Camp Chef 9" Charcoal Starter

Do you prefer to grill over charcoal? You can improve the taste of your next barbecue by avoiding the bad smell and taste of self-lighting charcoal or starter fluid. This gadget will give you perfect charcoals in just minutes. If you want to grill a good steak or hamburger, you want your charcoal to be burning evenly. The Camp Chef Charcoal Starter can prepare 30 to 40 briquettes at once, they'll be ready for the grill in about 10 minutes, and your barbecue will have no chemical taste or odor.

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I had been using match-light charcoal for years. It worked OK, but some briquettes burned faster than others, and some not at all. I usually wound up adding a dose of starter fluid to get them all burning, but then they didn't seem to last very long. Not long ago I bought a couple of cast-iron Dutch ovens, and I soon learned how inept I was at preparing charcoal. Any good baking oven requires an even distribution of heat. A Dutch oven gets heat from charcoal placed on the lid and beneath. Varying amounts of briquettes are used to attain different baking temperatures. Poorly lit or fast burning charcoal don't work very well with Dutch oven cooking. Then I discovered charcoal chimneys. They are nothing more than a short piece of metal pipe with an insulated handle. There is a grate inside about 3 inches from the bottom. To light charcoal, simply pour up to 40 briquettes inside, stuff a few pieces of crumpled newspaper beneath the grate, and light the newspaper. (Caution: when using newspaper, ignite over a dry, fire-resistant surface.) There are other makers of charcoal chimneys, but I like the larger size of the Camp Chef. Instead of using newspapers, you can also start charcoal by placing the chimney over the burner of a camp stove. I bought mine at Cabela's for $12.99. I've also found them at Sears, Wal-Mart and Dick's Sporting Goods. If a store sells grills, they usually sell chimneys.