Flame or embers on the grill?

Charcoal is ready when it has ashed over and glows red; at that point the heat is even and steady. Starting while flames are still up gives you a burnt exterior and a raw centre.

Dripping fat brings the flame back. The remedy is not constant turning but widening the distance between heat and meat, or banking the coals to the sides so the meat is never directly over fire.

The measure: on a good grill the surface of the meat is glossy and moist rather than brown and dry; a black crust is not flavour but burning. That is also why grill masters turn their skewers rarely — the embers are already doing the work.