The smell of lighter fluid can ruin your barbecue. The lighter fluid also releases chemicals that will stick to the meat and grill, making it unsafe to eat in large quantities. Luckily, there are a variety of other ways to bake your food, and keep at it, that require nothing more than newspaper and a chimney starter, if you have one at hand.
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Method 1 of 3: Using Chimney Starter
Step 1. Chimney starter is a tool used to light charcoal or charcoal briquettes. An inexpensive chimney starter is the easiest way to start a big fire every time. Usually a chimney starter is sold for under IDR 402,000, 00. This tool uses newspaper and convection heat to ignite all the charcoal briquettes. Then you can pour the charcoal into the grill and start cooking within 15-20 minutes.
Step 2. Insert the clumped sheet of newspaper into the bottom of the chimney starter
Between two and four sheets of newspaper should suffice, depending on the size of the tool. Don't clump the newspaper until it's too dense, just squeeze it into loose balls to allow the hot steam to fill the cavities. This will later light the charcoal.
If the chimney starter doesn't have a solid bottom, place the paper on the trellis on the grill and lower the chimney over it
Step 3. Fill the top of the chimney starter with charcoal briquettes to the brim
Take your favorite charcoal and fill the chimney starter to the brim. You should be able to reach the paper at the bottom.
Step 4. Light a fire in several sections of the paper, from the bottom
Turn on the grill. The paper will burn quickly, and the hot steam and burning paper will ignite the bottom charcoal. After the paper burns, the charcoal will ignite each other, as hot steam is drawn from the bottom of the chimney to the top (charcoal).
The chimney will heat up quickly so place the chimney on a strong, fire-resistant surface while the charcoal heats up. A grill that has been set up as a charcoal holder, is a good place. The same goes for a brick patio (although it has the potential to leave scorched marks)
Step 5. Pour the charcoal over the grill when the charcoal on top is gray
This usually only takes 10-15 minutes. Once you've poured in the charcoal, you can start grilling right away. Most chimneys are placed carefully upside down on top of the grill, but newer models may have a switch that lets the charcoal out from the bottom. Get the charcoal out where you want it instead of placing it in the middle and then moving it around – the charcoal will probably break and the heat will dissipate if you keep lifting and moving it.
If you plan to grill for more than 30 minutes, add two to three handfuls of charcoal now to keep the fire burning when you need it
Step 6. Make sure the air holes are open for a bigger fire
Opening the vents will channel more air and oxygen into the fire, so the fire can spread quickly. Leave the lid open while you position the charcoal and cook whatever you want to grill, then close the lid to smoke the meat or to cook it more slowly.
Method 2 of 3: Lighting a Fire with Newspaper
Step 1. Open the air vent at the bottom and remove the ash
You need good, consistent airflow to keep the fire burning, because charcoal needs oxygen to burn. Be sure to remove any ash, as it takes up the necessary space for good airflow. Leave the air holes wide open.
Step 2. Clump four to five sheets of newspaper and place them in the center of the grill
Make a small pile of newspapers in the middle of the grill grille. You can also use paper from a charcoal bag. The paper burns quickly, and the fire from the paper will help ignite the charcoal.
If you're having trouble starting a fire with just newspaper, soak half the paper in olive, canola, or vegetable oil. The oil will slow down the burning process of the paper, giving the charcoal time to burn. This DIY (do-it-yourself, make your own) solution, while far from perfect, has many supporters as a natural alternative to lighter fluid
Step 3. Place a small dry wooden stick on top of the newspaper
The small wooden sticks used to make fires have a higher burning point than paper, which will certainly help light the charcoal. Place a handful of wood on and around the paper, as if making some kind of small nest. The paper will light the wood, and the wood and paper will together light the briquettes.
- If the wood breaks easily in your hands and makes a loud cracking sound, then they are dry enough to work with.
- Also keep a spare handful of sticks nearby, in case the fire requires extra fuel.
- If there is no wood nearby, add more paper. You may have to keep putting the paper in the fire until the briquettes ignite, so having a few sheets of paper will come in handy.
Step 4. Place three to four charcoal sticks on top of your pile
This will light a fire for all the charcoal. Place it near the center and on top of the wood. While the paper at the bottom is burning, you must continue to make the fire burn under the briquettes.
While briquettes (small squares of charcoal) will burn longer, hardwood charcoal is more flammable and will burn hotter at first
Step 5. Light the fire on the paper from several parts
Use matches or lighters to light a few corners of the paper, making for a nice, bright fire. You'll see the sticks start to glow from the big, blazing fire made by the paper.
If the wood isn't burning too much but the paper is completely burned, clump (not too tightly) one or two more sheets and place the paper on the edge, near the wood
Step 6. Make the charcoal glow and smoke
If you see gray or white ash edges on the briquettes and the briquette sticks emit smoke, then you have succeeded. This process is slow, but eventually the fire will burn. Try to keep the fire from sticks and newspapers burning until the outside of the charcoal produces ash.
Step 7. Add a few more sticks of charcoal to the fire you've made
After the first few briquettes have smoked, you can add a few more sticks, one at a time. A strong fire from charcoal is not like a fire from wood – if you see white or gray ashes popping up on the outside of the charcoal stick, then you are ready to grill. You will not see a big blazing fire.
- Keep adding briquettes until you have a large pile in the center of the grill. For now, the briquettes on the inside are the hottest briquettes. You will see smoke coming out of the center of the pile. Depending on the size of the grill, you may need different amounts of briquettes:
- Small, personal grills can usually be filled with 25-30 sticks of charcoal.
- A medium-sized grill, such as those commonly found with a 22" size, can hold at least 40 sticks of briquettes.
- Large grills may require about one to two bags of charcoal, and take longer to heat with this method.
Step 8. Wait until almost all of the charcoal is covered with white or gray ash before spreading it to start cooking
The inside of the pile will glow bright red with heat. That means you can already cook. When the heat is low, add a few more briquettes if desired. Then place the charcoal in the desired location with a pair of long-handled tongs. This can take about thirty minutes to an hour.
Method 3 of 3: Creating and Keeping a Strong Fire Burning
Step 1. Arrange the charcoal close together to make a strong fire
Arrange the charcoal close together, in a place where they can retain heat and burn. In addition, charcoal also needs airflow to burn properly so don't place them too close and tightly packed together. A loose pile would be perfect. There are several grilling methods to keep the fire burning strong:
- Even Grilling Coat the entire bottom of the grill with two layers of stacked briquettes. There are no gaps and everything is added evenly, so all the heat will reach a consistent and balanced temperature. Use this method if you want to cook a lot of food quickly.
- Two-Zone Grilling leave half the grill area open for indirect mounting techniques, or for heating food. You will need to transfer half of your existing charcoal into a balanced pile on either side of the grill. Make sure there are two to three layers of briquettes in the “hot half” of the grill.
Step 2. Add more charcoal regularly to keep the fire on the grill burning
Charcoal will be hot enough if it is red, lit, and covered in white from the ash. Pay attention to this to light a new charcoal. Don't wait until you run out of briquettes. Add the remaining charcoal when you have at least half the bag of charcoal left. You may have to wait five to ten minutes, when the newly added charcoal is covered in gray/white from the ashes, to start cooking again, but doing this is better than having to start the grill from scratch.
If you plan to cook for a long time, you should add two to three handfuls of charcoal every thirty minutes after the first set
Step 3. Leave the air holes at the top and bottom open for maximum heat
The more air that is channeled into the fire, the hotter the fire for cooking. Fire needs oxygen to burn so the more oxygen that is delivered the hotter the fire on the charcoal. If you need to control the temperature, partially close one or both vents. Usually what is closed is the air hole at the top.
Step 4. Remove the collected ashes
There is a small lever that opens and closes the air holes at the bottom of the grill. This same lever can be used to remove ash through the air outlet. Ash takes up space so air can't flow in properly, and will smother the charcoal as it builds up.
Step 5. Consider adding hardwood for added flavor and a hotter fire
Hickory or applewood sticks provide a fantastic BBQ flavor, and the wood will ignite quickly from the hot charcoal. Although wood burns faster and hotter than charcoal briquettes, a combination of charcoal and wood or wood chips is often the best way to create a professional-looking fire.
Step 6. Restore the unused briquettes
If you didn't use up all the charcoal in the bag, pinch the top of the bag with a click to close it tightly. Additives found in charcoal can evaporate, making it more difficult to ignite if you want to use it later, especially without the help of lighter fluid.
Tips
You can make your own chimney starter by using a punch-hole type can opener, to make several holes along the bottom edge of the side of a large metal coffee can
Warning
- The most common mistake is to roll up and overcrowd the newspaper
- Start with the required amount of charcoal, then add more once it's lit.
- Never leave the chimney starter lit.
