Real Ball Knowers Know That A Flamethrower Is The Best Way To Fire Up The Smoker For Your Tailgate
You could stack up some splits of wood, get some old newspaper doused in some vegetable oil, light it up and wait 45 minutes or so before that fire is ready for some low and slow cooking.
You could get a charcoal chimney, grab some of those tumbleweed fire starters, light it up and wait about 20-30 minutes before those coals are ready to go.
Or you could know ball. You could go to your nearest Home Depot or Lowe's, grab yourself a propane torch, do a quick interview on NBC10 at 6:04am and have your fire started by 6:06am.
Part of what makes barbecue so great is how long it takes to cook. It allows all that fat to render down into delicious, unctuous flavor. It allows those muscles to relax into some of the most tender, melt-in-your mouth bites of meat you've ever had. It allows a bark to form over the meat instead of just a burnt crust. Giving everything the proper time to cook and rest makes all the difference. But that also means you can't waste any additional time dicking around with everything else. You still have the rest of the tailgate festivities to get to. You don't want to be rushing to eat right before heading into the game. So you can't waste time with starting the fire, which means you need to get that baby lit up as quick as possible.
Propane torch over everything. It may seem like overkill to some. It might be a little extra to pack with you for the tailgate than a pack of matches. But you want to see that smoke come barreling out of the smoker before the sun is up in the morning if you're going to tailgate properly. Green Beard knows ball.
Go Birds, baby.