(Stock photo of charcoal found on the Internet)
So there we were….at a summer house warming party. Nothing to out of the ordinary; coolers full of ice and drinks, people walking about, tables all set out with various food stuffs and a grill that seemed to be already manned; or so I thought!
As man rules dictate you go to the grill and make small talk with the man at the helm. You do not bogart, you do not give advice and you definitely do not touch…..unless it is painfully obvious the man with the Scepter of the Grill does not command the power.
As I watched him try to light the charcoal I could see that if I did not try to respectfully try and help out our food was going to taste like lighter fluid. He graciously admitted he had no idea what he was doing and even apologized for handing off the grilling to me. For me it was not an issue, I actually like doing this.
I have made many mistakes using charcoal so I would not boast to being an expert but I do know a thing or two. I did not see a charcoal chimney so I just used the grill itself to get them going. Step one: put all the charcoal in a pile in the center on the bottom grate. Step two: add lighter fluid and light. Step three: keep the flames going until almost all of the coals are white. Step four: spread the coals out, put the top grate on and close the lid.
And like I said I am no expert but this time it all came out perfectly; this is definitely a solid notch in my man card!