Spring is here! People are dusting off their charcoal grills getting ready for some prime eating time outdoors {al fresco}. The big box stores have stacks of charcoal bags piled high, ready for the onslaught of customers, customers who are ready to grill on the barbie.
Caveat to outdoor grilling
There is a negative to grilling outdoors. You may ask what could be a drawback to outdoor cooking?
Lighter fluid.
Why do we think it's negative? Because it gives your food a chemical taste, which means the food absorbs that hint of the chemical, not to mention the odor that your clothes and hair absorb.
What you need
It isn't difficult to start a fire without lighter fluid. All you need is:
- Crumpled paper towels( about 4 or 5 large sheets)
- Vegetable oil
- Charcoal
- A chimney starter
- Matches or a lighter.
The chimney starter is easy to find, and you'll quickly pay for the chimney starter by what you save in not purchasing lighter fluid.
How to use natural starter instead of lighter fluid
The concept of the chimney starter is quite simple:
- You crumple up several paper towels, douse some vegetable oil on them and put them under the bottom of the chimney.
- You fill the chimney with the charcoal to the top.
- From the bottom, you light the crumpled paper towels.
Isn't that simple?
The heat from the burning paper towels will ignite the bottom coals. Since heat rises, the top coals will also catch.
When the top coals are gray with ash, you're ready to grill. The bonus here is that you can grill in about 15 to 20 minutes and no chemical odor whatsoever. How you spread out, your coal will depend on what you're grilling. We will give you tips on how All Our Way does it as we are posting our recipes.
If you are cooking something that will need additional coals, you can always pile them on top of the already lit coals. Pulled Pork takes a different technique, and we will show you how we do it. Now you put the rack over the hot coals, and you put the lid on the grill. Wait for the inside to heat to the proper temperature for your meat. You will have to read your grill's instructions on how to vent your type grill for correct cooking.
Ready to grill
When you're ready to grill, put the rack over the hot coals and put the lid on the grill. You need to wait for the inside of the grill to heat to the proper temperature for your meat. Read your grill's instructions on how to vent your type grill for correct cooking.
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