Jimmy Fallon lights a Big Green Egg?

[Mosca]

It’s a 30 second Instagram, but I watched it in my browser. He puts the lighting squares down first, lights them, then dumps his coal on top… is that how everyone else does it, too? When I use lighting squares, I always put them on top of the dumped charcoal.

Fallon lights a BGE

[Murdy]

In my Bronco, I put down a layer of charcoal, put the lighters on top of them (I use the ones that look like a rolled up bunch of straw), put down some more charcoal but leave the lighter partially exposed so they are nestled into the charcoal, and light them. I usually use a couple as I am impatient.

[Mosca]

Right, PJ.

[Murdy]

Panhead John -- "tumbleweeds," that's the word I was looking for. Thanks.

[Alan Brice]

I use the squares. If I remem correctly, they are "BioMass Cubes" and Thunder77 recommended them. Very inexpensive, work great in charcoal or my Solo Stove.

[radiodome21]

I used to use those things to light my firewood in my Solo stove fire pits and I wasn’t a huge fan. They went out pretty easily.

[LA Pork Butt]

Light the top, so it slowly burns down. I think the Fallon night extinguish the square before iot gets started.

[Skip]

I light on top with cubes for a slow and smaller fire OR for a faster and hotter fire light a chimney with a weed torch and pour it in.

[Mosca]

I did my hatch chiles on the BGE. I have that kick-ash basket (which IMO is no different from the plate with holes), so I put four squares in the very bottom of the BGE, and filled the chamber with briquets.

They lit, but I can’t say that it was any faster or more efficient than any other way I’ve lit it before; in fact, it was maybe a little slower.

[SheilaAnn]

I nestle them into the charcoal and light.

[Mosca]

Yeah.

[FireMan]

Yes, nestle them oh so gently.

[STEbbq]

I place them on top of the coals like everyone else. I’d imagine jimmy’s approach probably works 9/10 but will smother the coals occasionally. If you cook once a month, are you going to adjust your approach if it fails once a year or if it fails once a week?

[DaveD]

I don't have a BGE, but when I start my SnS kettle for low & slow, I put a couple of tumbleweeds down and arrange a dozen coals mostly on top but also surrounding them, with plenty of airway, then light. Doesn't make sense to me to put the heat source on the top of the coals, the heat just goes up into the air instead of into the coals if they're below. Nobody lights a chimney of coals by putting the firestarters on top, do they? You put them under the chimney so the heat lights the coals from below. What am I missing?

[Bob K]

You’re not missing anything. Heat rises. I usually use a chimney, but if I don’t, I’m putting the fire starters under or at least next to the lump, definitely not on top of it. Now, I’m not dumping the coals on top of the lit starters like Jimmy did, there is usually some tong work moving lump around for airflow. Though to be fair he didn’t dump much in really.

[Jim White]

This is my approach as well.

[Mosca]

Here is what I did. It wasn’t faster, nor slower, than any other way I’ve lit coals before. (Bonus pic of roasting Hatch.)