How An Egg Carton Can Make Firing Up Your Charcoal Grill Easier

The real stars of a backyard barbecue aren't the people armed with secret marinades or those turning the meat over every few minutes with the studied concentration of scientists in a lab. The real stars are the group of people huddled around the grill to get it started while everyone else is sipping on their sangrias. These are the true experts; the ones who know how to get the charcoal grill fired up. The good news is you can be a part of that inner circle as long as you have an egg carton handy.

For far too long, getting the grill going used to be a process that involved a certain level of skill, patience, and copious amounts of lighter fluid (which, as it turns out, you should be skipping anyway). Despite everyone's best efforts, only the coals in the center would catch fire, while those on the fringes — watched by an increasingly restless and hungry crowd — stubbornly refused to join the party. This is exactly the kind of situation where this egg carton hack will save the day.

It's super simple: Take the cardboard carton your eggs came in, place a piece of charcoal or briquettes in each compartment, place it on the grill, and set it on fire. By the time the cardboard burns, the coals will be beautifully lit. Use a couple of 12- or 18-egg cartons and you'll have enough coal lit to get the grill going.

Egg cartons are one of several ready-to-discard household items you can use to fire up your grill without lighter fluid. Before we get into other alternatives, a very short science lesson: fire needs oxygen, and for a steady fire that'll light your briquettes, you need proper air circulation. This is why the carton trick works, since each briquette allows air to circulate around it. This is also why, in the absence of a carton, you should pile up your briquettes in a pyramid shape. This will ensure good air circulation and also allows the flames to rise evenly.

If you don't have egg cartons, other paper or cardboard waste that was headed to the recycling bin can serve as a handy fire-starter. The key is to crumple it, making room for air to flow through. Cardboard toilet paper or paper rolls work particularly well, just stuff the hollow part with crumpled paper, dry leaves, or even lint from your dryer. Place these cardboard cylinders under your charcoal pyramid and light them up, and you should have your barbecue up and running in about 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, if you do have a whole bunch of egg cartons waiting to be discarded, there's good news for you: These cardboard boxes are super versatile. From shaping meatballs to storing bacon grease, here are 18 ways in which you can use egg cartons to make cooking easier.