What better way to learn how to use charcoal chimney starters for hibachi grills than by example. Leave it to YouTube – check out this useful video by grillingguru. It does a great job at demonstrating the use of a chimney starter.

Chimney starters are inexpensive and are THE preferred way to start charcoal hibachi grills. They are made by all of the major barbecue accessory manufacturers and can usually be picked up for anywhere between $10 to $40.

What are chimney starters? They are inexpensive devices that can be used with hibachi grills to start lump charcoal or charcoal briquettes without the need for inducing chemicals such as lighter fluid. Also known as a charcoal chimney, chimney starters are basically metal cylinders that have some kind of grate or plate with holes built in near the bottom and a handle on the side.

How to use chimney starters? The simplest and most common method is to simply:

1. Fill the cylinder with unlit charcoal
2. Place newspaper under the inner grate
3. Place the chimney starter on a safe surface
4. Light the newspaper with a match or lighter

The paper will light the charcoal at the bottom of the cylinder first and the remaining coals on top will then be ignited by the chimney effect.

When the coals are ready (20 – 25 minutes) use a barbecue glove or oven mitt to carefully pour the hot embers into the hibachi grill and spread them out into an even layer with a long pair of tongs.

Most seasoned grill masters prefer the use of chimney starters for hibachi grills over lighter fluid for a couple of reasons.

• The charcoal is ready for cooking quicker
• The charcoal burns more evenly
• There is no chemical aftertaste

I recently read about a trick that can be used to make the newspaper burn longer in chimney starters. By applying a little non-stick cooking spray or vegetable oil to the crumpled paper, the paper will not burn up until the oil burns away which in turn prolongs the burning time. This could be a helpful method to ensure that a single load of newspaper is enough to get the coals going and your hibachi grill ready for cooking.

Hibachi grilling with charcoal can be a bit of a challenge compared to grilling with gas but with a few tips and pointers I think you will find that it is not only rewarding, but fun too!

First off, the amount of charcoal you use (or number of briquettes) not only depends on the size of your grill, but also on how much food you intend to cook, cooking time required, and weather conditions.

My general rule of thumb is to use approximately 30 briquettes for 1 lb of meat (for comparison, a 5 pound bag typically contains about 75 – 90 briquettes). This can vary some depending on the size of your hibachi grill but you basically want enough charcoal to cover the grill pan in a single layer. If conditions are windy, you will want to increase this some.

Until you get the feel for quantity for your grill, a good trick is to first spread a bed of briquettes in the grill pan. Once the proper quantity has been chosen it is time to prepare for lighting them.

There are 3 basic ways for lighting charcoal:

1. The pyramid method, which we will cover in this post
2. Using a Charcoal Chimney Starter (which is covered in the Chimney Starters post)
3. Using an electric charcoal starter.

To use the pyramid method, simply stack the charcoal briquettes in a pyramid shape. Use approximately ½ a cup of lighter fluid (never use gasoline) to soak the charcoal and allow a few minutes to let the chemicals soak into the briquettes. Next, use a long handled match or lighter to light the charcoal.

Once the flames subside and the charcoal begins to ash over you can use a pair of long handled tongs to spread them back out over the grill pan and your charcoal hibachi grill is now ready cook.

I stumbled on another hibachi grills video on YouTube that I thought was worth sharing. This video is by the BBQ Guys and it provides a detailed demonstration of how to use their Cast Iron Hibachi BBQ Grill. They do a good job of highlighting the features of this particular hibachi grill and give an entertaining demonstration of how the grill performs by cooking up something they call a fish “fee-lay”. You’ve gotta see it!

More detailed information and my own personal review of the BBQ Guys Cast Iron Hibachi BBQ Grill can be found in my previous post.

This cast iron hibachi BBQ grill is made by the BBQ Guys. It features 2 cooking grids that are independently multi positional. Each cast iron cooking grid measures approximately 9 x 15 inches for a combined cooking surface area measurement of roughly 10 x 18 inches (a total of 181 square inches of cooking area). The unit weight is 19 pounds, which is considerably lighter compared to other cast iron hibachi grills.

Pros:

• Reasonably priced for a cast iron hibachi at around $30
• Cast Iron Construction
• Adjustable Cooking grates

Cons:

• Manufactured overseas (China) and quality suffers because of this
• Excessive Assembly required

Features

• Cast Iron construction
• Portable hibachi charcoal grill
• Perfect for tailgating and quick cookouts
• Cooking grids measure 9 x 15 inches for a total measurement of approximately 10 x 18 inches
• Great cast iron hibachi for camping

Review
The cast iron hibachi BBQ grill by BBQ Guys is definitely not a high quality hibachi compared to some of the higher-end hibachi grills currently available such as the Lodge cast iron hibachi BBQ grill but considering the modest price tag I would certainly consider it an option for the budget minded consumer.

Be sure and read the 26+ customer reviews on Amazon for specifics.