By Susan Seliger
I miss grilling fiercely. When I lived out in the burbs, I loved moving the heat of summer cooking out of the kitchen onto the deck. I’d keep flaming my food through fall – and sometimes I’d even put my boots on, sweep the snow off the grill cover, and fire up the Bar-B through the New year.

Now that I’ve moved back into the city and into an apartment, grilling is frowned upon. Even though we have a common roof deck, gas grills are not allowed and charcoal and toxic lighter fluid are too messy — and hardly eco-friendly.

But my grilling days may not be over. I just found a brand new product on the market this month that is a clean, green alternative to charcoal and gas – that’s faster and cheaper, too.

It’s called the uGO™ FlameDisk™ and it’s a round, well, tin disk (looks a little like the old Jiffy Pop popcorn popper before it’s been popped) that contains ethanol (a renewable biofuel) and a little (4%) methanol. Charcoal, on the other hand — and lighter fluid – contain petroleum-based components from fossil fuels which are non-renewable. Propane gas is made entirely from non-renewable fossil fuels. According to EPA estimates, more than 90% of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. come from the combustion of fossil fuels.

How Does It Work?

Here’s how this flame disk works: Place the disk into an open grill (an ordinary charcoal grill or hibachi will do), peel the cover off, light one of the holes on top with a single match – and boom – ooops, wait, not a boom, just a little whoosh – the disk ignites. Then put the food grate back over the disk – and four minutes later (compared to at least 30 minutes for charcoal) you’re ready to cook.

Yeah, But What About Taste?

The manufacturer claims that the “smoke plate” built in yields a genuine flame-grilled taste because the juices from the foods drip down onto it, causing it to flare and smoke, just as with other methods of grilling. Cooking time and temperature is supposed to be about the same as charcoal.

My Experience on the Grill

I hauled a little grill up to the roof deck of my apartment building where propane is not allowed.  With one match, I was able to get the disc burning. And within a few minutes — not even enough time to get halfway through a beer — the grill was ready to go. Things went fine when I started with the red peppers and onions until I poured a little extra olive oil marinade on — and the resulting flame flared up and charred the veggies a bit more than I might have liked. The same thing happened with the steaks as the juices started to drip. If my grill had been one with an adjustable-height grate, it would have been easier to control the cooking temperature. Instead, i just kept moving the steak to different parts of the grill to find spots where the flame had died down.

As for taste — even with a little more charring than I used to get with my old pre-eco-conscious propane grill — the flavor was delicious and indistinguishable from gas or charcoal.

And the cleanup was far easier than charcoal. The flame disc died out after about 40 minutes of grilling. And the grill cooled fast– no waiting for hours as with charcoal.  That’s a  particularly handy safety feature if you’re camping or having a tailgating party. And there was no messy, greasy charcoal ash to dispose of. The company says the disc is made of recyclable materials as is all the packaging.

And Price?

A pack of three disks sells for about $19.99 (including shipping). For more info, or to buy the product, or to check out a video of how the disk compares to charcoal, go to the Flame Disk web site. Here’s a list of the retailers selling the disc.

Summer may just taste a little better this year, after all.

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