• Clean and prep your barbecue grill before using it.Appetizing Barbecue on the grill image by Andris Daugovich from Fotolia.com
  
  Charcoal barbecue grills not only let you cook meats and vegetables without heating up your kitchen, but the grills also let you slow cook thick pieces of meats and add a smokey flavor to the meats as well. When grilling, properly prepare your meats and vegetables before placing the foods on the grill. You must perform other tasks during the grilling process so your meats and vegetables are just right when it is time to eat.
  
  

Prepare Meats and Vegetables

• Wash any meats and vegetables you plan to grill, and place the foods on a plate or in a pan for seasoning with spices or rubs. If you have time, wash and season your foods the night before grilling so the spices have time to soak into your foods.
  
  

Prepare the Sauce

• Prepare a basting sauce consisting of spices and water in a jar or bowl, and place it in your refrigerator. Pour the basting sauce over your meats and vegetables before grilling.
  
  

Prepare the Grill

• Remove any old charcoal from your grill, and dispose of the coals in a trashcan or bag. Scrub your grill's grate with a grill brush. Wipe the grate clean with a soft cloth or rag. Brush the clean grate with a light layer of cooking oil or spray or a light layer of vegetable cooking spray to keep your foods from sticking to the grate. If your basting sauce contains oil, you don't have to coat the grate with cooking oil or spray.
  
  

Add Charcoal and Wood Chips

• Add charcoal to your grill, but leave an area without coals for placing foods that are done. Place alder, mesquite, hickory or another type of wood chips over the charcoal. Wood chips add a smokey flavor to your foods and enhance the taste of the basting sauce/spices on your foods.
  
  

Start the Grill

• Light your charcoal grill 30 minutes before you plan to start grilling. Use a chimney starter to quickly light your grill. Place two to three sheets of newspaper in the bottom of a chimney starter. Place charcoals in the top of the starter and light. While the grill is heating, bring out the foods you want to grill, a spray bottle of water, a meat thermometer, barbecuing tools (forks, tongs, knifes and other tools) and your basting sauce. Your charcoal grill is ready for grilling when the coals are 80 percent gray, if cooking during the day, and glowing red, if cooking at night.
  
  

Attend to Cooking Problems

• Don't forget to turn your foods frequently to keep one side from burning. Use a meat thermometer to check your meats' temperature so you are not removing the meats too soon from your grill. If your grill starts to flare up, remove the foods from the grate, and sprinkle water lightly over your grill's flames.
  
  

Apply Barbecue Sauces and Glazes

• Apply barbecue sauces and glazes to your foods during the last 20 to 30 minutes of grilling to keep the sauces from burning.
  
  

Cook Chicken Evenly

• When grilling chicken, cut the pieces in half so the pieces cook evenly and quickly. If cooking an entire chicken, place a tin pan underneath your grill's grate, and fill the pan halfway with water. Place coals around the pan and light the grill. Place the whole chicken directly on top of the tin pan to slowly cook the chicken completely without the outer skin cooking too soon and burning.