A bar-b-que or smoking tip...

[DTK]

Never ever use lighter fluid to start your charcoal. Always use an electric charcoal starter. The lighter fluid tends to transfer itself to the meat, and leaves it with a bad taste.

DTK

 

[jaybird0827]

Rev. King,

You're either using the wrong kind of fluid, or too much. I use Kingsford. It's a quality brand. You spray it on the coals, ignite immediately, and walk off for like 20 min - 1/2 hr. It burns off. No taste. There may be other brands with similar formulas. This stuff is a lot better than it used to be.

Cheers -- J. Sulzmann

 

[DTK]

Originally posted by jaybird0827
Rev. King,

You're either using the wrong kind of fluid, or too much. I use Kingsford. It's a quality brand. You spray it on the coals, ignite immediately, and walk off for like 20 min - 1/2 hr. It burns off. No taste. There may be other brands with similar formulas. This stuff is a lot better than it used to be.

Cheers -- J. Sulzmann

I am somewhat sympathetic to this advice. But the electric charcoal starter is still, I must insist, the preferred tool of "bar-b-que for dummies." It takes you only 8-9 minutes to get the charcoal ready for cooking, thus cutting the starting time in half. I've used Kingsford (an excellent charcoal btw) both regular and the immediate starter stuff. But the electric starter is a cheaper and more efficient way to go.

Thanks,
DTK

 

[Contra_Mundum]

{real story}
I knew a man once who lost his wife in a lighterfluid/grill accident.

 

[Kevin]

I like to use a charcoal chimney to start my coals. It allows me to start more coals & add them to my fire box several hours into the cooking process. This allows me to add glowing coals directly to the fire box, without letting the temp drop when adding new charcoal.

BTW I use an offset firebox barrel style smoker. I actually have 2 of them a small one and a midsize with cast iron grates. The larger allows me to cook 8 6-10lbs pork butts at a time or 6 (full size) slabs of ribs.

I need to do that much at a time because I sell BBQ at the farmers market every saturday.