Can You Put Charcoal in a Gas Grill? The Safe Way to Get Charcoal Flavor

Can you put charcoal in a gas grill? It depends. Not loose, and not in a standard gas grill that wasn’t built for it. Yes, in a charcoal tray or insert that the grill’s maker designs for your model. If you want charcoal flavor every time you cook, a hybrid grill gives you both fuels with no guesswork.

Why Loose Fuel Can Damage Gas Grills

A standard gas grill is built around its gas burners, not a bed of coals. The parts under the cooking grates are designed for the heat output of those burners. Pour charcoal on top and you put fire, ash and grease where the design never planned for them:

• Burners and gas burner orifices. Coals resting on a burner sit right where the flame should be, and falling ash can clog the burner ports. Blocked ports mean uneven flames and replacement parts.
• Igniters and heat shields. These small parts sit close to the burners and aren’t made to live under burning fuel.
• Grease fires. Coals in the grease path can light drippings the drip tray was meant to catch. Coyote’s manual says if a grease fire happens, close the hood, turn off the burners and never use water.
• Warranty. Coyote’s manual says to use only approved accessories, and its warranty excludes misuse. Napoleon’s warranty excludes damage from over-firing, grease fires and “any conversion of a gas grill not authorized by Napoleon.”

Sources: the Coyote gas grill manual and the Napoleon built-in grill manual. Coyote’s manual also says never to use lighter fluid or other accelerants in a gas grill. Your own grill’s manual is the final word, so check its accessories page before you add any solid fuel.

How to Get Smoky Flavor on Your Grill Grates

There are three safe ways to get charcoal or smoky flavor from gas cooking: a charcoal tray made for your grill, a smoker box filled with wood chips, or a hybrid grill. The first two are accessories that sit under the grates of the grill you already own. The third replaces it.

Charcoal Trays and Solid Fuel Inserts

A charcoal tray for gas grill use is a stainless pan that takes the place of the flame tamer, heat shield or briquette tray over one burner. You light the burner under it, the fuel catches, and that zone cooks over real coals while the rest of the grill stays on gas. Each tray is made for one brand, so match it to your model. These are the ones we sell:

Alfresco SFI-POD ($862). Alfresco lists this solid fuel insert on its ALXE spec sheet as a way to turn the gas grill into a wood-source cooker. You simply drop the fuel insert into one section of your Alfresco grill in place of the briquette tray and grate, then fill it with wood or charcoal. That zone gives you live fire to sear a steak while the other burners run on gas. Newer AIPG grills use their own insert (AIPG-SFI-POD36), which we don’t list, so call us and we’ll match the insert to your Alfresco grill. Alfresco says its products are made in the USA, and its address is in City of Industry, California; see our made in USA grills, the Alfresco gas grills collection and our Alfresco grill review.

Coyote ($169 each). Coyote makes two trays for its gas grills. Both replace the flame tamer and sit above the burner, so the burner does the lighting:

• Coyote CCHTRAY12: fits the C1C34, C1C36, C1SL36, C2C34, C2C36 and C2SL36.
• Coyote CCHTRAY15: fits the C1C28, C2SL30, C1C42, C1SL42, C2C42 and C2SL42.

So Coyote works both ways: add a tray to your Coyote gas grill, or go full hybrid with the Centaur below. Shop all Coyote gas grills.

Twin Eagles TECT ($189). A drop-in tray that replaces the ceramic briquettes right below the grates of Twin Eagles gas grills. The burner below lights it, and a built-in ash collector makes cleanup easier.

Aspire by Hestan AGCT ($520). Fits Hestan and Aspire gas grills. It sits directly above the burner with no tools needed and takes lump charcoal, briquettes or wood chips.

Fire Magic charcoal / smoker basket ($234 or $248.40). Sits on top of the burner and has an ash-catch tray and a smoker cover. Version 3564-1 ($234) fits the Aurora A540 and A430; 3564-2 ($248.40) fits Echelon grills and the Aurora A790 and A660.

We also carry trays for 32 and 40-inch Lion grills ($85), Delta Heat grills ($189) and Sunstone grills ($185). We don’t carry a tray for Napoleon or Cal Flame grills, so on those, use a smoker box instead.

Smoker Boxes for Wood Chips

A smoker box holds wood chips, not charcoal. It sits on or near a burner, the chips smolder, and the smoke flavors your food while gas does the cooking. It’s the cheapest way to add a smoky edge, but it won’t give you live coals.

Coyote CSBX ($69). Fits all Coyote gas grills. It drops right onto a burner, below the cooking grate, and is made of 304 stainless steel.

Napoleon 67013 ($30.99). A sear-plate smoker box for Napoleon Prestige Pro, Prestige and Rogue grills.

Hestan AGSMS smoker set ($150). Works on gas, charcoal and electric grills.

Cal Flame BBQ08854P smoke tray ($82). Fits almost anywhere on a Cal Flame grill.

We don’t sell a Twin Eagles smoker box, and Fire Magic’s basket above already doubles as a smoker. See every option in our smoker box collection. If smoke is the main event, a pellet grill or smoker is built for that job.

Hybrid Grills: Gas and Charcoal Combo Grills

If you want charcoal every week, a hybrid grill is the full-time answer. Our gas and charcoal combo grills are built for both fuels, so everyday grilling needs no warranty questions and no parts to swap. Our hybrid grills guide covers how they work, and our best gas and charcoal grill combos roundup ranks them. Here are the ones we sell:

Coyote Centaur 50-inch. Gas on one side with two iBurners, lump charcoal on the other with a hand-crank tray to set the height of the coals and a pull-out drawer for loading. Built-in $4,899; freestanding $6,298. Read our Coyote Centaur review.

Fire Magic Aurora A830i. Two separate grilling areas of 432 square inches each, one gas and one charcoal, each with its own double-walled hood. $7,801.20, or $8,397 with rotisserie. See our A830i review.

American Made Grills Encore and Muscle. 14-gauge multi-fuel trays let you cook on charcoal, wood chunks or gas across the whole grill. The Encore 36 built-in and Muscle 36 built-in are $10,158.72; the Encore 54 built-in is $12,760; the Muscle 54 freestanding is $18,482. Read our American Made Grills review.

Sunstone hybrid. The Sunstone 30-inch ($3,873) has dual gas burners that light solid fuel or cook on their own, a height-adjustable charcoal tray and a pull-out fuel tray. The Sunstone 42-inch Dual Zone ($6,185) has two 7-inch height-adjustable charcoal trays across 928 square inches.

Charcoal Grill vs Gas Grill

Gas grilling wins on convenience: push-button lighting, heat you set with a knob, and little cleanup. Charcoal grills take longer to light and leave ash, but burning charcoal and wood gives your cooking smoke and a fire flavor that gas alone can’t match. That’s why many owners keep gas grills and charcoal grills side by side. A tray adds a coal zone to the grill you have; a hybrid grill puts both fuels in one cutout.

Most gas grill recipes don’t need coals. The recipes that gain the most from fire and smoke are slow, fatty cooking jobs: ribs, tri-tip, chicken thighs and wings. Quick recipes like burgers, fish and veggies need it least, so match the tool to the recipes you cook most. For the full breakdown, read gas grill vs charcoal: which is better for you.

Tray Safety Tips for Grilling

These tips follow the Coyote manual and the tray instructions on our product pages. Your tray’s own instructions come first.

• Use only a tray or insert listed for your grill brand and model.
• Install it with the grill off and cool, in place of the flame tamer, heat shield or briquette tray it is made to replace.
• Light the fuel with the burner under the tray. Never use lighter fluid or other accelerants.
• Once the coals catch, follow your tray’s instructions for that burner. Coyote says to turn it off once the fuel is lit.
• Let the ash cool completely, then empty the tray and clean the grease tray before your next gas cook.
• If a grease fire starts, close the hood, turn off the burners and never use water.

FAQ: Grilling With Coals on a Gas Grill