Starting your Saffire grill and smoker can be broken down into two steps:
- Preparing your grill and charcoal. You’ll need to do this every time you want to use your Saffire, but don’t worry, it will quickly become second nature.
- Lighting your charcoal and getting your Saffire up to temperature.
Not only does lighter fluid have an odor and lower the quality of your food, but it can also damage the ceramics in your grill. Using it will void your warranty!
Grill Selector
Select the type of grill you have here so we can tell you how to use it. Click on the feature(s) below that most resemble(s) your grill.
Firebox Selection
What do you see when you look down at your firebox?
I see a charcoal basket with handles. The firebox is one piece. The firebox is not bowl-shaped.
I don’t have a charcoal basket. The firebox is two pieces, and the top piece has notches in it. The bottom of the firebox is bowl-shaped.
Preparing to Start the Fire - Crucible Firebox
Choose your fire starter.
Never use fire starter fuel! This will void your warranty. Instead, choose one of the following options:
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You can use wood-based fire starters to start your charcoal. These come in various forms. We recommend Rutland Fire Starter squares, simply because they are cheap, easy to light, and burn for a long time (ensuring your charcoal actually begins to burn). Here are other options:
- Cedar sticks
- Cedar fiber brambles
- Fire starter logs (make sure they say safe for BBQ)
- An electric charcoal starter uses a heating element that gets red hot! Be sure to read the instructions on your electric charcoal starter before using it, but the following is some general information.
Remove the Cooking Grid, Multi-Rack and Two-Piece Heat Deflector.
Basically, just remove everything blocking you from accessing the charcoal. You can hang items on the Side Shelf Tool Hooks, or put them on top of your Side Shelves.
Remove excess ash.
Just give the Charcoal Basket a shake to knock excess ash down into the Ash Pan. This helps maintain better air flow for easier starting. Then any remaining charcoal is good to use again.
Add charcoal as needed.
The ideal amount of charcoal depends on how you want to cook:
- For grilling, searing, baking, etc, you probably won’t need to put more charcoal than the basket can hold. In fact, there will be times you only want to use half of the basket at a time. To use only half of the basket, simply slide the Charcoal Basket Divider into the slot in the middle of the Charcoal Basket, and choose a side to put charcoal into.
- Add more charcoal for slow smoking, as this usually takes time, and you don’t want to run out of charcoal in middle of your smoke! You can fill the Charcoal Basket all the way up near the ends of the handles.
Open up your bottom air vent all the way.
Your charcoal needs airflow underneath the grill to combust.
NOTE: When you want to use the “Smokin’ Chip Feeder” to add wood chips to the fire, it’s important that charcoal isn’t covering the access port at the front of the firebox area (see details under Smoking on a Saffire).
Starting Your Kamado
Starting the fire, option A (wood-based fire starter).
When using a wood-based fire starter, nestle one down into the top of the charcoal. You want the starter to have charcoal around it on all sides. Be sure to leave enough air space around the fire starter for some air to reach it, or it won’t stay lit. You can place fire-starters this way in more than one spot if you want to get the whole grill started faster. Now light the starter and set at least one piece of charcoal across the top of it. The charcoal on top will hold the heat in and allow all of the charcoal pieces directly around the fire starter to combust within a few minutes.
Starting the fire, option B (electric charcoal starter).
When using an electric charcoal starter, nestle it down into the charcoal so it rests in the charcoal just above the Fire Grate. The charcoal should envelope the lower half of the starter element. At this point you can plug in the starter. Keep track of how long you leave the starter plugged in, you don’t want it to be plugged in for more than 8 minutes to avoid damaging the starter. Once you see a nice ember going inside the charcoal, the fire should continue to increase even after removing the starter. When you unplug the starter, carefully remove it from the grill and place it somewhere safe to cool down for the next 15 minutes. Cement or a stone is a preferable surface, but whatever you do, keep all children and pets away!
Let the temperature rise.
First, leave the grill open for at least 5 minutes. This helps the charcoal to fully ignite. Set a timer. You’ll need to stay nearby so the temperature doesn’t get out of hand. Once the charcoal has stopped smoking as much, replace everything back in your grill and close the grill. Swing the Chimney Top Air Control fully open and let it heat up until the grill is up to the desired temperature. Again, set a timer. Try to check your grill every 10 minutes to be sure your grill temperature doesn’t shoot way past the temperature you needed.
Adjust the temperature the way you want it.
When the grill has reached the right temperature, adjust the Top and Bottom Air Controls according to your needs (see Controlling the Temperature).
Don’t forget to extinguish the fire when you are finished cooking. Simply close the Top and Bottom Air Controls to snuff the fire out. This will efficiently preserve any remaining coals for next use. (Note that you can close the Air Controls before your food is finished cooking. Your Saffire will hold its heat for a long time. However, see the safety section below.)
