Hi all, hoping you can help, I have been using a Weber bbq chimney starter doohickey after seeing it on TV, and have been relatively happy with the results, however recently I've been thinking that the charcoal briquettes I've been using have burned out awful quickly. I'm just talking about straightforward grilling..steaks, chicken thighs, burgers etc, nothing fancy. The BBQ I use has an ash bucket underneath that can have vent holes opened or closed, plus there's a vent in the lid too. Generally, after I've emptied the chimney out I close the lid for a minute or 2 and it rarely seems to get above 200c according to the thermometer in the lid, and I think I got about 1/2 an hour max last time I used it before the coals got too cool to cook over... and I've tried all sorts of combos of vents open/closed and it doesn't get much higher. Is it the briquettes I'm using? i don't go for fancy briquettes. just whatever I can get from the supermarket or garden centre. I'm bbqing next week for about 13 people so need a lot of heat over a sustained period of time to cook everything...so what I'm asking is, what is the best brand of briquettes to buy?
(am going to be using 2 chimneys next week...)