you already have in your kitchen.

If you marinate chicken too long, it can go soft and mushy. If you don’t marinate long enough, the flavor doesn’t penetrate. So in this guide, we look at just how long you should marinate chicken to achieve perfect tenderness and flavor penetration.

Your new grill comes with oils and contaminants from the factory it was made in that when burned, produce nasty smoke and taint the taste of any food you cook. Seasoning is all about burning this off before it gets on your food. Here’s how.

Reheated food often suffers a loss of quality, and particularly moisture. But it doesn’t have to if you follow the tips in this guide to reheating pulled pork. If you store it properly, then reheat it carefully, it can be as good as if you just cooked it. Here’s how.

Curing — or seasoning — A new smoker, is a must-do process before cooking your first food that burns off all the oils and contaminants picked up or leftover after manufacturing. The seasoning also helps protect your smoker from corrosion, so it lasts longer. Here’s how to do it correctly.

In this guide, we talk you through 5 different ways to light your charcoal grill or smoker without lighter fluid. Some methods are more efficient, effective, and quicker than others. We also talk you through using lighter fluid correctly, just in case and for completeness.

The Maillard reaction is what we traditionally call ‘browning.’ It adds incredible flavor and is something you need to master if you wish to serve food at its very best. Grilling is one of the very best ways to create a seared crust via the Maillard effect, and today we learn all about it.

Hitting and maintaining consistent temperatures inside your grills and smokers is probably the most essential skill you will learn toward mastering outdoor cooking. So in this guide, we look at how to control the temperature in your charcoal grill precisely. It’s easy when you know how!

After hours of nursing a brisket through a low n slow smoke until perfect doneness, you don’t want to miss any trick when it comes to serving. You need to slice a brisket against the grain to get the most tender mouthfeel. Here’s how to cut a brisket correctly for the best results.

Beer can chicken causes many disagreements in the BBQ world: Does the beer actually impart any flavor? Is it safe to eat chicken that’s been stuffed with a beer can? Is the ink from a beer can food safe, or is it toxic? Today, we answer all your beer can chicken questions.

When it comes to charcoal, you have one main choice to make: Lump or briquettes? In this guide, we compare and contrast the pros and cons of each. We discuss when to use one or the other and the benefits gained from switching between the two at the correct times.

Different types of pork ribs take different times to cook. And how hot your smoker is makes a big difference too. And so does how you like them, and the way you cook them! So there’s no simple, fits all answer. However, we have all the answers below.

Can you reuse unburned charcoal for your next cook? Is it advised? If so, how? And are there any other uses for only partially used charcoal? Yes, you can reuse unburned charcoal, there are other uses too, and we detail 8 of them in this guide.

Despite what some people say, that horrible baked-on grease and old food on your grates is NOT extra flavor. It’s dirty, acrid-tasting junk. Get it cleaned off! Here’s how to get your stainless steel grates looking like new and how to keep them that way.

What is searing? What happens to meat during searing? Why do we use this technique so much? Hint: It’s all about added flavor! Learn how to sear meat properly and why you really should bother to, in our look at this essential cooking technique.

If your BBQ sauce is a little too runny, but you don’t want to change the flavor, try these eleven awesome tips for thickening. All use common ingredients you already have in your kitchen, so no need to go shopping. You’re bound to have one at hand!

Cast iron grill grates can last more than a lifetime if they are adequately cared for. This means regular cleaning, oiling, and ongoing general maintenance and care. Here are the four most effective, easy-to-use ways to restore your CI grates to their former glory.

Countless tips and tricks get passed around the BBQ community, becoming widely believed as gospel truth, despite many being wrong. So in this article, we list many things people believe — that are wrong — and then say what is actually right. There’s some great learning in here!

Which is the best material to cook on when it comes to grill grates? Or are different grates preferred at different times? What are the pros and cons of different grate materials? Let’s compare cast iron vs stainless steel to see if you should choose a clear winner.

Do you know the cooking technique of broiling? It’s similar to grilling, yet also very different because the heat comes from above, not below. Can this be achieved on our standard BBQs and grills? Why would we even want to bother? Find out below.

To make the best brisket, create the most delicious bark, to bring out, accentuate and highlight that big beefy flavor, you need to add a rub. But not just any rub. You need one that perfectly marries up with the stated goals. Here are our favorites.

It’s best to cook multiple racks of ribs to make the best of your time and fuel, which leads to storing and reheating them later. But how do you reheat ribs? What is the best way? Here’s how to reheat ribs, keeping quality high as if fresh off the smoker.

Chicken, the blank canvas of BBQ that pairs with an incredibly wide variety of flavors. In this guide, we look at 3 of our favorite dry rub recipes that you can use to elevate your smoked chickens' flavor to incredible heights that is sure to impress.

The worst fear of any outdoor cook when tackling brisket is it drying out. Injecting adds moisture, as well as ramps up the flavor profile. See 3 of the best beef brisket injection recipes below, as well as a guide and tips on how to inject the right way.

Afterburner steak is so named because the flames out of the chimney look like the afterburner out the rear of a jet. It’s screaming hot, cooks very quickly, and is a fantastic way to sear thin steaks, creating great crust without overcooking the center.

Here’s how to BBQ brisket, as described by Aaron Franklin, widely regarded as one of the top brisket cooks and experts to ever fire up a smoker. With a complete description of his process and videos to follow, you can perfectly recreate his epic brisket for yourself!