Grilling Tips

Coal Play

Ask any kettle-grill enthusiast: The secret to a great flame-cooked supper is learning to bank your coals once they're hot. Some people form them into two ridges, one higher than the other, with a trough down the middle. Others make a single sloping pile and leave the opposite edge clear. Either way, the point is to create hot, hotter, and hottest areas of the grill.

A steak that is cooking too quickly can be moved to a cooler zone; vegetables can be set over indirect heat. If you plan to roast something big like a butterflied leg of lamb on a covered grill, place a drip pan in the trough, and set your food over that.