How to Start My BBQ Table?

How to start a charcoal grill?

How to start My BBQ Table built-in charcoal grill?

As hard as it may seem at first, there’s nothing complicated about starting a charcoal grill. By making the grill removable, and including an additional stand, with My BBQ Table we’re taking the ease of use a step further. However, the same techniques may be applied to light other charcoal grills.

Let’s get that grill going!

How to Start a Charcoal Grill (My BBQ Table)?

First of all, make sure you have everything necessary.

You’ll need coal, some firewood or wood chips and lighter fluid.

1. Choosing the Right Fuel for Your Charcoal Grill

We recommend you to use charcoal briquettes instead of coal.

Charcoal briquettes burn longer and maintain a steady temperature for a longer period of time than regular lump charcoal. True, they are a harder to ignite, but at the same time require no extra work from you afterwards. All My BBQ Table sets come with a free pack of charcoal briquettes and firewood, so you can try them out for yourself.

As our experience shows, a 2-kg bag of charcoal briquettes and a 2-kg bag of firewood (to start a grill) is enough for a 5-hour long grilling session.

2. Preparing Your Barbecue Grill

My BBQ Table consists of a tabletop, and a removable grill section.

First, take off the grate. Next, take out the grill section out of the grill table and place it on its stand. Every set comes with a dedicated stand and removable handles for safe carrying. We’ve made it this way to ensure that you don’t damage the table while starting a fire, and for the well-being of everyone. Sitting by open fire would just be too hot and uncomfortable for people around the table.

Now you can start a fire. 

15 – 20 minutes later, you’ll return the grill to the table.

3. Starting a Charcoal Grill

So, you’ve taken off the grill grate from the grill and the grill of the grill table. You’ve put the grill part in the special stand, and the grill is now ready to use.

Pour in 2 kilos of charcoal briquettes.

A 2-kg bag of charcoal briquettes is the optimal amount.

Cover them with some firewood or wood chips.

Pour lighter fluid and light it. 

Some 15 – 20 minutes later, once all the firewood is burned up, the grill is ready for cooking and can be put back in the grill table. Take into account that it’s gonna be very hot at this moment. Use included special handles for carrying, and put on the grate only after you’ve placed the grill in the table.

To Use Lighter Fluid or Not?

It’s up to you to make this decision.

However, we believe that you can use it safely.

Some BBQ enthusiasts do not recommend using lighter fluid for barbecue, because of the taste it might give and the chemicals it consists of. But in this case, when the grill section is taken out, the fire is started outside the BBQ table, and when you aren’t rushing, we believe that it causes no danger. The key here is to let the fire to go on for these 15 – 20 minutes, for all the firewood to burn up, and accordingly for the fumes of the lighter fluid to dissolve. And, of course, don’t use too much of the fluid. 

How to Light Charcoal Grill Without Lighter Fluid?

How to light charcoal without lighter fluid?

If you still don’t want to use lighter fluid, another great alternative are fireplace starter cubes. Place the charcoal at the bottom of the grill, and put wood chips on top of it. Put a few fireplace starter cubes among the wood chips, and light them. Once the wood chips are burning, they’ll heat up the charcoal briquettes.

Take into account that it will take at least 10 extra minutes.

For more tips see our Charcoal Grilling 101.

Read more: How to Light Charcoal Without Lighter Fluid

Happy grilling!