How to Light a Charcoal Grill

We all know that starting your charcoal grill is no easy task, unless you’re a grill master, but for those of use who are Grillaholics and need to know all the secrets of the grill, here are some helpful tips to help get your grill lit and your food tasting great. Check it out!

Ditch the chemicals!

We’ve all been there. We’re so hungry looking at those burgers or marinated steaks that we get impatient and grab the lighter fluid. Or sometimes we may prepare for our impatience, and we pick up a bag of accelerant-soaked briquettes. Well, be impatient no more and head to the store (pardon the rhyme) and pick up a chimney starter. This is the most efficient way to light a charcoal grill. In just 20 minutes, your grill will be ready for whatever you have prepared, and the food will come back with no chemical taste or smell.

Or keep the chemicals!

If you don’t mind the possibility of having your food taste like lighter fluid, go ahead and arrange the charcoal into a pyramid shape and lightly pour the fluid on the charcoal until shiny. Let the light fluid sit on the charcoal for 30 minutes! Then you may take a long match to the heap and light it up. Letting the fluid sink into the charcoal will help the charcoal stay lit longer, but the fluid will no longer be sitting on top, so close to your food.

Small steps for after lighting:

After you initially light the charcoal, wait until it is white before you start grilling. Take tongs or oven mitts to spread the charcoal out evenly and then cover with the grate. Wait 5 minutes for the grate to heat up before you put your food on.

And Voila! Enjoy your awesome Q!