Grilling Tips and Techniques

A step-by-step grilling guide that takes you from flame to flavor.

How to Fire Up the Grill

Instant-light briquettes are not a good idea. Neither are briquettes doused with lighter fluid. Although it will be safe to eat, the food you cook over fuel-started briquettes can pick up a chemical taste. Instant-light briquettes are made from pulverized charcoal and mixed with additives to make them easy to light and to keep burning. Hardwood charcoal, or charwood ($11.25 for a 20-pound bag, char-wood.com), lights faster and burns hotter and cleaner than briquettes. That means whatever you cook over it tastes better, too. 

The easiest (and healthiest) way to ignite a fire is with a chimney starter―a large can open at both the top and the bottom. A wad of newspaper is packed into the bottom; a grill-load of charcoal goes on top. Put one match to the paper and in about 15 to 20 minutes you're ready to cook. The can, available at hardware stores (or $17, char-wood.com), has a sturdy handle that makes it easy to pour the ash-covered coals into the grill.