The Best Type Of Lighter For Flambéing Is Both Safe And Cheap

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Tableside flambé feels even more magical when it's done in your own dining room; your family gathered to watch as you deliberately set your own cooking ablaze. Maybe you're a tad more subtle about flambé night at your place, keeping the flames in the pan while food is cooking, instead. Either way, there's an ideal type of lighter you should use for flambéing, one that helps you liven up Friday night dinner without burning anything unintended — and it might be one of the cheaper kitchen tools you buy this year.

We got the scoop on fancy flambé cooking from North Carolina private chef Chuck Hayworth, who is a medical meal specialist and the chief operating officer at The Resort Chef. In an exclusive interview with The Takeout, Hayworth said he uses classic, hand-held firepower for flambéing and avoids certain methods altogether. "I don't use matches for safety reasons," he said. "I like a good CB multi purpose butane torch."

Butane torches are likely what you imagine when you think of a chef flambéing bananas foster in a five-star kitchen. They're refillable and come with enough accessories to be useful in the kitchen and in a workshop for things like soldering — they deliver high heat that is concentrated in a controllable flame. Hayworth's favorite is the inZaynity Dual Flame Butane Torch Gun, available on Amazon for around $30, because of its easy-to-squeeze trigger and design. "Plus, [the] butane keeps safe, unlike larger propane lighters," he said.

The fancy, fiery world of flambé is at your fingertips once you have a butane torch in your hands. Your own kitchen will become the stage for Baked Alaska's big comeback, a place to make a proper crème brulee, or a solid workshop for a flambéed steak; and that is just the beginning of the smokey, caramelized dishes you'll be able to create. "Any bananas foster is always a hit or cherries jubilee that you can find dozens of recipes on the internet for, just don't forget to serve with ice cream," Hayworth said.

Flambéing is inherently a little bit dangerous – after all, you are pairing flammable alcohol and fire with the intent of creating a controlled fireball. There is a way to accomplish the technique using a gas stove without a lighter, but it is not the ideal method. "[It's] very dangerous but yes by shaking the pan full of flammable liquid," Hayworth said. Instead, invest in a torch and eliminate a few unnecessary dangers from the already edgy cooking technique. Taking other steps to ensure safety just makes sense, and Hayworth has one more major suggestion to consider for at-home flambéing. "I always pull a pan off the flame first so as to not burn my guests or myself."