Why I stopped letting charcoal get white hot

We all make mistakes and using a charcoal chimney can be a bit of a learning curve and getting the timing right for dumping your lit charcoal takes some practice and experimentation.
In this video, I delve into the age-old question: when is the optimal time to dump your coals out of a charcoal chimney? Many grilling enthusiasts swear by waiting until all the coals are ashed over, but is that really the best approach?
Equipment I used to make this video:
Weber Kettle: amzn.to/49KzqSu
Chimney: amzn.to/44IGJsT
Good Camera: amzn.to/3U82mOe
Better Camera: amzn.to/3w1WcYb
Microphone: amzn.to/44cKkPO
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

[@RonOnTheGrill]

Facts! I have NEVER waited until all the coals at the top are ashed over. You will have almost spent all the coals at the bottom. As soon as it stops smoking and you see those flames it's go time.

[@JBSmoke1]

Totally agree. I'll let the lit coals get to about 2/3 of the way up the chimney then I'll dump them. If you wait until all the coals are ashed over, you're just wasting fuel and time.

[@SonicBoomC98]

That's what I do now. I used to always be unsure about when to flip my coal. I found that the coal was too ablaze for too long when I let to go longer also

[@marcmcguckian751]

Plus you can use the 5 mins as the grill preheating time

[@nategibbons172]

That is true with low quality charcoal.

[@RandomPersonOnTheInternet1234]

you know! I dont have a chimney starter but the same thing is what Ive learned! I would wait till my pile of charcoal was ashed over and when I finally started the bottom were little pieces and It kept going out so fast...

[@1uP-v2]

I found by time the top charcoal ash over, the bottom ones are almost gone.

[@michaelmurray5578]

I couldn’t agree more. As soon as you have clean smoke in the chimney and you see some flames starting to show it’s time. Also when I dump I distribute the barely lit coals evenly. By the time the grills finished preheating you are good to go👍🏻

[@GrillTopExperience]

Couldn't agree more.

[@Damon1023]

If saving time is your goal, use your leaf blower at the lowest setting to increase the airflow to the chimney and it will cut your wait time exponentially.

[@mikescollard6499]

A hair dryer works too.

[@Alp577]

Portable fan also helps.

[@joshbaker1639]

Once the flames start to hit the top pieces of the chimney, I dump in the slow and sear. Hot coals end up on top and they eventually get the rest. By the time I dial in the vents to my desired temp the white smoke is done and we are ready to grill.

[@GrillTopExperience]

Easing into your temp is the way to go! You are totally right, getting the hot fully lit coals up high does the most good and they are on the bottom and come out last.

[@willgaither2478]

Agtree

[@sugar_peas]

I actually never heard of waiting until it was ashes over. I always just waited until there is no more white smoke coming out of the chimney, which is about 15 minutes. Glad I've been doing it right the whole time 👍

[@tylerwestman5258]

Then you’ve never smoked meat

[@jonathankidwell6889]

I bet this is marketing from Kingsford. Like when the shampoo companies put repeat on their bottles.

[@tebill8248]

Its literally right on the bag

[@gleichg]

I have a small Smokey Joe. So I only use 1/2 a chimney. When I can see glowing orange on the bottom briquettes and flames licking up the side of the chimney I dump. Its really close to what you're doing.

[@djtruedomination]

I use a chimney starter. I generally start cooking when I start seeing the top coals become white, but not completely white.

[@donaldales7739]

When you grill out in the winter months in the mid west, I always wait and let them all ash up. Plus I use royal oak charcoal chunks for the most optimal heat. Damm right, I have steaks on the grill in a snow storm.....

[@tellygang_red]

Now that's real Midwest life! 🫵💯

[@Aphotic_Ktulu]

I recently got a chimney and started using it. I would wait until the top was ashed over but would notice my coals would burn out sooner. Essentially because I used some of it's cook time to wait until the top is ashy. Was going to start pulling it earlier and this just reaffirms my thinking! Thanks for the video!

[@thomasstambaugh5181]

My empirical wisdom after 25+ years with the same Weber 22" Weber grill is that: 1. In order to get ANY fuel -- briquettes, lump, or mixed charcoal and hardwood chunks -- to burn properly, you MUST have a can or bottle Lawn Mower Swill in hand (PBR our Miller, never Bud, and a long-neck bottle is best). 2. The fuel in the chimney is ready when you finish the beer. On hot days when I'm thirsty, it goes a little faster than cool rainy days. I like and usually use Kingsford "standard" briquettes. I use the paraffin cubes like you show. I usually add a few hardwood chunks to the grill (for flavor) after pouring coals. I prefer rails to baskets -- they're more versatile.

[@joecenturion]

Instead of paraffin cubes I use the paper bag the charcoal came in.....no waste and you paid for the bag so may as well use it.

[@karlrovey]

​@joecenturion I've never had success using the charcoal bag as the starter. I tried the tumbleweed starters for the first time the other day and found the coals were ready faster with far less smoke compared to using any type of paper.

[@thomasstambaugh5181]

@joeceturion, @karlrovey: For anyone who gets more than one cook from a bag (I usually get 4-5), using the bag isn't even an option. The bag is hard to light (I've tried it) and doesn't burn nearly as hot as paraffin The result is a very unreliable method. In addition to being very hard to light, the bag is loaded with ink and other chemicals. To the extent that anyone is concerned about chemicals being transferred to the charcoal or food, then nearly all paper is worse than the Weber paraffin cubes. Even brand new newsprint is usually made from recycled paper -- which means there is no way to even know what chemicals and toxins it contains. Perhaps brand new copy-quality plain white paper could be used, but even that nearly always contains chemical brighteners. The notion that starting a chimney with paper is cleaner or safer than paraffin is a woefully incorrect urban myth. The Royal Oak tumbleweed starters (the only brand I investigated) also have wax (probably paraffin). They strike me as comparable to the Weber cubes. Purists with access to wooded property could probably use the same sort of kindling that primitive campers use -- tiny twigs, birch bark, and so on. Not dry leaves, by the way -- lots of smoke and very little heat. An option that I've never tried but that at least sounds like fun is a butane or propane torch applied directly to the bottom layer of charcoal through the openings in the chimney. As a scientist and engineer, I'm very confident none of these choices makes any measurable difference to the ultimate fire (so long as we're not talking about "matchlight" charcoal). The paraffin cubes light easily and burn completely because the petroleum distillates they contain are VERY volatile. That means they're long gone by the time the food goes on the grill. The same is also true for lighter fluid, but that's a whole other thing. For newcomers to chimney starters, paraffin cubes (or perhaps Tumbleweed Starters) are far and away the easiest option. They light every time, it's easy to see and confirm that they're burning before you put the chimney on them, and they reliably start the charcoal in the chimney every time. FWIW, I always use 2 and I've never had a failure in years of use.

[@karlrovey]

@@thomasstambaugh5181 I definitely agree with you. I tried the tumbleweeds because that's what the local hardware store has. If I get some paraffin wax, I could probably make some of my own (I've got a lot of suitable wood shavings from "noodling" firewood).

[@davidpaylor5666]

Excellent vid, very scientific. I'm a lumpwood man myself but I do use a starter chimney and dump it out as soon as the thick smoke starts to drop off, not when it's completely gone but when I can see it's starting to settle down. That way all the dust and stuff has a minute or two to settle and for the kettle to warm up before I start to load in the goodies . If you can see visible ash on the top of the coals before you dump it out you're just wasting fuel.

[@adb888]

Yeah, I stopped doing this years ago for several reasons, but the main reason was that the completely ashed-over charcoal didn't burn as long. However, I also don't use briquettes - only lump charcoal, which typically burns hotter and cleaner than briquettes.

[@davidpaylor5666]

Agreed. Lumpwood all the way. I think it gives a cleaner flavour.

[@JohnSmith-oe5kx]

It just depends on the quality of your briquettes. I use only additive-free hardwood briquettes with 5% vegetable starch binder. Easier and cleaner to handle than lump, ready quicker. I only use lump for slow cooks now

[@AnontheGOAT]

Awesome, I’ve always waited for the top ones to get white before dumping them out of the chimney. Takes forever. Now with your demonstration, I don’t have to do this. Thanks.

[@GrillTopExperience]

See how it goes! You should get longer cook times out of it.

[@BrianF.1969]

When I first started I used to wait for the charcoal to be mostly ashed over. I now do as you do and as long as they all appear to be partially lit, I pour them in the kettle baskets.

[@Deontjie]

I can smell that stinky charcoal bricketts all the way to my house.

[@Acts2-38]

Usually by the time that I'm starting to cook, I'm already starving and I cannot wait until all of those briquettes are lit completely. I figured that they will catch on as I pour them in, and so it's usually just half of them that are totally lit. I have waited once or twice for it to go all the way up and be completely ashed over but it did seem like a waste to me. I've never had any trouble really just letting it get mostly lit and feeling extremely hot. Everything cooked well and I think it lasted a lot longer for me.

[@taccosnachos]

Great tips! Nice lawn!

[@GrillTopExperience]

We've gotten a lot of rain lately. It'll be hot soon enough and it won't look as good, but I'll enjoy it while I can!

[@lilpd24]

This mans lawn is superb!

[@chriswalters1228]

Yes your right. I always dump the charcoal when the top ones in the chimney are just barley catching. My logic is if I wait till there all white then the bottom ones will be partially gassed out and therefore less cooking time.

[@drinkthekoolaidkids]

Exactly

[@SaenzEntertainment]

Can we talk about your lawn? Wow! 👍🏼

[@GrillTopExperience]

Thanks! The LawnCareNut was a huge help, but the heat will soon turn it back to brown.

[@fernandovillagomez6382]

i agree w everyone saying the coals on the bottom would be done, so a good middle ground works for me. i try and arrange my fuel once i dump it in to where to the unlit coals are underneath and optimal for the type of grilling. cheers everyone

[@bigtaree]

Good job, had a feeling it was a waste of time. Especially since the charcoals at the bottom would burn up before getting used. I'll start by going 2/3 ashed from now on.

[@pressgurkan]

Bro, you know your stuff!

[@timcastle165]

I stopped using briquette charcoal because my wife would start feeling ill after cooking our meal with it, but she felt fine after I changed over to lump charcoal. We determined that the difference between the two charcoals had to be the binding agent used in the briquette style charcoal. After switching I found that lump charcoal lights off faster and hotter.

[@vinquinn]

It is much better but it tends to burn up the fire grate pretty quickly. It also falls through.

[@BjørjaBear]

Lump is the way to go

[@BjørjaBear]

@@vinquinn If you use quality lump, the pieces will be bigger than briquettes normally.

[@charlesc4925]

@@BjørjaBearWhat if you doing a low and slow like pulled pork or brisket? 🤔

[@BjørjaBear]

@@charlesc4925 It is not a problem. If you have very good quality lump, it will be big pieces. You just restrict airflow, and that will burn for a long time. Poor quality is a different matter, then the lump is almost like chips, and that is not fit for anything but burgers and hotdogs.

[@ironman44320]

Depending on the cook ill wait until the my starter cube of tumbleweed has burned up, otherwise once I get clean smoke I start cooking

[@ccsmooth55]

Yep! If you wait until theyre all ashy you lose a lot of cooking time. I dump as soon as I see clean flames coming out the top of the chimney.

[@whotube5187]

I just started lighting it in my slow n’ sear with some tumbleweeds. Once the coals around the tumbleweeds get going, you can just stir the charcoal around and it will all light pretty evenly

[@jkim3323]

I stopped getting it to white hot as well. I saw everyone talk about it but didnt care to do so. - It takes too long - Temperature seems too hot - Just too lazy to wait for all to get white hot - Once white, it crumbles too easily - Nowadays i just pour them in once the top gets a hint of fire on it. Works perfect!

[@JonathanIsrael708]

There's been an obsession with cooking things as hot as possible. People complain when they can't get their vortex over 600°F.

[@schlomoshekelstein908]

also if you fill the chimney up and wait for everything to turn white before you pour it out you'll have half a chimney of coals lol. now you have to add black briquettes anyways to finish your cook

[@limitedassurance]

I recently had been trying to wait until the top briquettes were white because I remembered hearing that and just couldn't do it. There was a roaring fire and clean smoke, so I just went with it like always. I'm able to get a second full-length, full temp cook out of most fresh batches of charcoal when doing it that way or will supplement with a few new briquettes. Much more economical.

[@wdtaut5650]

In my (limited) experience, 5 - 7 minutes gets all the charcoal in the chimney lit well enough for cooking. Waiting for all of it to turn white significantly reduces the amount of charcoal that goes into the grill, thus reducing the amount of cooking time available, requiring the charcoal to be recharged, that is, another chimney of charcoal.

[@JohannGambolputty22]

Never heard of “ashed over” My coals are ready when the white smoke is gone and I have a flame on top. Top coals only have small ash spots by then but still 99.5% black. Good job dispelling what appears to be a stupid bbq myth and boy are there many.

[@nategibbons172]

That is why the higher quality stuff is worth the money. BnB burns longer because the "drop" when fully lit is very minimal. Kingsford, has a lot of "drop" so you are wasting more. That is why I found that I get more cook time with less BnB vs Kingsford, so the cost is actually the same if not less for the BnB.

[@rbrianharris]

I give the chimney a little shake after 5-8 minutes. You can flip the cold coals lower.

[@_DB.COOPER]

When I grill I’m not so concerned about speed, a few beers while doing it makes it enjoyable.

[@Roger__Wilco]

Glad to see you're still enjoying your retirement, should have asked for more ransom money though :D

[@brianemrick7232]

I let it get to the point of flames out the top of the chimney then dump into my Weber charcoal baskets. The unlit coals will be under the fully lit coals and in 5 minutes good to cook. Your bottom coals are dust if you wait for the top coals to ash over.

[@luvyesmusici4886]

Different charcoal obviously burns at different rates. I either use the Slow n Sear or a Vortex most of the time. I think dumping in/rotating from top to bottom works best when using a chimney. If you don’t watch and you use the competition style charcoal, your charcoal has already burned down about a third faster than regular charcoal. Not a big deal for faster cooks, but slower cooks require more fuel, time, effort and cost. A little smoke isn’t going to kill you ghat much faster than getting everything clean, esp. if you are going to use some wood chunks to smoke with.

[@gamekingkiler]

I like the taste of what I'm grilling better when it's fully lit.

[@UnkleAL1962]

usually 15 minutes is all it takes - when there's no smoke and you can see red in the middle holes its time to go. I've recently experimented with homemade starters smearing vaseline between 2 cotton round makeup pads and it works seemingly faster than my all time favorite tumbleweeds, but even cheaper and fun to make. I make up a crap load and store them in an old Folgers coffee container.

[@stragulus]

I don't use a chimney because of all the initial smoke, but instead light the briquettes with a heat gun for about 4 minutes. Then wait about 10 more minutes to get a nice even red glow across all the briquettes in a nice pile before spreading them out a bit more (depending on the type of grilling). I really only do this because it smokes significantly less even though it's a small amount of extra effort. But since you mention that it's better to 'burn off the smoke' first to avoid getting that early (dirty?) smoke on your food, I wonder if that is an issue? It seems to burn clean once I start grilling though.

[@kennyc587]

Waiting for them to all ash is like burning money. You're paying for that heat might as well use it

[@PhysioDetective]

Agreed. I let it get close but never fully Ashed over. It really depends on what you are trying to do.

[@RobFerrellDrumStudio]

Another great video Ryan!🔥

[@GrillTopExperience]

Thanks again for all of the support!

[@HootOwl513]

Interesting test. I have a couple of things I do, and I'm not gonna change. I never use lighter fluid or those white cubes. Three balled up sheets of newspaper is enough unless it's monsoon season. [The color supermarket weekly flyer ads burn best.] It always takes the time to drink one beer, before the chimney coals are flaming. I use about 13 Kingsford briquets on the bottom for a positive light [No Black Magic here, just enough to cover the bottom holes.]. The next layer in the chimney is a few inches of partially-burned Mesquite chunks. [In the days of Steam Trains, pre-burned coal was called Coke -- predates the cola drink.] The last half is topped with new mesquite charcoal lumps. An alternate is to cut down season-aged mesquite branches [1 - 2'' D.] with a 20 volt circular saw and get some 2 - 3 inch pieces. [These can be recycled on another cook if not fully consumed.] When my first beer's gone and flames of 9 to 12 inches are leaping out of the chimney, I put on welders gloves and tip the coals into my grill. I let them settle for a few minutes, then brush last weeks grease off the rods with a Grill Daddy -- steam action. Time to cook.

[@anthonyhitchings1051]

which is why we mostly use our gas BBQ (even though we have 3 briquette style Weber bbqs)

[@michaelcribb7205]

I use briquettes very rarely i prefer to use lump charcoal it gets hotter and gives a better flavor in my opinion 🤷

[@mclifer]

I concur.

[@williampalchak7574]

Cooked over wood and multiple charcoal types for decades. The equipment and fuels have become nearly cost prohibitive. We now support some of the great local BBQ joints and spend more time playing with the grandkids.

[@brianzachary5618]

I use wood on offset bbq and sometimes cook on the gas grill. When my grandkids come over, I get them involved in cooking. That is one way we spend time together.

[@williampalchak7574]

@@brianzachary5618 agree. Ours are a little too young yet.

[@mrallan8063]

Yeah, I'm cheap... i never wait till is ashes over, as half the coals at the bottom have burned off. I typically wait till i see flames coming out of the cylinder, and pour it out. I may use a coal rake to even out and mix unburnt coals with lit coals. You provided a good tip here... as briquettes aren't as cheap anymore.

[@jerryquezada625]

I can swear the same thing, I would go through more on the fuel when leaving them ash over. Easily I would go almost a whole bag.

[@terrybanks3061]

Thanks, I appreciate the insight.

[@ViewTalay]

Great upload, I normally leave it around 15 mins and dump in the slow n sear

[@wardwoodruff3939]

I agree. I let my starting chimney stop smoking. Then drop the coals in my Weber.

[@Metal_Auditor]

I usually just wait until the smoke clears up.

[@hrfrspires]

What do you do to that small sized charcoal at the bottom of the bag? Most of the time it represents about 1/3 of the weight we buy for. It also slows the hell down the time to light the charcoal...

[@jpart3526]

Maybe you should consider only using lump charcoal instead of briquettes, which are natural and have no fillers. Then do this test all over again.

[@svlotoy]

Interested in your video to find out about this and 13 sec in a damn ad. UGH. Great video btw!

[@johns098]

Can you do a test on how well the Weber rails compare to baskets and SNS?

[@EricPetersen2922]

You are spot on! Great information

[@paulmason614]

Great video. Comparing side by side like that is something a regular person just can't do. Those unused charcoals, do you plan on relighting them?

[@GrillTopExperience]

Yes, I reuse charcoal all the time. No sense in wasting it. I did a side by side test with old and new charcoal and old charcoal had an added benefit I didn't think of: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eKS4Z2ltqr9riZI

[@jokeaaaa]

I never use brickets, always lumpwood, big difference I feel.

[@jeffcanto]

If you can’t control temps with lump it’s user error.

[@Todd.T]

You are using charcoal briquettes, which is confusing to me because charcoal means lump to me. Anyway there is a lot of smoke when I use briquettes and just fire them up. The smoke is not tasty and I wait untii it is gone. When I use lump charcoal, I don't have that problem and I can put the meat on sooner and it makes a nice charcoal flavor as it slowly combusts. I have stayed away from using lump because I found it burned too fast and was using briquettes mixed with lump for longevity and flavor. I am using the firebox in my offset for grilling, which has a grate. A few days back, I removed the grate and put the charcoal right on the bottom of the firebox. This had significantly longer burn time and it burned at a lower temperature. I used much less lump charcoal, so I guess I could have added some more for more heat. I also could have played with the vents and closed the lid of the firebox. Anyway, so now I am excited to run the offset on lump charcoal without the grate to see what ribs come out like because I can get a reasonable run time instead of burning half a bag.

[@BjørjaBear]

If you use lump, you'll have less "impurities" as there are no binders etc. I agree with the core of this video though, no need to wait till all is white.

[@terencem8795]

Lump hardwood is the best. Period.

[@jkim3323]

Few things to mention - All the elitest in the chat saying Briquets is not Charcoal when almost every Brisquet manufacturer calls it as 'Charcoal Briquets'. - Most ordinary people who just grill once in a while or have no idea about BBQ call briquets as Charcoal. My wife and all my 'ordinray' friends will say 'Lets buy more charcoal', 'I need more charcoal'. They won't they 'Lets go buy some briquets' - Oxford Dictionary: 'Charcoal': a porous black solid, consisting of an amorphous form of carbon, obtained as a residue when wood, bone, or other organic matter is heated in the absence of air. - According to Oxford Charcoal is a more wide term. Charcoal is simply a form of carbon. Briquets, lump charcoal are all charcoal

[@wardwoodruff3939]

I agree with using lump Throw some apple wood on there. Oh yea

[@SimRacingVeteran]

Try some pecan wood. 👌

[@dezrider27]

Does anyone know why I would feel sick cooking with b&b

[@scotthares]

Your briquettes are ready when the billowing smoke stops to a trickle or less - that means your fire is healthy

[@marcinman9693]

No starter cubes. I save a cup of bacon grease in the freezer and put a small chunk in a piece of paper folded like a square and put it in with the crumpled paper as usual. The grease helps the fire burn longer to start your coals better.

[@nategibbons172]

Dude, the weber cubes are like $5 for 24. It makes things so much easier to just grab a cube.

[@rogue109]

Yeah, I agree, is a waste to get your charcoal in a chimney fully asked over. I've always just let it go until the smoke stopped and it was burning clean. Besides, when you pour it out, you are putting the less burned coals onto the bottom with the hot coals on top and it just makes for a longer burning fire.

[@samuelhowie4543]

I generally set up the grill with a hot side/cool side and will usually start dumping the coals in the middle then pour most on the hot side. That way I can put the coals that aren't based over on top of the ones that are.

[@Amart1724]

I usually just wait till the white smoke stops then I dump my charcoal and get cooking

[@medano]

I started realizing this trick shortly after using a charcoal grill. Now, I don’t even bother with a chimney.

[@RonOnTheGrill]

I like my chimney man! It's like a bit "charcoal measuring cup", lol! A few years ago you never could have told me I could light a charcoal and never get my hands dirty, lol!

[@AntLive29]

good info

[@chinbusy6336]

Thank you kindly...!

[@userperson5259]

Super helpful.. thanks!

[@user-vv7du2qf3t]

Why don't you just pick up the chimney and give the charcoal a shake to rotate the coals around so that they all light up evenly???

[@mikemccabe8015]

Unless you want a shower of sparks hitting your face and the rest of your body, I would recommend not doing this

[@danielploy9143]

Rob Halford from the band Judas Priest has a song named White heat red hot.🤘🏻🤘🏻

[@AzTurboMini]

My first Judas Priest concert was June 6th 1980 in Midland Texas. Good times! ✌️

[@danielploy9143]

@@AzTurboMini yep, mine in Houston. Heavy metal will survive, wimpy music must die. My motto anyways🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻

[@johnpnj]

I agree!

[@chrisc5537]

It depends on your purpose, right? If I’m doing an 8hr low and slow smoke with the slow n sear, then I’m just getting a portion of the coals “white hot” and then going from there. But if I’m grilling fajita steaks and just need 10-15 min of med-high heat, then I’m getting the whole batch white hot…albeit a smaller batch. But I think your point is that in the latter scenario (fajita steaks), I still don’t have to wait on the whole batch to get white? Makes sense. Thanks!

[@Roger__Wilco]

When you want a quick high heat briquettes are the wrong fuel for the job anyway, get yourself some lump charcoal!

[@williamjames4380]

So what happens with charcoal or briquettes when you need to add more to a grill for long cooking times or using the snake method?

[@thomasstambaugh5181]

You just add them to the grill. Most Weber grates now have a section by each handle that lifts up for easy access.

[@nickma71]

I stop because it makes the grill too hot. That only took about two tries to learn that.

[@426superbee4]

Also by letting burn to while. Your loosing all the charcoal SMOKE AS WELL,, Like burning wood until its white hot. Loosing a lot of flavor, as well as cooking. cause you can shut it down and save the wood for another cook as well

[@nategibbons172]

You want flavor? use a small chunk of wood

[@426superbee4]

@@nategibbons172 That seem to work well to, but not always. Large pieces can burn, and be put out, to use again👉👉It all depend on? If it cure out or GREEN? I like Green wood. That seem to be where the smoke flavor come from the best. Dried cured out wood, seems to have LESS FLAVOR, and burn hotter than green wood. with less smoke

[@nategibbons172]

@@426superbee4 you don’t use green wood to smoke. Buy a bag of wood chunks apple, pecan, hickory. whatever you want and throw a chunk on the coals when grilling

[@Edward135i]

I wait until I can see red coals at the top of the 3 vent holes on the side of a Webber charcoal chimney.

[@Siloguy]

I see recommendations to let the coals ash over then posting slow cooks with most of the coals unlit.

[@GrillTopExperience]

That's a little different process. They call that the minion method where a few coals light the other ones. That gets a good hot fire, but keeps you cooking low and slow.

[@sodman4874]

Anybody who doesn't know this shouldn't be cooking with charcoal or grilling in the first place.

[@howardshowered]

Has the app for the spider venom gotten better? I actually returned mine because the app would not work and I was getting a probe error for the grill grate probe.

[@GrillTopExperience]

I haven't had any probe errors and I got one of the original Venoms. The Venom keeps going along, but I end up closing and opening the app to stay connected on a long cook. I mentioned that in the will it survive a rainstorm video and thought the venom was toast, but it was just the app.

[@harrybarker1408]

good vid dood!!!

[@MrMegaFredZeppelin]

Thank you for this👍🏻ROCK ON!!!!!!!🤘🏻🤙🏻✌🏻

[@troytroy3066]

This was like charcoal algerbra!! Man just que that s___!!! 😂

[@gacj2010]

Great....info...great

[@danielsimpson8929]

If you dont want the taste of the binding polymer from your partially lit method... use lump charcoal not charcoal briquettes. Also real charcoal is more reusable.

[@bravestarr1797]

Just stir the coal with a poker to get the tops as well

[@sen-sai1342]

you talk about charcoal, but use brickets.. that is a big difference! And even so.. it depends on what you are cooking. Brickets and a chimney, then white hot is a solid method.

[@ELEVOPR]

I light and dump my charcoal when i want to Mr 😡 😂

[@AmericanConstellation]

Don't use lighter fluid or charcoal with chemicals in it.

[@MrMojabo]

That's why I quit using the chimney. I went back to lighter fluid. And I have no problems.

[@danhughesartist]

Did he use a marshmallow to light his charcoal?

[@mdmoore1984]

i do the same because if you wait too long the charcoal at the bottom will be mostly ash and useless

[@elmin2323]

Exactly what I was about to try perfect I normally cool steak so I run them to fully white such a waste!

[@GrillTopExperience]

For searing, I've noticed that they'll be plenty hot by the time I grab the steaks and put the grates on. You might have to wait a couple of minutes, but that's better than overdoing it in the chimney.

[@susangla]

I stopped using the chimney as it unevenly lights the coals. Also, the initial smoke wafts over to my neighbors, and that's rude. BTW, using newspaper is not better than starter fluid. Newsprint contains ink and chemicals that are not regulated like lighter fluid.

[@jsj31313jj]

If you don't rise to the occasion, you fall to the level of your training... 😊