The Grill Mistake You're Making Before You Even Start Cooking

If you do it often enough, lighting up the grill becomes second nature. However, you might be making a big mistake when you start your charcoal grill that's causing your food to taste funny. Using lighter fluid or match light coals (which contain lighter fluid) can make your food taste like ... well, lighter fluid. It's a very convenient and quick way to get the grill heated up quickly, but it's not ideal.

If you ever notice that your grilled food just doesn't taste quite right, this could be why. When you burn fuel to heat your grill, the taste of the fuel can attach to your food. In fact, Guy Fieri told Parade that using lighter fluid when you grill is the biggest mistake you can make. "Get some real charcoal, something that's got wood in it, and none of that self-lighting stuff," he says. As Fieri mentions, charcoal is made of wood. . This burns off elements like water and methane and leaves the coals behind. This can result in some delicious grilled food, as long as you ditch that lighter fluid.

There are a few different ways to solve this problem. One of the easiest and most common ways is to use a chimney starter for a charcoal grill. They're relatively inexpensive, with many costing less than $20. A fire starter is another great option. Simply place it under your coals then give them some time to get hot.

And for next time, be prepared with a lighting method that doesn't involve lighter fluid.