Grilling 101: How To Properly Light Your Charcoal

Before we even get into the lighting process, Avoid Using Chemicals Because They'll Change the Flavor Of Your Food. If you're a true barbecue lover, you care about achieving a perfect taste and flavor that can't be attained by any other means of cooking. Avoid using chemical fire starters on your grill or you could be chowing down on some strange-tasting stuff. Go buy yourself a charcoal chimney starter. You will spend about $10-$15 and you can use it forever. Now let's begin...

1.The first step to properly lighting your charcoal grill is to remove the lid and the cooking grate. This will make the charcoal grate totally accessible. 

2. Next, make sure that you open the bottom vents all the way to get airflow to the charcoal.

3. Simply fill up your chimney starter with charcoal and then crumble up 2 sheets of newspaper, place under the under the cylinder and light the light it up. Or you can get yourself some Weber firestarter cubes.  The cubes are available at all of the big box stores for about $7 for a box of 24.  Simply place 2 of the cubes underneath the full charcoal chimney or under the outside edges of your charcoal pile and then light them with a match.  The cubes will light immediately when you touch them with a match and burn long enough to get the coals going.  The chimney starter holds just the right amount of coals to cook a standard 22 and 1/2 inch kettle or similar grill. If you have a smaller 18 inch grill, fill the cylinder to about 3/4 full.

4. Let the charcoal burn down until all of the coals have a layer of white ash.  This should take up to 15 minutes. You can't be impatient when it comes to cooking time. Always wait for the coals to turn grey and have a little glow about them. Who really needs to be rushing through a BBQ, anyway?

5. Put on protective gloves and carefully pour the lit coals onto the charcoal grate.

6. Using gloves and long handled tongs, spread the coals into an even surface about 2 coals deep for nice, even direct grilling.

7. Alternatively, if you are grilling thicker cuts of meat (more than 2 inches thick), create a layer on one side of the grill about 3 coals high and then a layer 1 coal high throughout the rest of the grill.  This will give you a nice, 2 zone cooking area. 

8. If you're going for that smokey BBQ flavor, throw a few small pieces of wood into the charcoal. Add the wood to the coal right after the initial fire dies down. (We will get into that in another episode)

9. Replace the cooking grate, open the vents on the lid and cover the grill until you are ready to cook.

Happy Grilling!!



 

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