Are you strictly a propane grilling enthusiast? Did you lose your
interest in charcoal grilling when the steel behemoths known as propane
grills became all the rage? I must say that I certainly followed along
with the crowd. I left my charcoal kettle grill behind and joined the
gas grilling age. Propane was quick and easy and we all sported our
shiny units on our back decks. But something changed within the past few
years. With the introduction of the charcoal chimney starter, my
feelings toward charcoal grilling were rekindled (pun intended).
I remember the days of charcoal lighter fluid. They do still sell it but you don't need it! A chimney starter is the way to go if you want to get your charcoal glowing in about 20 minutes and you also don't have the foul taste of the fluid chemicals infiltrating your grilled foods. I remember that when I was a young child I would watch my father add the charcoal to the grill and then take out the lighter fluid and soak the briquettes. At that point he would yell to us "Stand back!" and then he would toss a match into the charcoal. Poof! With a small explosion the charcoal would instantly light but there would always be that lingering smell of chemicals in the air.
The chemicals would typically be transferred to the grilled food which resulted in an off taste in the food. When the propane grills exploded onto the scene it was a quick alternative to using charcoal and you could cook your food without a chemical taste in minutes. But the charcoal chimney starter has allowed us charcoal grilling enthusiasts to get back to our roots and use charcoal again. All you really have to do is to crumple up some newspaper and add it to the bottom of the metal unit. Then you place the chimney starter onto the bottom grate of your kettle grill, fill up the chimney starter with some fresh or used charcoal, and light the newspaper.
Within about 15-20 minutes the flames will start poking out of the top of the chimney starter and all you have to do is wait until there is a greyish hue on the briquettes that are on top and you are ready to pour them into the grill.
The charcoal chimney starter has allowed me to get back to my roots of using charcoal. I love the process and I love the results. Give it a try and you might just get back to your own grilling roots!
I remember the days of charcoal lighter fluid. They do still sell it but you don't need it! A chimney starter is the way to go if you want to get your charcoal glowing in about 20 minutes and you also don't have the foul taste of the fluid chemicals infiltrating your grilled foods. I remember that when I was a young child I would watch my father add the charcoal to the grill and then take out the lighter fluid and soak the briquettes. At that point he would yell to us "Stand back!" and then he would toss a match into the charcoal. Poof! With a small explosion the charcoal would instantly light but there would always be that lingering smell of chemicals in the air.
The chemicals would typically be transferred to the grilled food which resulted in an off taste in the food. When the propane grills exploded onto the scene it was a quick alternative to using charcoal and you could cook your food without a chemical taste in minutes. But the charcoal chimney starter has allowed us charcoal grilling enthusiasts to get back to our roots and use charcoal again. All you really have to do is to crumple up some newspaper and add it to the bottom of the metal unit. Then you place the chimney starter onto the bottom grate of your kettle grill, fill up the chimney starter with some fresh or used charcoal, and light the newspaper.
Within about 15-20 minutes the flames will start poking out of the top of the chimney starter and all you have to do is wait until there is a greyish hue on the briquettes that are on top and you are ready to pour them into the grill.
The charcoal chimney starter has allowed me to get back to my roots of using charcoal. I love the process and I love the results. Give it a try and you might just get back to your own grilling roots!
