Get a chimney starter

Use a chimney starter.

That’s it. A metal cylinder with a grate inside and a handle. Crumple two sheets of newspaper under it, fill the top with charcoal, light the paper, and walk away for 15 minutes. Pour the hot coals in the grill when they’re ashen.

No lighter fluid means no chemical taste on your food. No flare-ups from pouring accelerant onto half-lit briquettes. No standing there with a lighter trying to coax a flame while getting smoke in your face.

The chimney is cheap ($15), lasts forever, and works in wind or damp weather. If you’re feeling fancy, use a paraffin wax cube instead of newspaper—no smoke smell, lights reliably. But newspaper is free.

Electric starters and propane torches also work, but the chimney is the simplest, most hands-off method. You don’t need technique. You just need to wait.

I’d rather eat a burger that tastes like charcoal than lighter fluid.