newspaper or office documents as fire-starter

[cityofvoltz]

Hi All,

Just a question, from a health/foodsafety standpoint, is there any issues with using 

Office documents (white paper printed with laser printers)

or  Newsprint  (not ad circulars- i know their ink is not good)

as firestarter?

 

[chiefmanywrenches]

I would think either are fine. I usually use just a piece of the charcoal bag torn off and balled up.

 

[whtplainssmoker]

I would think you would be fine. My common sense tellls me that: First it is such a short time that you use such material. Second, if you are using a charcoal chimney, its not even in the smoker at the start.  Third, I would suspect that any contaminants are burnt off well before you ever put the food on the smoker.

 

[dirtsailor2003]

All I use to start my charcoal and lump in the chimney is newspaper and my propane torch. Way better than lighter fluid!

 

[bbqbrett]

I would think it should be good.  I usually just use newspaper although the other day I used a paper shopping bag.

 

[bhawkins]

I just sit the loaded chimney on my Turkey frier stand and fire it up. Charcoal is raging in ten seconds!!! If you don't have one I do suggest placing some heavier paper or cardboard between coals and newspaper. I had a lot of problems getting it to light with just newspaper.

 

[dward51]

Newspaper or paper towel with a little veggie oil and wadded up in a chimney works for me.  Paper by itself burns too quick, but the veggie oil will burn with the paper acting like a candle wick just long enough to get it started.  The spray type oil will work too, but it's less expensive to just drizzle a fine stream over the paper.

 

[handymanstan]

I have a hibachi grill that I used to take to work and cook steaks over nothing but newspaper.  My brother is a printer and he told me no color ink but you can eat the black newsprint.

Once while working building a store we set the hibachi up in the parking lot and realized we had no newspaper so we burned the blueprints for the store.  The steaks tasted fine.

Stan

 

[backyardsmokin]

Newspaper in the chimney has worked for me.  As for office docs/printed docs, I am more selective.  I tend to use the most incriminating ones.

 

[dward51]

Newspaper in the chimney has worked for me.  As for office docs/printed docs, I am more selective.  I tend to use the most incriminating ones.

Fire - the original paper shredder.... hiding the evidence since the days of papyrus...

 

[mkymkyxp]

I use the side burner on my grill. I was excited that I finally found a use for it.

 

[bruno994]

I have a hibachi grill that I used to take to work and cook steaks over nothing but newspaper.  My brother is a printer and he told me no color ink but you can eat the black newsprint.

Once while working building a store we set the hibachi up in the parking lot and realized we had no newspaper so we burned the blueprints for the store.  The steaks tasted fine.

Stan

Newspaper cooked steaks...never tried that...interesting....

I just sit the loaded chimney on my Turkey frier stand and fire it up. Charcoal is raging in ten seconds!!! If you don't have one I do suggest placing some heavier paper or cardboard between coals and newspaper. I had a lot of problems getting it to light with just newspaper.

That's the only way for me!

 

[handymanstan]

I have a hibachi grill that I used to take to work and cook steaks over nothing but newspaper.  My brother is a printer and he told me no color ink but you can eat the black newsprint.

Once while working building a store we set the hibachi up in the parking lot and realized we had no newspaper so we burned the blueprints for the store.  The steaks tasted fine.

Stan

Newspaper cooked steaks...never tried that...interesting....

 

[dirtsailor2003]

 

Waiting to see the Safari Quick Cook in action!

 

[rhinoguy]

I use newspaper when I have it on hand.  If I dont have a news paper laying around I will use sheets out of the phone book.   

 

[cityofvoltz]

Once while working building a store we set the hibachi up in the parking lot and realized we had no newspaper so we burned the blueprints for the store.  The steaks tasted fine.

Stan

Coming from an architecture background, I LOVE that comment.  Cause I plan on doing just the same.  I am building a custom block cooker you can see the thread here   Its not finished yet but due to its size i am wondering weather i will start the fire inside the smoker or still start charcoals in a chimney.  Trial and error will prevail and paper will be recycled-...er... burned ;)

thanks for all the insight!