I am using one of those small grills where the grate is only about an inch or two above the coals. When I cook something that doesn't have much grease (like vegetables), it is fine but the main thing I got the grill for is grilling mackerel
. It's a fatty fish and drips grease on the coals, which then catches flames and carbonizes the outside of the fish while the inside remains uncooked.
There is a reason we have this little (slightly bigger than a shoe box) grill and that's because we like to take it camping (where we also like to grill mackerel). I understand the problem might be solved by a bigger grill where the flames don't reach the food. Is there any technique to mitigate this situation with this little grill?
I do wait until the coals have no more flames and are almost out. Just a few seconds after I put fish on the grill, flames start from underneath it. I move the fish to a different part of the grill where there is no flames but flames start there after just a few seconds.