The first mistake is rushing. You wouldn’t sprint into a yoga class, so don’t sprint into lighting charcoal. Stack your coals in a pyramid for maximum airflow, the classic “volcano” method. Use a chimney starter—it’s the sous-chef you never knew you needed, getting coals uniformly hot without lighter fluid’s chemical tang.
A single fire starter cube or two crumpled sheets of newspaper at the base is all you need. Let the flames lick upward for about fifteen minutes, until the top coals are dusted with grey ash and glowing like tiny rubies. That’s your green light.
