Useful Tips for Cooking
over the Grill or Smoker

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

While each tip can mostly stand alone, it is best to read them all and incorporate them into an overall assault on the grill. Be sure to have your assault well fortified with your favorite beverage! Today's tip is: Starting the Fire

Starting the fire. How many of you pile a bunch of charcoal briquettes, pour on the lighter fluid and toss the match? Quite a few, I would imagine. Did you know there was an alternative to lighter fluid? Many folks believe they can taste the petroleum byproducts in the meat. Perhaps. But I would imagine this is due to their either having extremely powerful taste buds or they simply did not let the fire burn sufficiently to expel the fumes. At any rate, if you use lighter fluid, wait at least 45 minutes before grilling. After this time, there is little chance that any petroleum byproducts are still around AND you will then have a sufficiently constant temperature to work with.

ALTERNATIVES? Yes, there are several. One of the favorites is the electric starter. Works great, but somewhat awkward. Some have bent elements which aid in the clumsy area. Usually the biggest hassle is getting the electricity there and later put away. Another alternative is a FIRE CHIMNEY. This is easy, fast and eliminates lighter fluid. The chimney is a round cylinder where you can place wadded up newspaper in the bottom and then the charcoal on top. Simply light the newspaper (you could even use this newsletter - if it were in print) and let it go. In about 20 minutes, perhaps less, you will have a nice set of coals to work with. It uses the draft from the bottom to fan the heat up the chimney. You can either use a large coffee can with both ends removed or buy one of these heavy duty chimneys with a handle which will last for many years. Good luck and have fun!