Charcoal load for slightly larger cooks

[Michael Park]

I have a 22" Original Kettle Premium, and I've been using ~50 briquettes (one half of a chimney) for all of my cooks so far. When I cook steaks for 2, I put the briquettes in char-baskets, push them together in the middle of the grill, and cook the steaks directly over the hot coals. So far, results have been excellent.

I'd like to have my parents over for a steak dinner. What kind of charcoal load do you use for 4 steaks? I would run out of surface area over the char-baskets if I tried to cook four steaks simultaneously.

If I dump ~50 briquettes directly onto the charcoal grate, I get a greater surface area. I'm assuming I would lose direct heat intensity and need to cook the steaks slightly longer. I cooked in direct heat over the char-baskets for 3 minutes per side last cook, and the two steaks turned out perfect. Would I need to bump that up to 3 minutes and 30 seconds per side or 4 minutes for four steaks without char-baskets assuming the steaks are the same thickness?

What if I dump 100 briquettes directly onto the charcoal grate? Would that increase my direct heat surface area and keep the intensity approximately the same, or is it more likely to increase surface area AND intensity? Are there too many variables for anyone to know, and I just need to give it a try and figure it out?

What about stereotypical hamburger and hot dog cookouts? 50 briquettes directly on the grate? 100?

I'm sorry for all of the "new guy" questions. I promise that when I get things figured out, I'll do my best to help the next new guy along.

 

[Timothy F. Lewis]

On a kettle, I almost always use a full chimney and shut the vents down when done. The next time I’ll use maybe half a chimney of new and fill the chimney with the used goods. I only use a full chimney of all fresh if I see a LONG cook come up.
for 4 mammoth steaks I use a full load and run it down the middle so,I have a safe zone on either side. Plenty pf heat with a safe place for the ones that want heat but not a lot more cooking, my wife likes hers well done, I’m still a rare guy!
I think baskets are really great for most cooks, when you need space for things not getting too charred, you get heat but, it’s not causing flames to spew forth!
To be honest, all this will start to make more sense as time progresses, you will learn Grasshopper.