Anyone who likes the flavor of wood chips when they grill will want to pay attention to this. I too love the flavor and learned how to make my own charcoal out of the wood I have around the yard. I did not realize that charcoal was just the remains of burnt wood when the impurities are burned away.

I had always thought that it was impossible to burn wood without allot of oxygen but it turns out not to be true. In fact if you burn a log in a low oxygen environment you will be left with a clean burning form of charcoal. During this process the water contained in the wood will burn away. Then the tar and other volatile oils that disturb the taste of the food will disappear. There are so many impurities that will filter off during the burn that you will actually remove about 70% of wood’s weight leaving behind a great burning fuel for your favorite grilled delights.

Have you ever seen the burnt remains of a campfire? Those burnt black logs like very similar to charcoal don’t they? If you imagine yourself breaking up the wood into chunks you will basically be making your own charcoal. However, unlike the the coals we buy in stores, these won’t be loaded with lighter fluid and other fillers to get them to light. These will light quickly and burn much cleaner than most popular brands.

Briquettes are not naturally occurring. In fact, Henry Ford is actually credited with inventing the first. It makes sense considering they are filled with various petroleum products. Briquettes are compiled of all sorts of fillers and if you can avoid using them and stick to some nice homemade coals you will be better off.

There are several ways to light your coals and some are more healthy than others. I do not like to squirt lighter fluid on my grill and prefer to light my charcoal away from the barbeque. I use an old fashioned chimney starter lit with newspaper to get my coals started. When they are ashy all the way through I carefully dump them into the grill and then throw a fresh layer of unlit coals on top of them. I have no idea if this is the best way to do it but it is something I learned from my father and have always enjoyed doing.

Another little trick I’ve discovered to make getting the coals burning a lot easier. I bought the grill glove so I can get rid of all my accessories and handle the coals, and food directly. The grill glove is a 100% food grade silicone heat resistant grilling glove that allows you to pick up or turn your food right on the grill. If you reach onto the coals wearing the grill glove you will not get burned and it doesn’t get crusty and charred like regular oven mitts. It is definitely an accessory worth looking into.

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