I tend to ignite my oiled newspaper I place under the chimney to get the
coals lit, then wait until I see flames coming out the top. Thren is when I
pour the coals out onto the lower grate to let them burn down. In this
case, I was using my smoker, which actually has three different grates
inside it. It's much like a barrel on a tripod sort of design. The coals
go on the bottom grate, then a bowl of water can go on the middle shelf,
then the food gets cooked up on top. I thought my flames were gone when I
put the food on the grate to cook, but when I went out to look a few minutes
later, there were a couple of flames still burning. I wonder if the wood
shavings caught fire and that's what was burning? Except I soaked the chips
a good hour before they went on the coals, and there was a whole lot of
smoke. The result in the end was incredibly-flavorful chicken, but the skin
wasn't quite as crispy as I'd have preferred. Not sure what I could have
done to make it more crispy. But I've got to figure out the right time to
put the food on to start cooking.
Jon
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rob" <captinlogic@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <blindcooks@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, June 12, 2017 9:00 PM
Subject: [blindcooks] Re: About lighting charcoal
That's right, if you're still hearing crackling flames, it's not quite ready
yet.
You want to get the coals on the grate shortly after you stop hearing the
crackling popping sound. The coals will be burned down a little bit, and you
can actually feel that. Use a long handled trowel or a specially designed
charcoal mover tool. Find the edge of your chimney with the end of your
implemenmt, then carefully lower it down. If your coals are about two inches
below the rim of your chimney, it's safe to pour them onto the grate and
spread in the needed distribution for your cook.
If you're using a kettle grill, and depending on the length of your cook,
have another chimney ready to go about 30 minutes later. Those kettles burn
fast.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jonathan Rawlings" <twosocks76@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Blind Cooks List" <blindcooks@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2017 16:53:33 -0700
Subject: [blindcooks] About lighting charcoal
