Lighting the charcoal for your Pig & Pilgrim BBQ parrilla is easy once you know how. You can use a charcoal chimney – that’s a great way to get a steady supply of fresh, hot coals. But there’s one trick we use that helps speed things up every time without a chimney. Read on:

1. First make sure you’ve swept away any old ash, as this can block airflow.

2. Then pile your charcoal in the centre of your Pig & Pilgrim. Can you use firelighters? Absolutely, and we do it all the time. You can also add paper or kindling or anything else you’d use for lighting a fire. We don’t love using lighter fluid if we can avoid it.

3. Light your charcoal with a lighter or matches.

4. And then, once your coals are starting to ignite – here’s our best trick – give it a quick blast of air. Got an old hairdryer around? That’ll do it (we keep one in the shed so it's always on hand!). Give it a good strong blast for 30-60 seconds - just be aware that it can get a bit sparky so be careful!

5. Your charcoal will get super hot and flamey…and then be ready to cook around 20 minutes later, once the flames have died down.