How to Start a Grill Fire

Whether entertaining friends or just gathering the family for dinner, grilling is a great way to cook a nutritious meal and save time on cleanup when it's over. You can grill meat with vegetables loaded on skewers for a one-dish meal or wrap your veggies separately in foil and cook alongside some ribs. No matter how you do it, you need to start with a well-built fire to ensure you get the coals you need for proper cooking.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Charcoal
• Newspaper
• Lighter Fluid
• Matches

1. Arrange a bed of charcoal briquettes on the bottom of your grill to form the base of what will become your pyramid style tower of charcoal. Don't bother with expensive charcoal that's been treated with an accelerator. Ordinary charcoal will do just fine.
2. Crumple up several sheets of newspaper and place on top of the layer of charcoal.
3. Place more charcoal on top of the newspaper so that the pile forms a pyramid shape. It should be about 8- to 10-inches high depending on how large a bed of coals you need.
4. Squirt a light layer of lighter fluid all over the charcoal. Then place the can of lighter fluid well away from the grill or you could wind up with a bigger fire than you bargained for.
5. Light a match and toss it onto the pyramid of charcoal. Be sure to stand back a safe distance as there will be a puff of flame as the lighter fluid ignites and starts the fire.
6. In about 15 minutes the fire will be gone and the coals will turn a white color. When they are glowing and mostly white, spread them out on the bottom of your grill and start cooking those ribs.