Abstract: A charcoal starter used with a conventional charcoal barbecue grill for outdoor cooking includes a tapered housing formed by interconnecting quadrilateral sidewalls that are arranged to rest vertically on the supporting surface of the charcoal grill. The sidewalls define open top and bottom portions with the area of the bottom opening being greater than the area of the top opening. A row of air inlet apertures and a pair of openings are provided in each of the sidewalls adjacent the lower end portions and the upper end portions thereof respectively. A handle member is detachably engageable with a pair of openings for lifting the housing into and out of position on the barbecue grill supporting surface. A grate having a plurality of apertures extending therethrough is positioned in the housing and is supported at an elevation above the sidewall air inlet apertures by support members secured to the grate.