GUIDES & TIPS

Kalamazoo Hybrid Fire Grill: Wood and Charcoal Cooking Guide

Using wood splits or charcoal to cook and add flavor to your food is one of many attractive features that set the Hybrid Fire Grill apart from other gas grills.

Setting up and managing your grill for this kind of cooking is extremely easy using the grilling drawer and the incredibly powerful Dragon Burners. There are limitless possibilities for setting up your grill for cooking with wood and charcoal, below are some tried-and-true techniques for users of all skill levels.

Taking Advantage of Multi-Zone Heating

A guiding principle for grilling, especially with wood or charcoal, is the concept of multi-zone heating. Creating multiple temperature zones at the grilling grate allows for a more controlled cooking environment. Most cooks will benefit from multiple heating zones, so we don’t typically recommend filling the entire grill with wood or charcoal.

Zone Heating: For most grilling, multi-zone zone heating is recommended. This allows a warm place for foods to cook via indirect heat, as well as a safe place for foods to sit in the event of a flare up. To achieve this, leave an area approximately the size of one cooking grate free of high direct heat. Depending on what you’re cooking and the grill you’re using, this safety zone could be the center section of the grill, or either side of the grill.

Warming Rack: Often overlooked, the warming rack can be a valuable asset while cooking. Think of the warming rack as an additional safety zone, or indirect cooking zone.

Recommended Tools

Wood Setup

STEP ONE

Remove Cooking Grates

When cooking with wood, it is recommended to maintain an indirect cooking zone (an area of the grill without a wood fire). To set up your Hybrid Fire Grill for wood-fired cooking, first remove the grill gate(s) above the area you want to start your fire.Once the fire has matured, the grate(s) can be returned to the grill. This prevents soot from collecting on the grates and transferring to your food. 

STEP TWO

Add Wood Splits and Light Burners

With the cooking grates removed, and the grilling drawer channels exposed, place wood splits in the desired channels. Light the grill’s ignition burner and adjust it to the high setting. Then, light any main burner that’s under a wood split and adjust it to high.

Tip: If you’re not planning to use the entire grill, it's easiest to remove the grate furthest from the fire and slide the other grates down, away from the fire. Then, when the burning splits have reduced to glowing hot embers, simply use a pair of long tongs and slide the grates over top of the embers.

STEP THREE

Adjust Main Burner to Low and Turn Off Ignition Burners

Within 10 to 12 minutes, the wood splits should be ignited and just starting to burn. Adjust the main burner to low, and the ignition burner to off. Ensure the grill’s lid stays open any time flames are above grate level. 

STEP FOUR

Return Cooking Grate to Original Position

Once the fire subsides into glowing embers, using heat-resistant suede gloves, place the cooking grate over the embers.

STEP FIVE

Allow Cooking Grate to Preheat

Close the lid and allow the cooking grates to preheat for five minutes before placing any food on them.

Charcoal Setup

STEP ONE

Add Charcoal to the Grilling Drawer

To set the Hybrid Fire Grill up for charcoal cooking, open the grilling drawer and fill the desired channels with charcoal. Generally speaking, one chimney of lump charcoal is sufficient to fill two channels; this is equal in width to one burner and one cooking grate. 

STEP TWO

Light Burners

With the channels loaded with lump charcoal, close the grilling drawer and light the grill's ignition burner and adjust it to high. Then, light any main burner that’s located under lump charcoal and adjust it to high. Keep both burners on high until charcoal has ashed over. 

STEP THREE

Adjust Main Burner to Low and Turn Off Ignition Burner

Once the charcoal has ashed over, adjust the main burner to low and the ignition burner to off.

STEP FOUR

Allow Cooking Grate to Reheat

Close the lid and allow the cooking grates to preheat for 5 minutes before placing any food on them.

Additional Tips

Grilling Gloves

The heat-resistant suede gloves are your best friend when cooking with wood or charcoal. We recommend them anytime you're adjusting food with tongs, or checking your food's temperature.

Amount of Fuel

The amount of charcoal used will depend on the level of heat desired. One chimney of lump per two channels of the grilling drawer will provide high direct heat. For medium high heat, reduce the charcoal load by one third.

Temperature Adjustments

The gas burners can be used to supplement the heat while cooking with wood or charcoal. The burners are generally set to low when cooking with a solid fuel source, but can be increased for additional heat as embers burn down to extend the cook time without reloading with wood or charcoal.

Safety Precautions

  • Never overfill the grilling drawer to the point where it cannot be opened and closed. Overfilling the drawer can create a fire so hot that it may be dangerous or may damage your grill. If the solid fuel does not fit through the drawer opening to close the drawer, it is too large to be used, or the drawer is too full.

  • Before opening a drawer containing hot embers, pull the drawer open slightly (about 1 inch) just until the drawer front is clear of the face of the drawer opening. Lift the drawer up by the handle and then release to drop the drawer and shake embers loose down inside the grill. Repeat several times before opening the drawer any further.

  • Always use caution when opening a Hybrid Fire Grilling Drawer containing live embers. Embers may fall through the perforations. Never touch any part of the drawer other than the handle if the grill is, or has recently been, hot.

  • Use caution when opening the Hybrid Fire Grilling Drawer. It is possible to pull it all the way out of the grill, as there is no stop mechanism to prevent it from coming all the way out.
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