Come On Baby Light My Fire

Lately, I've been attempting to grill and smoke a little more naturally.  Now, it's not some hippie, epiphany that came to me or anything.  I think it's more of me wanting to get the best flavor possibly from my cooking, and attempting to save a few dollars in the process.  For starters, I have begun grilling with lump hardwood charcoal.  I will say, I'm definitely a believer now.  The flavor can't be beat, and it burns up nice and hot.  It's a little more expensive than you're run-of-the-mill charcoal, like Kingsford, but it's worth it to me.  One way to counter this extra cost, is to lose the lighter fluid.  Not only will you save money, but you also preserve the flavor and don't have to mess with that bitter, "gas" flavor that can sometimes transfer to your food.  Plus, I'm pretty certain it's not the best health decision to be inhaling those lighter fluid fumes.

You are probably thinking to yourself, "That's great and everything Monty, but this charcoal won't light itself on hopes and dreams".  Unless you are a mutant, or have super powers, this is accurate.  To light your charcoal, try making some fire starters!  They are cheap, easy to make, and can be made with only three ingredients.  Get yourself some egg cartons, dryer lint, and some candle wax.  Alright enough with the chit-chat, and onto the pictures.

First, save up an egg carton or two, and cut the top off.  Keep it in your laundry room, and every time you do the laundry, stuff the dryer lint into each of the holes.  Be sure to fill up each hole so that the lint overflows a little.  The lint will compress a bit when you pour on the wax.  

While you are accumulating your dryer lint, stop by your local craft store and pick up some canning/ candle making wax.  You can typically find boxes like this for like $6.50 or so. 

 

Once you have gathered enough dryer lint, you can begin the melting process.  If you have an aluminum can sitting around, this works pretty well.  But, if you have something that pours easily, that would work even better.  Begin by melting the wax one bar at a time.

Once it's completely melted, carefully pour the wax over each of the lint filled sections.  Here is where a heating vessel that pours well would be beneficial.  Looking back, some hot-pot holders would have worked a little better than holding a wrench awkwardly. 

Make sure to cover all the lint with wax.  It's OK if the wax ends up being applied a little heavy.  Let them cool until hard, and then cut them up into individual sections.  Just light a corner, and watch them burn!  These work great for starting a charcoal in a chimney starter, a fire place in the winter, or it works really well for a wood burning smoker too! :)  Enjoy, and get out there and grill!