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Third attempt at grilling was finally a major success, the chimney starter made a huge difference. Used a couple rolled up tumbleweed things from Home Depot and then added a bit of paper to keep that going. Poured the hot ashes in there and cooked over that, no problem.
The gas taste on the food the second time wasn't there this time, so it was definitely from not letting the charcoal burn enough on the second go / putting the meat right on the charcoal fire.
Only two issues, I think I let the chimney sit for too long with the fire going, because the embers weren't as lit as they probably should have been, kind of dull by that point. Took a little while to cook. Second, I left the meat on too long, the steaks got to like 150 and they were a bit dry. So that was on me.
Next go I'll do a few things different: Let the meat sit out for an hour before I cook, rather than straight from the fridge to the grill. Second, pour the ashes sooner while they're still bright. Third, using this higher heat, cook for less time and flip frequently to aim for like 120ish when I take the meat off (it'll reach 125ish after it sits for a few minutes). I like mine on the low end of medium rare so hopefully that's a good temp.
Wish I had more pictures of this round but I was zeroed in on getting it right.
How much should I fill the chimney starter with charcoal? I filled it to almost the top and split it 50/50 between regular charcoal and wood charcoal (wood undeneath the regular, next time I'll flip them, not sure if it matters)
Note: Zero use of lighter fluid this time and think I'll keep it that way
Lanx I too have used the leaf blower to get my coals going, but you can also just buy a cheap ass hair dryer instead of spending $100 on some Amazon Chinese garbage.
