Charcoal grills have an entirely different flavor from gas grills. Not only is the flavor of the food much richer - the charcoal imparts a natural smokiness to the meat - but it also lends a certain old-timey feel to the entire experience of grilling. Truly, for any BBQ enthusiast, nothing can beat a summer evening spent with a charcoal BBQ grill, the company of friends and family, and a favorite drink.
At the same time, I'm under no delusions: charcoal grills aren't meant for newbies. If you are new to grilling, you are better off working with a gas grill. Even something as simple as controlling the temperature of the grill can take months to years of trial and error before you get the hang of it. It's because of this reason that gas grills have become so common these days. But charcoal imparts its own flavor to the meat which gas simply can't match, and I daresay that despite the steep learning curve, any BBQ enthusiast should try his hand at working with a charcoal grill.
The basics first: how to actually start a charcoal grill? Unlike gas BBQ which needs just a turning of the knob, charcoal requires some sort of starter to get going. Your choice of starter will vary depending on what's available, as well as what you are comfortable with.
Traditionally, the starter of choice has been lighter fluid. It's nothing special, just the ordinary lighter fluid that you would put in your Zippos. Start off by building a flat topped pyramid of the charcoal then dousing the top with lighter fluid for a few seconds (a maximum of 5 seconds). Next, light up the charcoal with a long fireplace matchstick (or if you are feeling macho, a long piece of wood). The charcoal will immediately set on fire.
Charcoal requires oxygen to remain ignited. At the same time, a fledgling fire needs to be protected from the wind. Try to cover the charcoal until it is hot enough to catch fire by itself, but make sure that you allow enough room for oxygen to get through. If you feel that the fire is burning out, then add some more fluid.
If you are new to charcoal grills, you will find that it takes a few tries before you actually get the grill started. But don't jump to conclusions and start doubting your technique or ability to get a charcoal grill started. More often than not, the fault may lie with your choice of starter itself - lighter fluid is notorious for being difficult to work with.
You can always turn to other options. A visit to your local grill or home store will reveal several other choices. Some of these include an electric charcoal starter and a charcoal chimney starter. The former works on electricity and generates a tremendous amount of heat that sets the charcoal off. The latter works by placing the charcoal in a cylindrical chimney, which is then lighted by using newspapers or matchsticks. The heat is distributed throughout the charcoal pieces, making it tremendously easy to use. This method is often called the 'traditional' way of lighting charcoal.
For those new to BBQ and grilling, I recommend using a chimney starter. It can make short work of getting the grill started and is ideal for newbies as well as experienced users. Lighter fluid, while more popular, has a lot of shortcomings as a starter and I would advise you against using it.
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