One of the problems of using a portable charcoal grill is getting the thing lit.
I am talking about when you take the Jumbo down to the tailgate party or the campground and you are trying to keep your life simple. If you want to keep things as easy as possible then get some Weber lighter cubes!
The lighter cubes are small blocks of paraffin wax that light easily, burn cleanly and are easy to store and transport. They do not have any odor to mess with your food and they don’t leave behind any residue or ashes.
At home you might use your charcoal chimney but who wants to pack that dirty thing up and bring it along for the ride? You might think about bringing along a bottle of lighter fluid. That’s fine if you don’t mind the taste and all you want to do is do some high heat grilling. You also run the risk of the stuff spilling in your car, etc. Personally I just don’t like messing with the stuff.
A third option, one that I LOVE, is to use the Weber lighter cubes! I love the lighter cubes so much that now I always use them to light my Jumbo, even when it is sitting on my back porch.
If you want to do a “low and slow” cook then bank your coals on the side of the grill with a single lighter cube on one side of the charcoal pile. Light the cube with the lid off the grill and in 15 minutes you should have four or five lit briquettes. This is how I started my Jumbo when I cooked a ten hour brisket. Here is what it looked like when I lit the cube at 5 a.m.
If you want to do some high heat grilling then simply arrange a stack of charcoal on top of a lighter cube and then light the cube. I used a small stack of charcoal for this picture so you could see what I am talking about. You should use a bigger pile and center it in the middle of the grill for hot and fast grilling.
In my opinion this is the BEST way to light the jumbo Joe whether you are at home or on the road. Below are some reviews from other folks on the Weber lighter cubes; people like them!
Click Here to Buy Weber Starter Cubes!
