Lighting coal for grilling?

butwhymalemodels

I've only grilled twice on my egg. One was a flank steak and one was two chicken breasts. Both were around 350 degrees dome temp. Both had a very small amount of coal lit in the center of the egg.

I can't see grilling working for 8-10 people like that. There would be a very small portion of the meat actually cooking while the rest slowly heats up.

What strategy do you use when lighting coals for grilling to get a nice bed of coals glowing across the entire bed of lump?

Shiff

I start my charcoal using 91% alcohol purchased at Walmart. I use a pencil to poke a tiny hole in the seal and then  squirt a little alcohol in 4 places in a circle about 4 inches in from the outside rim of the charcoal. Then a little squirt in the center.  Wait a few seconds then toss in a match.

Alcohol burns clean and quickly starts the charcoal. It is very safe as long as you stand back a little when dropping in the match.  The warmer the day, the more  it evaporates before lighting and can cause a flash.  In the winter, it doesn't evaporate and I actually have to hold the match at the squirt points.

xraypat23

weed burner. Blast it for less than a minute, probably less than 30 seconds and the coals are all going nicely, let it go wide open for a few minutes and you're ready to go

fishlessman

either light in three or four spots, or use oil and napkin trick as it lights a big area, or use a weedburner and swirl it as you light, or just wait longer for the fire to spread. raising the grid high above the coals evens out the heat as well and gives you time to move things around as you grill

OMG Eggs

For grilling, I light at the bottom and add lump on top.  If I already. Have a decent load, I'll stir it around a little after I get a few spots going.

ChokeOnSmoke

After I pull my electric starter out, I GENTLY stir the coals so there is lit and until evenly spread out throughout my lump reducer.  I do this for every cook, regardless of whether it's a low and slow or high heat.

Nicktab

Does anyone use the chimney type for normal charcoal and after lit add it to the existing charcoal in the egg

Mighty_Quinn

either light in three or four spots, or use oil and napkin trick as it lights a big area, or use a weedburner and swirl it as you light, or just wait longer for the fire to spread. raising the grid high above the coals evens out the heat as well and gives you time to move things around as you grill

Good advice right there...

Hillbilly-Hightech

not sure I understand the question, but I light my coals the same way no matter what I'm cooking or how I'm cooking it.

I light the coals using a torch in 3 places (~120* from each other around the fire ring) then I let it sit there for a few minutes to make sure the fire(s) are not going to die out, then I stir the coals to distribute the fire(s) around. 

I do this whether I'm doing "low & slow" or "high heat" sear, or whether I'm grilling, roasting, searing, smoking, etc. 

Works for me!!  >-

boatbum

Friend of mine showed a neat trick he uses with the fire starter blocks. Stands an empty wine bottle in the center, then pours the charcoal in. Slide the wine bottle out, nice place to drop the firestarter.

BRush00

I find this works quite well for my uses; lightly coat 2 sheets of paper towel with canola oil, roll into two "paper towel cigars", lay on coals, put 1 or two pieces of lump on center point, and light all four ends.

Doc_Eggerton

If I read your question correctly I think you are not quite understanding cooking on the Egg.  Yes you can start it in multiple places, but that is really only to get hot faster.  You are convection cooking on the Egg with the dome closed, and you do not necessarily have to be directly over flame as you might have on a metal grill.  One of the pluses of the BGE is the whole grid is cooking area, with no dead spots.  In fact unless I am doing a really hot sear thing with meat, I usually ring it around the grid outside of the actual flame.

Doc_Eggerton

Oh, and I used Rutland fire starters broken in half and ringed around to start a whole area burn, and more recently a Looftlighter that lets me quickly choose where I want the coals started.

butwhymalemodels

But, Doc, if I had the whole surface area of the grid covered in meat (let's say chicken, I grill(ed) a lot of chicken on my Brinkmann), wouldn't the meat directly above the bed of coals cook faster than that on the outer edge of the grid? I'm trying to get it set so that all meat is 8 minutes, flip, 8 minutes done when grilling.

burr_baby33

All the lighting subheadings above are good. You man be putting enough lump in your egg. Fill fire box at least 2/3 full, then light.

Doc_Eggerton

But, Doc, if I had the whole surface area of the grid covered in meat (let's say chicken, I grill(ed) a lot of chicken on my Brinkmann), wouldn't the meat directly above the bed of coals cook faster than that on the outer edge of the grid? I'm trying to get it set so that all meat is 8 minutes, flip, 8 minutes done when grilling.

Depending on the height of the grid, and the heat you might have to do some rotating, but you still want to cook mostly with the dome down.  My record for steaks were 8 rib eyes, which were the most tender I've ever done.  I think it took me 15 minutes.  A couple of steaks is usually about 10 minutes.

Austex_Egger

Same as Hillbilly.  I use a MAP torch and light in 3 places (for any kind of cook), wait 10-15 minutes then close her up and adjust the vents.  May try the stirring the lump around,  but not doing that works fine for me.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Dome up or down, it will burn unevenly if you don't have a uniform fire on a direct cook.

Hillbilly-Hightech

Dome up or down, it will burn unevenly if you don't have a uniform fire on a direct cook.

that's why I stir the lump... to spread the fire around. 

Even doing "low & slow" I've found that spreading the fire around uses no more lump (my guess is because when doing a "low & slow" you restrict the airflow via the vent settings, so while you might have more *pieces* of lump on fire, all those pieces get less airflow, so each piece has a "smaller" fire than if you were to light in one place, ie, less pieces on fire, but a bigger fire). 

(same dome temp assumed):  more pieces on fire needs less fire per piece equates to:  less pieces on fire needs larger fire per piece. 

Hopefully that wasn't too confusing...

butwhymalemodels

Stirring the lump is something I'd never thought of and what I'll try next. Don't know why I never considered it - it's what I did once I dumped the Kingsford out of the chimney in to the Brinkmann.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

I normally don't stir but have when needed. When I light, I Let ALL the lump start to get a little white. Then I shut the dome and let it come to temp. I do this even on low and slows. I know there are as many ways to build a fire as there are ways to cook a burger so not saying my way is any better than anyone else's. I just know that when I started doing this way, i started sleeping through the night on all my low and slows (I don't even use a thermo anymore because I don't want to know). I've always done this on directs so I don't know any better there....and I never relight old lump for low and slow or super hot (pizza, sears etc). I only use new, hand placed, large lump. Overkill I'm sure but it works for me. 

DOCED

For lighting I have recently become an alcohol fan,er, 91% isopropyl alcohol (have always been an ethanol fan in any concentration).Also, vis a vis the above posts, cooking indirect should largely solve the "hot spot" problem. 

Mickey

No hotspot problem

 

Shiff

Does anyone use the chimney type for normal charcoal and after lit add it to the existing charcoal in the egg

I used a chimney a few times.  It worked fine but was too much work and it got very hot so I had to handle it carefully and put it down somewhere to cool. Now that I use alcohol, a few quick squirts and I light it and wait till it comes up to temperature. Much quicker and safer.

MikeP624

I have found if i am doing a direct cook at 400+ by the time i get the egg stabilized that the majority of my lump is burning, so there is even heat everywhere.  Are you waiting long enough to put your food on?  I usually wait atleast 40 minutes, regarless if i am cooking at 250, or 700+.

If you are doing indirect it shouldn;t matter because the platesetter will distribute the heat.

 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

I have found if i am doing a direct cook at 400+ by the time i get the egg stabilized that the majority of my lump is burning, so there is even heat everywhere.  Are you waiting long enough to put your food on?  I usually wait atleast 40 minutes, regarless if i am cooking at 250, or 700+.

If you are doing indirect it shouldn;t matter because the platesetter will distribute the heat.

 

same here and agreed on direct vs indirect. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

No hotspot problem

 

I would think not!

Bear 007

My preferred method,

fishlessman

No hotspot problem

 

i putt the grill on first and clean it with the weedburner while the lump lights, your wasting an opportunity
)

Mickey

fishlessman I will jump on that idea. Thanks. It needs all the cleaning it can get.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

No hotspot problem

 

i putt the grill on first and clean it with the weedburner while the lump lights, your wasting an opportunity
)

good idea!