Many people choose a fuel for grilling based on experience with building charcoal fires. Some cooks love the process; others never want to see a bag of charcoal again. All the attributes of gas-such as quick start-up, ease of temperature adjustment, and lack of residual heat-are an industrial curse to the first group and a modern blessing to the second.

For charcoal fans, fire building is an outdoor art. It begins with the selection of coal, which comes in briquettes or lump hardwood. We prefer the latter because it ignites more easily and burns hotter and cleaner. We light our coals in a charcoal chimney, but most of the new nonpolluting starters also work well.

The charcoal has reached cooking temperature when it's coated in gray ash. Arrange the bed of coals to get the right heat level for the food that you're grilling. If the food cooks best at a steady temperature, spread the charcoal evenly below the cooking area. A single layer of coals just touching one another produces a medium to medium-high fire. To increase or decrease the heat, add or subtract charcoal. If the food grills better on a two-level fire, stack the coals several deep in one area and spread them in a single layer elsewhere, as described below.