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How to use a small charcoal BBQ

Updated: 16.10.2026

The grill is already outside and you want the sequence before anyone is waiting for food. How to use a small charcoal BBQ means outdoors only, ashen coals, food cooked through where the rules say so, and a grill that stays outside until it is cold. The [small charcoal BBQ comparison](/hub/portable-grills/small-charcoal-bbq) is where the model was chosen. The Products Compared editorial team followed GOV.UK outdoor fire guidance, the Food Standards Agency, the London Fire Brigade, and BBC Good Food’s lighting guide, for this page on 16 October 2026. This is not a timed cook of these listings. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Site permission is on the [camping page](/hub/portable-grills/small-charcoal-bbq/sub/small-charcoal-bbq-camping).

The grill is already outside and you want the sequence before anyone is waiting for food.

Our top picks

Weber Weber Go-Anywhere

Best overall

Weber Weber Go-Anywhere
9.0/10about £100.79
View offer
Charmline Charmline 34 × 23 cm, black

Preis-Tipp

Charmline Charmline 34 × 23 cm, black
8.2/10about £22.34
View offer
Weber Weber Compact Kettle 47 cm

Alternative

Weber Weber Compact Kettle 47 cm
8.6/10about £49.49
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Set it where the fire service allows
  2. 2.Light a small load and wait
  3. 3.Control the heat you actually have
  4. 4.Cook the middle, not just the crust
  5. 5.Shut it down outside

Set it where the fire service allows

Stand the barbecue in the open, on ground that will not catch, clear of fences and sheds. GOV.UK’s outdoor fire guidance tells you not to use a barbecue in a tent, an awning, or a caravan, and not to light it with petrol or paraffin. The London Fire Brigade says the same about balconies and decking, and warns that charcoal keeps producing carbon monoxide after the flames die. A bullet that names a balcony or a caravan is not that permission. Keep a gap around the bowl so you can reach a damper.

Light a small load and wait

GOV.UK’s outdoor fire guidance describes about 5 cm of charcoal across the base, spread rather than heaped. Use that depth on a small grate. A chimney filled for a 57 cm kettle will swamp a Charmline at 667 cm² or a Go-Anywhere at 42 × 26 cm. These listings give no briquette count. Use a chimney starter or barbecue firelighters. Do not use spirit or petrol. BBC Good Food says you wait until the coals are covered in ash. Do not put food on flames.
Weber Weber Go-Anywhere

Testsieger

Weber Weber Go-Anywhere
9.0/10about £100.79
View offer

Control the heat you actually have

Vents work only if the grill has them. On a Weber kettle or the Go-Anywhere, open the dampers to feed the coals and close them to slow the fire. The Charmline, Kizmyee, WixbFyn, and Minxchen have no lid, so the charcoal you lit is the heat. A 47 cm kettle has more offset space than a 667 cm² tray, and it is still tight for a whole chicken. A lid thermometer reads air in the bowl, not the centre of a burger. See the kettle versus folding grill page before you are over the coals.

Cook the middle, not just the crust

The Food Standards Agency says cooked through means 70°C for two minutes, or the equivalent times it publishes. Probe the thickest part. GOV.UK allows a steak to be rare if the outside is seared, and it wants burgers, sausages, kebabs, pork, and poultry cooked through. A small grate often has nowhere to move chicken off the hottest coals. If the piece is too thick for the heat you have, do not start it here. The Original’s lid thermometer reads air in the bowl. The Compact lists none.

Shut it down outside

Leave the barbecue where it stands until the coals are cold. Close the dampers if you have them. Charcoal keeps producing carbon monoxide, so the cooling grill stays out of the garage, the kitchen, the tent, and the awning. Empty ash only when it is cold, into a metal bin, not onto dry grass. Do not pack a warm Charmline into its case. If you have not bought yet, the best small charcoal BBQ page names who each leading model is for.

Common questions

How much charcoal goes in a small grill?
GOV.UK describes about 5 cm of charcoal across the base, not a heap in the centre. A chimney for a 57 cm kettle is too much for a 667 cm² Charmline or a 42 × 26 cm Go-Anywhere. These listings give no briquette count. On a folder with no vents, the amount you light is the heat control.
When are the coals ready?
They are ready when the black surfaces have turned grey-white and the flames have died back. BBC Good Food tells you to wait for that ash. Which? suggests about 20 to 30 minutes on larger barbecues. Treat that as their rule of thumb, not a timer for every folder here. Yellow flame under the food means you are early.
How do vents change the heat if the grill has them?
On a lidded kettle or the Go-Anywhere, an open damper raises the heat and a closed damper slows the coals. The Charmline, Kizmyee, WixbFyn, and Minxchen have no lid, so you set the heat when you set the charcoal. A HOMION bottom vent that UK reviews call hard to reach is not a control you can use. A lid does not tell you the temperature in the food.
Can I cook chicken from raw on a small grate?
Only if a probe in the thickest part shows it is cooked through, and you can hold it there. Poultry is in the group GOV.UK says must be cooked through, unlike a steak that may be rare after a proper sear. A 667 cm² folder has no lid and almost no cool zone. A 47 cm kettle gives more offset room, and it is still tight.
What temperature is cooked through?
The Food Standards Agency states 70°C for two minutes, or the equivalents it publishes, in the centre of the food. Use a probe. A lid thermometer measures air in the bowl, which the Original’s listing describes, and that is not the middle of a burger. Burgers, sausages, kebabs, pork, and chicken follow the through-cooked rule.
How do I put it out?
Close the vents on a lidded grill and leave it outdoors until the coals are cold. The London Fire Brigade warns that charcoal keeps producing carbon monoxide, so a garage, tent, awning, caravan, or kitchen is the wrong place to finish it. An open folder has no vents to close. Empty ash only when it is cold.

Related pages

Carbon monoxide and a camping stove

Small charcoal BBQ

Best small charcoal BBQ: top pick or best value

Small charcoal BBQ buying guide: kettle or folder

Small charcoal BBQ for camping: ask the pitch

Kettle BBQ vs folding charcoal grill, lid or tray

Sources

Public UK sources and the stored amazon.co.uk listings, checked on 16 October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are the UK figures in the display file.

  1. GOV.UK: Smoke control areas, the rules (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  2. GOV.UK: Smoke control area enforcement (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  3. GOV.UK: Nuisance smoke (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  4. GOV.UK: Fire safety outdoors (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  5. London Fire Brigade: BBQ safety (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  6. London Fire Brigade: Carbon monoxide (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  7. Food Standards Agency: Cooking your food (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  8. Forestry England: Picnics and barbecues (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  9. BSI: BS EN 1860-1:2024 solid-fuel barbecues (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  10. Environmental Protection Act 1990, Part III (retrieved 16 October 2026)