Doug Kanter wrote:

No, it's not off topic.

Maybe everyone has one of these and I'm the last to find out......
http://www.weber.com/bbq/pub/grill/a.../chargear.aspx
Scroll down to the chimney starter.

A couple of my boating destinations involve bringing charcoal and fluid for
the end-of-day feast, typically Nathan's hot dogs, the food of the gods. I'm
not crazy about transporting lighter fluid, or the charcoal with "built in"
fluid. So, I blew ten bucks on this chimney starter. Charcoal goes in the
top and 2-3 sheets of crumpled newspaper go in the bottom. You light the
newspaper, wait the usual 30 minutes, and you have a fire. What's
interesting is that the resulting coals end up more evenly lit than those
done the normal way. Must be the shape of the thing, because the newspaper's
gone in under a minute, so that can't be a factor.


Nathan's are decent dogs, but I prefer Hebrew National and, sometimes,
depending on where I am, a "local" Kosher dog. No hot dogs are good for
you, but the Kosher ones, at least, are of far higher quality, with
nothing but the best bad cholesterol, and prepared under rabbinical
supervision. They taste better, too.

As for starting a charcoal fire...well...okay, I'll admit it. Gasoline,
if it is handy. But I like what you're describing with the chimney
starter...

But...there's no *poof* when the gasoline lights off...and your food
doesn't have that tangy taste of napalm...





--
"There's an old saying in Tennessee - I know it's in Texas, probably in
Tennessee - that says, fool me once, shame on - shame on you. Fool me -
you can't get fooled again." -George W. Bush, Nashville, Tenn., Sept.
17, 2002