You know it's time to clean the grill

...when you find yourself daydreaming about grilling dinner. The weather is getting warmer (not that it really got that cold this winter to begin with) and my thoughts are returning to heading outside and firing up the grill. While most people out there have been grilling all winter on their gas/propane grills, I have been waiting for that outside ambient temperature to hit a constant 55 degrees Fahrenheit at night after all the kids are asleep and I can finally get to the business of grilling dinner. Why is outside temperature important you ask? I grill on a Weber One Touch Gold kettle grill which means that I utilize direct and indirect heat when grilling. When the inside temperature of the grill has to compete with the outside temperature, it is hard to maintain an even inside temperature without having to keep opening the lid (and lose all that heat) to add more charcoal.

I prefer to use charcoal because I can see and taste the difference with the food. Some say that it isn’t real BBQ unless you use charcoal. I can also say from experience that there are definite differences in what you can make and how you can make it when it comes to a propane grill. My advice is that when you grill with charcoal, it is important to avoid using lighter fluid to get your charcoal going. I personally recommend a chimney and leftover newspaper (my kind of recycling).

What kind of grill do you use?

If you use charcoal, how do you light it?