Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 2: Building a fire
• Using a starter to ignite coal
• Using a kindling liquid
• Method 2 of 2: Lighting and Maintaining a Strong Fire
• Tips
• Warnings

Many newcomers to the charcoal grill find it difficult to build and maintain a strong fire, especially when it comes to using charcoal. While it seems like a daunting task, making a good fire from coals is no different than lighting any other fuel. All that is required is oxygen, time and a solid fuel source of heat, that is, coal briquettes. With basic equipment and basic knowledge of coal, anyone can make a professional barbecue fire.

Steps

Method 1 of 2: Building a fire

Using a starter to ignite coal

1. 1 Use a charcoal starter to produce an even, strong fire with minimal effort. Charcoal starters are the easiest way to make a good coal fire without using any kindling fluid. Put the paper on the bottom, fill the rest of the starter with charcoal, and light the paper. The heat is stored in the starter itself, allowing all of the charcoal to ignite quickly before being poured onto the grill and used for cooking.
   • Charcoal starters cost around RUB 750-1500, depending on size, and can be found online or in a household goods store.
   • Most professional barbecue chefs highly recommend the use of charcoal starters as the flammable liquid can contribute to the smoke flavor and is more difficult to use to light a fire that burns evenly.
2. 2 Place 2-4 sheets of crumpled newspaper on the bottom of the starter. You can simply crumple the paper into balls, but not too tight, otherwise the flame will not receive enough oxygen. When lighting a fire, paper has the same effect on charcoal as matches.
   • If the starter does not have a solid base, place a piece of paper on the grill rack and place the starter on it.
3. 3 Place charcoal briquettes or wood chips on top of the starter. Fill the entire starter with any charcoal of your choice or a mixture of charcoal briquettes and wood chips. Use enough charcoal to fill the entire grill and distribute the fire evenly. If this is a regular 55 cm grill, 40 briquettes are enough, although the main thing is to just fill the starter to the top.
4. 4 Light the paper at the bottom in 2-3 places. Use a long match or grill lighter to protect your hands from scalding. The paper will burn quickly, but the concentrated flame and hot air will ignite the coals from below, which will help ignite all the charcoal in the starter.
   • Place the starter on the grill or a heat-resistant surface while it heats up. It will become very hot and can cause a fire if left unattended.
5. 5 Place the charcoal on the grill so that the top briquettes are covered with gray / white ash. As the fire builds up in the starter, the top coals will also ignite and be covered with white / gray ash. It takes about 10-15 minutes to warm up the starter, after which you can start cooking. Place the charcoal in the middle of the grill if you want the entire surface to glow hot. Otherwise, sprinkle the charcoal on half of the grill if you want to separate the cooking surface for direct and indirect cooking.
   • If you plan on cooking for more than half an hour, add a few handfuls of charcoal so that they catch fire as others begin to fade.
6. 6 Open the vents for more flame. More air and oxygen enters the flame through the open vents, which contributes to its build-up. Leave the lid open when placing the charcoal and toast the food, then close the lid to smoke or simmer the meat.

Using a kindling liquid

1. 1 Open the lower grill vent and remove the grate. Remove the grate, set the lid aside and open the lower grill vent. As much air as possible must penetrate into the coal for an even strong flame.
   • Clean out the ash, as it will trap the oxygen entering the coal, and try to keep the flame steady.
2. 2 Form a "pyramid" of charcoal briquettes with the top of the charcoal pyramid in the middle of the grill. Hold the bag of charcoal over the middle of the grill, then a pyramid will naturally form. Then, using your hands or a pair of long-handled tongs, line the remaining coal briquettes along the sides of the pyramid. Start building the pyramid with half of the briquettes to be laid out on the bottom for cooking. Once the grill is hot, add the charcoal, 5-7 briquettes at a time, to keep the grill burning at full strength.
   • If you have a small portable grill, it is enough to use 25-30 briquettes or pieces of charcoal to start cooking.
   • 40 briquettes are enough if your grill is regular or medium-sized.
   • If you have a large or industrial grill, you will need 1 bag of charcoal or more.
3. 3 Pour a small amount of kindling liquid into the middle of the pyramid. You should not water the coal with liquid in large quantities, as it will take a long time for it to burn out, and besides, dense and not at all appetizing smoke is formed. Pour liquid on the pyramid around the middle for no more than two counts, being careful to get the liquid inside.
   • You can also do the following: start building a pyramid, pour liquid inside the briquettes, and then put the liquid-soaked briquettes on the "top" so that the whole pile heats up properly.
   • The most common mistake is using too much flammable liquid, which makes food taste like gasoline. No more liquid is needed than is required to ignite several coal briquettes. Subsequently, from these briquettes, the flame will spread throughout the entire pile of coal.
4. 4 Wait until the briquettes doused with kindling liquid are soaked, which will take 2-3 minutes. Do not light the grill immediately. If you wait, the flammable liquid will saturate the top layer of the charcoal and the flame will then burn evenly.
5. 5 Reapply a thin layer of flammable liquid. Gently squeeze the flammable liquid onto the pyramid in several places, letting it soak for a few seconds. This is what will "pick up" the flame, so there is no need to heat the coal in a liquid, otherwise the coal will flare up too much. To start a fire, it is enough to pour the liquid over several sections of the coal.
6. 6 Light the fire safely with a long match or electric lighter. Although a flammable liquid is unlikely to ignite a large flame, it must be handled with care. Light the pile of coal in 2 to 3 places, sprinkled with flammable liquid, trying to light the fire as close to the middle of the pile as possible. The fire will most likely ignite and large flames will form around the coal, but this only means that a flammable liquid is burning.
   • Once the fire has died down, the middle of the coal pile will start to smoke and turn white / gray. This means that the coals have flared up.
7. 7 Spread the briquettes all over the surface as soon as they are covered with gray / white ash. The fire is ready to cook as soon as the coals are slightly black. The coals inside the pyramid should burn with a red glowing flame. Smooth the coals over the surface by adding a little fuel if you plan to cook for a long time. It is usually sufficient to add one or two handfuls of charcoal every 30 minutes if you intend to continue grilling.
   • Cover the entire grill with 1 or 2 layers of charcoal, not individual briquettes. Charcoal traps heat when the briquettes are stacked close together like ice packs instead of individual pieces.
   • After adding an additional portion of charcoal, wait 5-6 minutes for the fire to ignite with renewed vigor. This will not take long, since the bulk of the coals is already sufficiently heated.
8. 8 Pack unused briquettes until next time. Close the top of the bag with a clip if you still have charcoal left. Failure to do so will evaporate the extra elements in the coal, making it harder to light it next time, with or without liquid.

Method 2 of 2: Lighting and Maintaining a Strong Fire

1. 1 Stack the coals close together for a strong, direct flame. Stir the coals with tongs as you cook, as single briquettes quickly lose heat, which does not ignite the flame strongly enough. However, the coals should not be stacked too tightly, otherwise they will not receive enough oxygen, although they also should not be located far from each other (like small islands). There are two ways of placing coal, depending on the method of cooking:
   • Even frying: Cover the entire surface of the grill with charcoal in two layers. This will allow you to reach the correct temperature. If you want to cook quickly and don't need indirect fire (for large, slow-roasted cuts of meat), this is the way to go.
   • Toasting in two zones: Place all the charcoal in a flat pile on one side of the grill, leaving the other side empty. This will help to cook food quickly directly over the charcoal, and food requiring slower roasting can be cooked over indirect heat from the opposite side of the grill. You can also add cooked food to the empty side to keep it warm, or smoke chunks of meat on it.
2. 2 Add charcoal regularly to keep the grill hot. Don't wait until you run out of coals. Instead, add 5-10 coals straight away when you have just under half left, which is usually done every 30 minutes. Wait 5-10 minutes until the newly placed coals are hot and covered with white / gray ash on the outside. Then you can continue to cook.
   • Add more charcoal if you think you need more. The more coal you add, the more the flame will burn. Add slowly, 5-6 at a time, until the grill is hot enough.
3. 3 Keep the top and bottom vents open to maintain the maximum temperature. The more air enters the fire, the harder it will burn, so open vents are the key to a hard burning coal fire. The more oxygen enters the flame, the hotter the grill itself will be. Close one or both vents halfway if you want to control the temperature. If you close both vents, oxygen will cease to flow into the fire, and it will go out.
   • Closing the top vent will help smoke the meat by lowering the flame temperature and keeping the smoke in the grill around the food.
4. 4 Clean out the ashes often. The grill is equipped with a small lever that allows you to open and close the bottom vent, and the same lever can be used to clean ash from the vent. The ash interferes with the oxygen supply, which will lead to the damping of the burning coals.
5. 5 Add hardwood charcoal for a flavorful flavor and a brighter flame. Wood burns better than briquettes, so food has a smoky flavor and is easier to roast. In addition, wood burns faster than briquettes, which is why many cooks use both wood and coal. This allows you to keep the fire going for a longer time, while still keeping the flame bright, so you can roast steak or large pieces of meat on it.
   • Try hazel or apple coals for a classic barbecue flavor and high fire.

Tips

• Maintain the fire for as long as possible by regularly adding charcoal. Pay attention to temperature changes when adding fresh charcoal or partially closing vents.
• Buy a grill thermometer to keep an eye on the fire.

Warnings

• Never pour kindling liquid over burning coals. This can cause severe burns. By following the instructions above, you do not need to re-ignite the fire or add liquid to it.
• Never use gasoline to light a fire. The kindling fluid is specially formulated for making a slow, controlled fire.