Controlling the right temperature on a charcoal grill is probably the most important cooking element. You need to first verify the heat of the charcoals before you throw your delicious steak on the grill. My favourite indicator is seeing the coals colour is gray. It should look like ash put together. That is the optimal temperature when you know the coals are evenly light up. In the night, the colour should be a deep, burning red colour without any sparks or signs of flames. If you do not see what I just described, you need to wait a little bit longer for the coals to light up evenly.
If, however, the entire pile of charcoal is ashy, that is a good sign that you should place more charcoal in the grill. If you do not have a temperature gauge, do not worry. You can still measure the temperature using this old fashioned method. Put your hand 1 inches on top of the grill without touching it. Be very careful when you do this. If you cannot hold your hand for 3 seconds there, the grill is in 'high' heat. If you cannot hold it for 4 seconds, it is medium-high. And 5 seconds is medium-low.
If you are doing direct grilling, you will probably never have to replenish your charcoal in one cooking session. If your fire is too intense, you should spread the charcoals apart and put the grill higher. Alternatively, you can open the lid if it has one and leave it open. If you have a fancier grill with air ventilation, you can close some of the vents to reduce oxygen flow thus reduce the rate of fire for the charcoal.
However, if your fire is too weak, do the opposite. Simply push all the coats you have together on one side and lower the food closer to the grill. If you plan to grill more than 30 to 40 minutes, add a dozen charcoal bricks every half an hour.
