Making Your Grill Greener

Charcoal grilling is still the most popular method of outdoor cooking, except in the United States where gas grills are number one. What tastes best, food cooked on charcoal or gas? There is quite a raging debate. But what is the greenest method of grilling?Gas grills, most charcoal, and lighter fluid, are made with petroleum, a non-renewable resource that is neurotoxic and causes toxic air pollution. You can avoid petroleum completely if you use a metal charcoal chimney with wood brickets.With charcoal metal chimneys you fill the cylinder with charcoal, scrunch newspaper under the charcoal in the special housing for this purpose, and then light the newspaper to heat up the coals. Once the coals are red hot you turn over the cylinder and pour the coals into the bed of the grill.You can buy a charcoal chimney for under $20 at most hardware stores, and reuse it for years. All you need to light the charcoal are some old newspapers and matches.Of course, a solar cooker is more eco-friendly than any sort of grilling or electricity-based cooking. Even grilling with wood charcoals causes pollution.Last but certainly not least, choose all organic food for grilling.

Read more: Food, Eating for Health, charcoal, grill, lighter fluid

By Annie B. Bond

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Danuta W.

2:18AM PDT on May 8, 2012

Thanks for sharing!

send a green star

Nirvana J.

2:14AM PDT on May 7, 2012

Thanks

2:01AM PDT on May 7, 2012

John B.

6:34PM PDT on May 6, 2012

Thanks you for posting your insights on the matter Annie.

Danielle M.

9:40PM PDT on Apr 21, 2012

love grilled veggies!

Jennifer C.

5:26PM PDT on Jun 22, 2011

Emily D.

8:27AM PDT on Jun 22, 2011

thanks. sounds awesome! Now all i have to do is convince my parents to get one...hmm maybe my bday.

KS G.

1:12AM PDT on Apr 16, 2011

Thanks for the article.

Debbie S W.

8:12AM PDT on Sep 21, 2009

Of course, it would only work on sunny days and I like to grill even in the rain. I like to use wood charcoal or dried wood and the food tastes great.

8:09AM PDT on Sep 21, 2009

Tonya, check this one out: http://gizmodo.com/250841/solar-grill-cooks-burgers-with-the-sun

I haven't tried a solar grill yet, either, but this does look interesting.