At the start of a barbecue I get to the burn
level pictured at right after about 20
minutes, depending on the amount of wind.
20 minutes is normal  - windy will make the
burn faster. These coals are ready to
barbecue!

From here I will dump the coals into the
barbecue smoker's firebox. I usually like to
add a few more coals from the bag at that
point, to give some new fuel to the fire and to
just add more coals in general.

If you have a very large barbeque smoker, or
grill, you may need more than one chimney to
get enough coals going for you so you can
start cooking.

After dumping the coals I will close the door of
the smoker for a few minutes to allow the heat
to rise in the smoker. Once I get to about
225`F or so, and I'm ready to add the meat, I
like to put in some of my soaked wood to start
the smoke really flowing just before I put the
meat in.

At this point the fire should be good to go for a
while, so I put in the meat, close the door, and
let the barbecue magic begin!
Burning in the Coals for your Barbecue
You can see the glow
around the lump charcoal
and wood after dumping the
coals from the charcoal
chimney.

Note that in this case I have
added several pieces of
unlit lump to the mix. This
will help get me through the
first hour and a half without
having to add more fuel.
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