Broedy
Well-known member
I've always cooked with charcoal on my kettle. Saw a bag of Cowboy Lump at Costco and decided to take the plunge, but am struggling to use it. I've used it for 2 cooks now and I can't seem to keep the fire going. Cooking on a 26" kettle. Process I used to light is basically the same for the charcoal.
1. Fill chimney to the top
2. Light with a fire starter
3. Wait until lit, dump in a single layer
The first time, I may have dumped a little too early, so it's possible that not all of the pieces were lit, but the temp started dropping like almost immediately. The 2nd time it was definitely hotter (I gave it a few extra minutes so that all pieces at the top were glowing), but again, after 15-20 minutes of cooking, the temp started dropping. After dumping the coals, I just placed the grate and covered. All vents wide open.
The only thing that immediately comes to mind, when watching other videos, is that people keep lump in more of a "pile" (like when moving all the coals to a side for 2 zone cooking). I had my coals more in a single layer, but still in a focused area, and not spread across the whole grate. Or maybe I need a 2nd chimney? What am I doing wrong?
1. Fill chimney to the top
2. Light with a fire starter
3. Wait until lit, dump in a single layer
The first time, I may have dumped a little too early, so it's possible that not all of the pieces were lit, but the temp started dropping like almost immediately. The 2nd time it was definitely hotter (I gave it a few extra minutes so that all pieces at the top were glowing), but again, after 15-20 minutes of cooking, the temp started dropping. After dumping the coals, I just placed the grate and covered. All vents wide open.
The only thing that immediately comes to mind, when watching other videos, is that people keep lump in more of a "pile" (like when moving all the coals to a side for 2 zone cooking). I had my coals more in a single layer, but still in a focused area, and not spread across the whole grate. Or maybe I need a 2nd chimney? What am I doing wrong?