This vertical air-flow path is also used by chimney charcoal starters. They are designed with a lower and upper chamber with a grate in the middle. They use crumpled paper as kindling in the bottom chamber and holds the briquets as fuel in the upper chamber. When the paper is lit in the bottom, the heat travels upward and ignites the briquets stored above. This caused me to think that it could also be used as a rocket stove for cooking.

I found two styles of chimney charcoal starters based on their mid level grates that separate the lower kindling chamber from the upper fuel chamber: one uses a metal plate that has a series of holes; the other has a concentric wire grate.

The model with holes in the plate works well for holding wood sticks as fuel. I fashioned a grate for the top of the chimney using two “beer can” chicken roaster brackets that I fastened “top-to-top” as a support for holding a pot or pan. I used my tin-snips to cut notches in the chimney rim to position it securely in place. This grate served two purposes: it allowed air flow through the top of the chimney as well as provided access for loading wood chips or sticks as fuel to the combustion chamber to sustain the fire while cooking.

The model with the concentric wire grate in the middle works best for igniting charcoal briquets. In essence, it works like a conventional charcoal BBQ. An inexpensive cooling rack can be used as a grate above the chimney to suspend the food items being cooked while allowing the needed airflow through the top.

Why would you use a chimney charcoal starter for cooking? Here are a few reasons: It is portable; inexpensive; easily stored; and the wood chips & sticks version uses easily obtained free fuel. It’s small capacity may not be the best choice for a party, but it can be just the thing for camping or used for a power outage emergency scenario.

When I first heard about the pig roast I had visions of “pit roasting” like the IMUs in Hawaii, and, being on my “learn to do list”, I asked if I could come and help. But when Chad drove up pulling his massive trailer, I knew that he had a different approach, but one that I could learn from. After setting up a prep table, we rolled out aluminum foil and laid the split open – 100 lb. pig on it’s back. We cleaned off undesired tissue and then Chad injected his special apple juice baste, followed by a dry rub with paprika and an assortment of other spices. Meanwhile, briquettes were lit in charcoal chimney starters, being readied to start the hardwood fire. Chad described the various portions of meat and the strategy of heat control for the duration of cooking.

The end product was awesome! Finger-pulling tender and tasty. We took samples of various parts of the pig, including the tongue. Low and slow… it’s hard to beat the temperature and time combination for such a succulent result. Well, now I’m catching the BBQ fever, and look forward to a Hawaiian IMU (below ground), Samoan UMU (above ground), Cuban Roast (covered pit with fire on top) cooking adventures in the future.