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Whichever method you choose, allow the wood fire to burn down to a bed of brightly glowing embers before cooking over them. If the embers start to lose their heat, add more wood to the fire. For fireplace and campfire cooking, it helps to create two areas of the fire—a refueling area at the back or side and a cooking area at the front or other side. Add fresh wood to the refueling area and rake hot coals into the cooking area to create a level bed of embers.

02. Starting a Charcoal Fire

Charcoal is wood that’s already been burned. It may come in the form of briquettes or lump charcoal (see page 25 for more on each type). The easiest way to light charcoal is to stack it up so that oxygen can quickly and easily travel upward through the coals. You can also use lighter fluid or another petroleum distillate, but most grilling aficionados avoid lighter fluid, claiming that it gives food a petroleum aftertaste. The truth is that once lighter fluid has burned off and the coals are glowing orange-red, there is no petroleum left. That is, unless you happen to squirt some lighter fluid onto the side of the grill, where it will very slowly emit petroleum fumes that can become infused in your food. If you choose to quick-start a fire with lighter fluid (which may be the easiest way if you’re facing a huge mound of coals to light for a sizable grill), just be sure to squirt only the coals and let them burn to a glowing orange before you start cooking over them.

To ignite charcoal without petroleum, you have three basic options: Stack the coals in a pyramid, use a chimney starter, or use an electric starter. A pyramid of charcoal takes 30 to 40 minutes to burn down to a red-orange glow worthy of cooking over. Using an elevated fire grate and layering the pyramid with sheets of newspaper helps somewhat. But a chimney starter (our favorite method) cuts lighting time nearly in half because it increases the oxygen flow to the coals. The coals also light more evenly than with the pyramid method, and you don’t need lighter fluid. Chimney starters look like large, tall coffee cans with a divider near the bottom, holes on the sides, and a handle. See the next section for instructions on how to use one. If using an electric starter, insert the metal loop of the starter into the bottom of a pyramid of coals, then plug in the starter (use an extension cord if necessary). The hot metal ignites the coals and they, in turn, ignite each other. Remove the starter when it is surrounded by glowing orange coals. The pyramid of coals should be ready for cooking in 30 to 40 minutes.

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LIGHTING COALS IN A CHIMNEY STARTER

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Crumple up two or three sheets of newspaper and stuff them into the bottom (smaller compartment) of the chimney starter. Avoid packing in any more newspaper. Too much paper will restrict the oxygen flow and slow down the lighting. Instead of paper, you could use another fire starter such as paraffin starter cubes (see “Fire Starters” on page 27 for more options). In that case, set the fire starter on cleared ground or beneath an elevated fire grate.

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Set the newspaper-stuffed chimney starter on cleared ground or on a fire grate such as the one in the typical kettle grill. Fill the top of the starter with charcoal and light the paper (or your fire starter) with a match or other flame. Depending upon the design of your chimney starter, it may help to tilt it so you can light the paper from the bottom.

Oxygen will flow upward through the tall column of coals, igniting them quickly and evenly. Let the coals burn in the starter until they are glowing orange. If the weather is cold or the charcoals seem stubborn, you can stuff one or two more pieces of paper into the bottom of the starter after the first pieces have burned up. Once the coals are glowing, grab the handle of the starter (wear grill gloves) and invert the hot coals into your grill. For direct grilling