Fundamentals
The Two-Zone Fire: The One Setup Every Charcoal Cook Should Master
How to build a direct and indirect zone on a kettle or kamado, why it makes barbecue repeatable, and the vent settings that hold 250°F and 350°F.
Read the guideThe library
All guides
Six guides covering fire management, large-cut barbecue, high-heat searing, seasoning, equipment choices, and maintenance. Written to be read once and referenced for years.
Technique
The Brisket Stall: What It Is and Whether to Wrap
Why brisket and pork shoulder plateau around 150–170°F, what wrapping does to the physics and the bark, and how to decide between foil, butcher paper, and nothing.
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Reverse Searing: Steak With an Even Edge and a Hard Crust
The indirect-then-direct method for thick steaks, with the temperatures, the rest timing, and why a cold steak straight from the fridge is fine.
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Rub Science: Salt, Sugar, and Why Your Bark Turns Bitter
A working model for building barbecue rubs — ratios, when sugar burns, and how to season by weight instead of by feel.
Read the guideBuying
Charcoal, Pellet, or Gas: Choosing a Grill Without the Marketing
An honest comparison of the three main fuel types on heat control, smoke flavour, running cost, and the kind of cooking each one is actually good at.
Read the guideEquipment
End-of-Season Maintenance That Prevents Spring Problems
A two-hour annual routine for kettles, gas grills, and pellet cookers — what to clean, what to replace, and how to store fuel so it lights in April.
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New here?
Start with the two-zone fire, then read
the temperature chart. Those two pages cover
roughly eighty percent of what determines whether dinner works.