QUESTION: Oil-soked paper towels for fire starters?

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Southern Home Boy

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I've read that some folks use a paper towel soaked in vegetable oil as a fire starter.

How does that work? Do you light the towel on fire and put it on top of your coals like a Minion burn? Do you place some coals over the towel and let it burn up into the charcoal? Or do you put it in a chimney with coals?...

Sorry to be dense, but I've never seen this done nor ever heard a full description. :confused:

Also, does this method have any advantages over a couple of sheets of newspaper in a chimney?
 
I use oiled up paper towels in my chimney. Typically, I put one sheet of newspaper in the chimney and one paper towel with vegetable oil on it. The newspaper burns up pretty quickly. The advantage of the oil soaked towel is that it tends to burn quite a bit longer and assures a clean/fast start of the charcoal.

Lately, I have been putting the oil on the newspaper. I know people that use the same strategy for lighting the wood fire in their offset. They build a teepee fire of splits and put oil soaked paper towel/newspaper/butcher paper underneath to get the party started.
 
I do it both ways. Either under the chimmney or just with some coals on top. I put the towel in a ziplock and soak it. Then fold it up length wise to form a long wick. Then light it at the ends and fold the edges in a little if using the chimmney or if just putting coals on top, just postion them towards the middle of the wick. It burns longer than regular paper. You can even drizzle oil on the newspaper. I use the single napkin cause it burns longer and doesn't make as much flying ash as the newspaper does.

There's a pic in this thread that shows how I use it to start the coals right in the grill:
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=63575
 
I cut up paper towel tubes, pack a paper towel in the short tubes and pour a little oil on top before lighting.

GEDC2333.jpg


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Works like a charm.
 
One other benefit of the oil soaked paper towel is that you don't get the fluffy newspaper ash that swirls all over the place.

When I use the oily paper towel in the chimney, I don't think I have ever had to light a second time because the coals didn't light.
 
This will answer this well

http://www.youtube.com/user/Popdaddy.../1/0bBGG59l9XU

this was the thread

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=89034&highlight=video


Which also came the idea of spreading rubb with a fertilzer spreader!



Southern Home Boy said:
I've read that some folks use a paper towel soaked in vegetable oil as a fire starter.

How does that work? Do you light the towel on fire and put it on top of your coals like a Minion burn? Do you place some coals over the towel and let it burn up into the charcoal? Or do you put it in a chimney with coals?...

Sorry to be dense, but I've never seen this done nor ever heard a full description. :confused:

Also, does this method have any advantages over a couple of sheets of newspaper in a chimney?
Click to expand...
 
I use oil soaked paper towell just like I would a fire starter. I fould up the PP into as small square and dip it in oil. Then lay it under a couple pieces of lump in the grill.
 
Here's the thing, the newspapers that I take, absolutely will not burn. I have tried repeatedly over the summer. I used to use them, but not anymore. I think they changed the make up of the pulp somehow.
 
I use a turkey fryer to start my chimneys. Tired of dealing with the ash and it's much faster. And i don't have to look for a place to set the chimney while it starts.
 
Ron_L said:
For the BGE I just put the oiled paper towel on top of the lump and light.
Click to expand...

really? i wouldn't think that would light it with heat rising and all. always thought it had to be underneith the coals to light it.
 
I use crumbled pieces of the charcoal bags that are empty. I do it in the chimney and sure their are fly-aways, but they never come in contact with the food.
 
For the Weber, if I'm hurrying, I use the weed burner. Otherwise, I spray a sheet of newspaper with Pam and use the chimney. I've been having my best success putting a layer of lump in the bottom of the chimney on top of the paper, then fill with briqs.

But I like idea of using the cardboard cores with oil soaked paper towel stuffed in them. I'll try it later this week. Thanks for the tip.

Chris
 
I use the the oil soaked paper towels I saved from oiling the grates the previous grilling session, wrapped in 2 sheets of newspaper stuffed in the bottom of the chimney.
 
i drizzle some oil on the paper i use for the chimney starter. works great.
 
Hugh Jorgan said:
I cut up paper towel tubes, pack a paper towel in the short tubes and pour a little oil on top before lighting.

Works like a charm.
Click to expand...

I started using this method the other night. It definitely works like a charm, and you don't end up with newspaper ash flying everywhere. :clap2:

Thanks for the tip! I'll be lighting my chimney like this from now on. :thumb:
 
I'm lazy and don't want to clean up any drips or spills, so I use the can spray on the oil all over the newspaper or paper towel...
 
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