I grilled a lot of meat yesterday, and then I made charcoal. It is easy, if you have a supply of wood, to make all or most of the charcoal you need for grilling (I never use gas. Why? Might as well cook indoors on the stove.)
Start your grill as normal, with a pile of store-bought charcoal, grill your food as usual. Then...when you are done cooking, take the rack off and pile the grill full of small sticks or split wood, right on top of the coals.
Any size wood works well, as long as it isn't so small it immediately catches fire, or so big it won't fit inside the grill with the top down. Too thick however and only the outside will turn into charcoal.
Fan the wood until you get a small fire, then close the top and leave it closed until it is cool.
DO NOT open the top half-way through the process, as the sudden increase in air supply may cause a WOOF of fire, which could be dangerous. Almost like when you light a bit of gasoline. It woofs.
My grill is not perfectly air tight when closed, so enough oxygen gets in to keep the coals lit for hours. The wood I put in chars and turns to charcoal, which is nothing but incompletely-burned wood. Some of the wood, at the edges, remains just wood. That is fine, it is really dry and is good for getting the next fire started when I am ready to grill again.
Save money and make your own charcoal. I use oak and hickory, from the trees that overhang my back fence. There are branches down after every wind. Oh, final notes, don't use plum or cherry wood to grill. Poisonous. Pine tastes bad.
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