/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>17795677
Checked. For the complete newbie, a few more points:

>charcoal
Artisanal lump charcoal is nice, but briquettes (e.g. Kingsford) were the suburban boomer choice for decades and are easier to use in a chimney starter due to uniform size. Speaking of which:

>lighting the fire
Lighter fluid is quick, easy and fun (fireball lol), but a lot of folks want to avoid scary chemicals (and looking at me, raised eating petrol burgers, I don't blame them). The alternative is a "chimney starter", pic related, but they can be finicky if it's windy, and if you use paper for kindling then they can spread ash around.

>cleaning
Call me a pussy, but those news stories about steel brushes turned me off them for life:

https://www.consumerreports.org/food-safety/wire-grill-brush-danger/

I use a softer alternative scrubber and citrus-based degreaser. If the grate really needs a cleaning, then I bring it inside to attack with a brillo pad followed by a thorough rinse.

>ash disposal
Do not dispose of ash, either inside or outside, until it has thoroughly cooled, like next-day cooled, or else mixed with water to be sure. (Ask me how I know.)

All of that said, charcoal is the GOAT. There's a reason that men don't stand around a propane appliance drinking beer and shooting the shit.