Coal & Char

The Best Things to Grill When You're Bored of Burgers

Once a fire is lit you may as well use it. Twenty-five things worth cooking over charcoal, sorted by how long they take — plus the handful that genuinely aren't worth the grate space.

By Stephen V.Last updated How we pick

A charcoal fire takes fifteen minutes to light and then stays hot for well over an hour. Most people use about twenty minutes of that on burgers and let the rest go to waste, which is a small tragedy repeated across every garden in the country every summer.

This is a list of things worth putting on instead — or as well — sorted by how long they take, so you can match them to where your fire is. Nothing here needs special equipment beyond a grill with a lid.

Under 10 minutes: the fast, hot stuff

This is the first half hour after the coals ash over, when the fire is at its fiercest.

  • Skirt steak. Two minutes total, sliced thin against the grain. The best crust-to-meat ratio of any cut and a fraction of ribeye money.
  • Halloumi.Thick slices, straight on the bars, two minutes a side. It doesn’t melt, it chars. Lemon over the top when it comes off.
  • Spring onions. Whole, three minutes, blackened at the edges. A side dish that costs almost nothing and disappears immediately.
  • Prawns. Shell-on, skewered, two minutes a side. The shell protects them from overcooking and takes on the smoke.
  • Flatbreads or pizza dough. A minute a side on a hot grate. Puffs up, blisters, and turns a barbecue into a proper meal.
  • Romaine hearts.Halved, cut-side down, two minutes. Warm smoky salad — the thing nobody expects and everybody asks about.
  • Asparagus. Whole, laid across the bars, four to six minutes.
  • Peaches or pineapple. Halved or in thick rings, three minutes cut side down. Dessert, from a grill, with no work.

10 to 30 minutes: the weeknight middle

Where a two-zone fire earns its keep — sear over the coals, finish on the empty side with the lid down.

  • Chicken thighs.The best thing on this list. Cheap, forgiving, crisp-skinned, and better at 175-180°F than at the 165°F minimum because dark meat improves rather than dries. Full method in grilled chicken thighs.
  • Thick pork chops.Underrated and cheap. Brine briefly, pull at 145°F. See grilled pork chops.
  • Sausages. Indirect first, then a quick roll over the coals. Cooked straight over the fire they split and the fat flares.
  • Whole peppers and aubergine.Blackened all over, then peeled — this is how you make the smoky purée that turns up in half the Mediterranean.
  • Salmon, skin-on. Skin-side down over medium heat, one move only. See grilled salmon.
  • Corn on the cob.Ten to fifteen minutes, turning. The best vegetable on any grill — the method is in grilled corn.
  • Lamb chops. Fatty, fast, and improved by fire more than almost any other cut.
  • Cauliflower steaks. Thick slices through the core, oiled, direct then indirect. Substantial enough to be the main event.

30 to 90 minutes: lid down, walk away

Indirect cooking, where the kettle is behaving as a smoky oven. These are the cooks that make people realize a charcoal grill isn’t just for burgers.

  • Spatchcocked whole chicken.Backbone out, pressed flat, indirect with the lid on for about 45 minutes to 165°F. Better than any oven-roast chicken and no harder.
  • Whole potatoes.Pierced, straight into the indirect zone for 45-60 minutes. The skin gets smoky in a way an oven can’t manage.
  • Cabbage wedges. Thick wedges with the core intact, 25-30 minutes indirect. Absurdly cheap and genuinely excellent.
  • A whole head of garlic. Top sliced off, wrapped, tucked at the back for 40 minutes. Squeeze it onto the flatbreads.
  • Butternut squash. Halved, seeds out, 40-50 minutes cut-side up.
  • A pork tenderloin.Twenty-five minutes indirect with a quick sear at the end — the fastest “roast” you can produce outdoors.

Half a day: the weekend projects

These need a low fire held for hours, which any kettle will do using the snake method. They are also, per pound, the cheapest way to feed a lot of people.

  • Pork shoulder.The most forgiving cut in barbecue, 8-12 hours to around 200-205°F, and it feeds a crowd for very little money.
  • Pork ribs.Four to five hours, which matches a snake’s natural burn almost exactly. The right first low-and-slow cook.
  • Beef short ribs. Expensive but spectacular; treat them like a small brisket.

All three of those are covered by the coal layout in how to smoke on a charcoal grill — you don’t need a smoker to start.

The dying-fire round

Twenty minutes after the main event, the coals are past searing heat and perfect for gentle cooking. Almost nobody uses this window and it’s free food.

Flatbreads, halved peaches, whole peppers, spring onions, a head of garlic, halloumi, or a tray of mixed vegetables charred and dressed while hot — all of them want moderate heat rather than fierce heat. Vegetables cooked here and dressed with oil and lemon keep in the fridge for a couple of days and make the following day’s lunch considerably better than it would otherwise be.

What to skip

Thin chicken breast. Extremely lean with no margin. It dries out before the outside browns. Buy thighs, or butterfly the breast and cook it fast.

Delicate white fish, unsupported. Cod and haddock fall through the grate and stick to it. Use a basket, a cedar plank, or a firmer fish.

Anything glazed early. Barbecue sauce, honey and teriyaki are mostly sugar and turn black over direct heat long before the food is done. Sauce goes on in the last two minutes, over the cool side.

Frozen pre-formed burgers, if you can help it.They’re fine, but you lit a fire — you may as well cook something the fire improves.

The one rule underneath all of it

Build a two-zone fire. Coals on one half, nothing on the other. It turns a grill into two appliances — a sear station and an oven — and everything on this page works because of it.

The other constant is the thermometer. USDA guidance is unambiguous that a food thermometer is the only reliable way to know food has reached a safe temperature — 165°F for poultry, 160°F for ground meat, 145°F with a three-minute rest for whole cuts of beef, pork and lamb. Color and time both lie; the probe doesn’t. Ours are in best grill thermometer.

A note on food safety. Temperatures on this page follow USDA safe-minimum guidance. Always confirm doneness with a food thermometer, not by time or color. We’re enthusiasts sharing what we’ve researched, not professional pitmasters — when in doubt on safety, follow the USDA.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best things to grill besides burgers?

Chicken thighs are the standout — cheap, almost impossible to dry out, and better over charcoal than almost anything. Beyond that: pork chops, whole spatchcocked chicken, skirt steak, sausages, halloumi, corn, romaine hearts, flatbreads and peaches. All of them cook in a normal weeknight timeframe and most cost less than a decent steak.

What is the easiest thing to grill for a beginner?

Chicken thighs, bone-in and skin-on. Dark meat has enough fat and connective tissue that it tolerates a wide temperature range, it improves at 175-180°F rather than drying out, and the skin crisps beautifully over coals. Sausages are a close second — they're forgiving as long as you keep them off the hottest part of the fire.

Can you grill things other than meat and vegetables?

Plenty. Halloumi and provolone hold their shape over direct heat and char superbly. Flatbreads and pizza dough take a minute a side. Stone fruit — peaches, nectarines, pineapple — caramelize into a dessert with almost no work. Even romaine lettuce, halved and given two minutes cut-side down, becomes something worth serving.

What can you grill with leftover coals?

This is the best free food on the list. After the main cook, put flatbreads, halved peaches, spring onions, whole peppers or a head of garlic on the dying fire — all of them want gentle heat rather than fierce heat. Vegetables charred over spent coals and dressed while hot keep well and make the next day's lunch.

What's the cheapest thing to grill for a crowd?

Chicken thighs and drumsticks, by a distance — they're the cheapest cut of the cheapest meat and they're better grilled than roasted. After that, sausages, whole vegetables, and a pork shoulder if you have the hours for it. A shoulder is very cheap per pound and feeds a large number of people from one cook.

What should you not grill?

Very lean, very thin cuts like chicken breast cut thin or pork loin steaks — they have no margin and dry out before the outside browns. Delicate white fish without a basket or a plank, which falls apart through the grate. And anything heavily sugar-glazed put on early, since barbecue sauce and honey burn black over direct heat long before the food is done.

Sources

  • USDA FSIS — Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart — USDA safe minimum internal temperatures: 145°F for beef/pork/lamb steaks, chops and roasts (with a 3-minute rest), 160°F for ground meats, 165°F for all poultry (accessed July 21, 2026)
  • USDA FSIS — Grilling Food Safely — USDA on safe handling at the grill, using a food thermometer, and the difference between grilling and slower cooking (accessed July 21, 2026)
  • USDA FSIS — Food Thermometers — USDA on why a food thermometer is the only reliable way to know food has reached a safe temperature, and how to place the probe (accessed July 21, 2026)

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