Over the years I have been back and forth between charcoal and gas grills. Five years ago my daughter gave me a Char-Griller Smokin Champ combination offset smoker and grill. Ever since I've been all about the charcoal grilling and smoking.
If you're cooking with a charcoal grill or a smoker, then a chimney starter is a must-have. The chimney starter is the easiest and fastest method of lighting any kind of charcoal. Getting your charcoal started and ready to cook is really easy. To me, the chimney starter is the safest option. You could use charcoal lighter fluid but the chemicals found in lighter fluid could leave your food tasting like the fluid.
The chimney starter in the photo is my Weber Rapidfire Charcoal Chimney Starter. I have had this one for five years now.
Features of my Chimney Starter:
It measures 13-inches High
7.5-inches in diameter
Cone shaped grate on the bottom
Ergonomic handle with heat shield
Lightweight
Durable Construction
How to use a Charcoal Chimney Starter:
The first thing that I do is flip it over and wad up 3 sheets of newspaper placed in the bottom of the cone-shaped grate. You can buy charcoal starters specifically made to light a chimney, but I find the newspaper works just as well.
Turn the chimney over on the grill grates and light the newspaper. I use a small grill and set it up on a picnic table. When you light the newspaper you'll see a lot of white smoke as seen in the photo. Don't worry this stops once the charcoal gets going.
In this photo, you can see the red glow of the charcoal moving up to the top. Looking at the top the coals are starting to turn white on the corners. This chimney is ready to dump into my grill. The process will be about 15 minutes and you'll be ready to cook with hot charcoal.
Rapidfire Chimney Starter
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