Buy good-quality charcoal
Always try and buy good-quality charcoal – look at your supermarket or barbecue stores for charcoal made from coppiced wood or Forestry Commission-approved wood. This charcoal lights easily, burns better and won’t taint the flavour of the food, unlike those containing accelerants.
Use a charcoal chimney or stack
A charcoal chimney is a metal cylinder with a grate at the bottom, holes in the side, and a handle on the side which means you can light charcoal easily with a few sheets of newspaper – the coals will catch and start glowing quickly and easily. A chimney also protects the coals (and you) on a windy day. Once the coals are ready, you can safely and easily tip them into the barbecue.
If you don’t have a chimney, arrange your charcoal in a stack in the barbecue or pit. Then push balls of newspaper or natural firelighters (such as wood shavings) between the charcoals. Light the paper and firelighters, and allow the flames to catch and get going in their own time. Then, let them die down again – all you’re going to achieve with flames is burnt food. You need ashen coals to cook on.
When a few coals have
