Why get your meat covered in nasty-tasting lighter fluid before eating when you can avoid using it all together. Any serious competition smoker will tell you that a chimney starter is a cheap, yet often times priceless, piece of cooking equipment. It also saves you loads of money from not having to buy expensive lighter fluid.

A chimney starter, also called a charcoal chimney, is a device used to heat charcoal. They are usually around 8-10 inches in diameter and around 12-18 inches tall. Large holes that are placed around the circumference of the chimney allows air to flow up underneath the charcoal and keeps your charcoal from spreading out too far, thus making it really easy to start. At the bottom section of the chimney there is a grate which is used to hold the charcoal above your starting material (I recommend using newspaper). Once your starting material is lit your coals will be going in no time.

Another great feature to the charcoal chimney is it's flexibility in everyday cooking use. Say for example you have been smoking meats all day and come to find you are running low on charcoal. You are doing a low and slow method on your favorite cut, but you just don't think the charcoal is going to last. To avoid letting heating temperature drop, use a charcoal chimney to get your coals going before you throw them into the cooker. This way they are already heated and will not absorb heat from the existing coals when they are trying to get lit themselves. Temperature variation in backyard cooking is the quickest way to find yourself.... well... not finishing your BBQ perfectly!

Keep on smokin'

JoeDon