Eco Green - Charcoal Lighter Fluid

Okay, so the other day I was planning on firing up the Pit Barrel Cooker to make some Tri-Tips and Ribs. I happened to be in a Home Depot to snag the sale of 2 bags of Kingsford charcoal for $9.88 and realized that I needed lighter fluid also.

Typically, I only use a chimney starter, but when using the PBC, the recommended method for use is blue bag briquettes, started with lighter fluid.

Due to memorial day picnic rush, the "normal" lighter fluid was sold out, but there were plenty of jars of "Eco Green" available. This is a "non-petroleum" based lighter fluid supposedly made from bio based materials and derivatives such as fryer oil, etc.

I used it much like normal lighter fluid, but there is where the similarities end. The fluid creates an excessive amount of absolutely PUTRID smoke. The odor is overwhelming and indescribable. It lingered and lasted way longer than any petroleum based products, which typically burn the smell off fairly quickly.

I waited long enough for the smell to dissipate, and luckily it did not seem to effect the taste of the food, but I will never be using it again. I will either return it or let it sit on a shelf in the garage, but the experience made it a non-starter for me in the future (opun intended)

Let me know if anyone has a similar experience.

thetrob wrote:Okay, so the other day I was planning on firing up the Pit Barrel Cooker to make some Tri-Tips and Ribs. I happened to be in a Home Depot to snag the sale of 2 bags of Kingsford charcoal for $9.88 and realized that I needed lighter fluid also.

Typically, I only use a chimney starter, but when using the PBC, the recommended method for use is blue bag briquettes, started with lighter fluid.

I know this isn't particularly helpful but any cooker that requires or recommends this is worth avoiding, imo. Caveat emptor. I cannot say I've used this or any lighter fluid, ever. I never buy Kingsford, either. I'm strictly on the lump these days. I wonder how this cooker would perform using a lump and chimney configuration. I'd say it's definitely worth a try, if you're looking to produce the best possible bbq.

Just my .02

=R=

I found this on their website:

We recommend using standard charcoal briquets or lump. Important: DO NOT use auto-starting charcoal. Though we include a lighter fluid method in our lighting video, our preferred method is chimney.

ronnie_suburban wrote:

thetrob wrote:Okay, so the other day I was planning on firing up the Pit Barrel Cooker to make some Tri-Tips and Ribs. I happened to be in a Home Depot to snag the sale of 2 bags of Kingsford charcoal for $9.88 and realized that I needed lighter fluid also.

Typically, I only use a chimney starter, but when using the PBC, the recommended method for use is blue bag briquettes, started with lighter fluid.

I know this isn't particularly helpful but any cooker that requires or recommends this is worth avoiding, imo. Caveat emptor. I cannot say I've used this or any lighter fluid, ever. I never buy Kingsford, either. I'm strictly on the lump these days. I wonder how this cooker would perform using a lump and chimney configuration. I'd say it's definitely worth a try, if you're looking to produce the best possible bbq.

Just my .02

=R=

Ronnie, The Pit Barrel cooker is a great tool. It is one of a number of smokers and grills that I have. It comes highly recommended on a bunch of different sites such as Amazingribs.com. The post by Darren is interesting and must be a change on their website, because initially, they only recommended blue bag Kingsford briquettes w/lighter fluid start. There were lots of questions about why, and they were answered by explaining that they burned at an ideal heat for the dynamics of the PBC, where lump and other briquettes, burned at varying temps either too high or too low. As to why the recommendation was to use lighter fluid, I believe it was because of where the coal basket is, and the difficulty in pouring hot coals into the cooker or lowering an already full, lit basket in.

In regards to using lump and chimney start, the PBC works fine with both, it's really a matter of understanding how hot and long the fuel burns and adjusting accordingly. The Kingsford briquettes yield a pretty consistent result, so its easy to load the PBC up with 8-10 racks of ribs and a basket of briquettes, close it up and come back in 3-3.5 hrs to perfectly cooked ribs.

Edit: Looking at their site, you can see they now sell a shorter/wider chimney starter that would make it easier to empty the coals into the cooker. When I originally purchased the cooker several years ago, this did not exist and the feat of dumping coals from a regular chimney starter was a perilous feat.

I do not use lighter fluid. I just use kindling, lump charcoal, wood chips, lots of matches and paper for my Weber grill. But I wonder if you can use some sort of alcohol such as sherry, brandy, whisky etc to help start it. Isn't old whisky barrel wood sold for this purpose too? I have never done this and I guess there would be a risk of fire flare up. But it works stove top when I flambe things.

Elfin wrote:I do not use lighter fluid. I just use kindling, lump charcoal, wood chips, lots of matches and paper for my Weber grill. But I wonder if you can use some sort of alcohol such as sherry, brandy, whisky etc to help start it. Isn't old whisky barrel wood sold for this purpose too? I have never done this and I guess there would be a risk of fire flare up. But it works stove top when I flambe things.

The chimney starter is dead simple and foolproof. You just need a couple of crumpled sheets of newspaper (I use the local circular that shows up at my door because I'm not sure I'd know where to get an actual newspaper today), lump charcoal and a match. You don't need to overcomplicate things.

spinynorman99 wrote:The chimney starter is dead simple and foolproof.

Yes, exactly!

I participated in a BBQ event on 5/24, Pork in the Park at the Park Grill, as LowSlowBBQ, a dozen BBQ restaurants and caterers each doing ribs for ticket paying guests. We were setup where Park Grill has their ice skating rink in the winter, outdoor dining in summer. A beautiful setting under the watchful eye of the Bean.

The BBQ restaurant next to me, incredibly, used Kingsford briquettes and Kingsford lighter fluid to start their pit. It smelled like sh*t, their product tasted like sh*t, looked like sh*t and was generally horrid. In the words of the Blessed Carol Channing's Ghost, I almost plotzed when I saw what they were doing.

This was the second annual Pork in the Park, music, food, booze, fun in a perfect urban setting.

thetrob wrote:In regards to using lump and chimney start, the PBC works fine with both, it's really a matter of understanding how hot and long the fuel burns and adjusting accordingly. The Kingsford briquettes yield a pretty consistent result, so its easy to load the PBC up with 8-10 racks of ribs and a basket of briquettes, close it up and come back in 3-3.5 hrs to perfectly cooked ribs.

Yeah, I've gone from being a lump purist to just going with the regular blue bags of Kingsford or (preferably) Royal Oak. To me, it's a more predictable and longer burn, and I honestly can't tell any sort of difference in flavor, especially when you're throwing smoking wood on it. Maybe if I had the meats side-by-side, I'd notice it, but, for me, the difference is lost and the convenience of lump wins these days. (No lighter fluid ever, though.) I have no doubt the true connoisseurs can tell the difference, but for a once-a-month barbecuer like me, I can't.