So you’re getting ready to fire up the old charcoal grill and discover your out of lighter fluid, so you Google “how to light charcoal without lighter fluid or chimney”. Like most sites we would first recommend the use of a charcoal chimney however, if your still using lighter fluid you don’t have one of those either. There is an easy solution Doritos, yes those Doritos and no I am not kidding.
Don’t have any Doritos handy? Here is our post on other alternatives to lighter fluid.
How to light charcoal without lighter fluid or chimney
Step 1: Lay a bed of charcoal briquettes flat on your lower grate. This is to keep the chips from falling through the grill grates. This step is essential for lighting your charcoal without lighter fluid or a chimney so proceed with caution More coals for a bigger fire less for a smaller one. About 8 briquettes are the minimum for this.
Step 2: Place two handfuls of Doritos onto the charcoal bed you just made.
Step 3: Gently place more briquettes onto and around the chips. Try to avoid breaking the chips. Full size chips will burn longer especially when laying on top of one another. Leave the corners of 2 or 3 chips sticking out of your charcoal pile.
Watch our youtube video on: How to light charcoal without lighter fluid or chimney
Step 4: Light the Doritos that you left sticking out. Once they have begun burning watch them for the first minute or so. They will stay lit after that unless you have high winds.
Step 5: Wait. In about 20 minutes the chips will be burnt and your charcoal will be lit At this point you may add more coals and/or stir them. It will take another 15 minutes or so for the charcoal to get fully hot but it does work VERY WELL.
Mike
aka Sultan of Sizzle
I have been blogging about and selling grilling tool for over 12 years. A Certified Food Safety Professional, KCBS member, award winning writer and have over 10 years experience in the food service industry.
“I have experienced some of the best food this country has to offer and nothing is better than the food that comes off my own grill!”
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Great post I never would have thought of this. Tried it out and it worked great.
Thank you Mike 💯this little Italian lady loves to BBQ while the homemade gnocchi is resting 😁cheers bello 🙌🏼🍻☺️
Another great option is fatwood. You can usually get it a the local hardware or grocery store. It’s all natural and lights up really fast.
Hey thanks a lot Mike I used it tonight at work well, at first I was wondering but it works good !!!!