Charcoal advice please

[KamadoSimon]

That is pap....

What temperature were you running it at? Does charcoal burn hotter than the cocoashells? If it does, then you'd obviously need to compensate on the air vents & might explain the problem.

Currently using some BGE charcoal - much smaller chunks than I would have thought - but it lights very easily & burns a long time. Haven't done a hot cook with it yet - that'll be this evening. It's good, but at £2 per KG, it's not good enough to justify the cost.

But I've just taken delivery of 10 X 15kg bags of the top of the range Big K stuff - really looking forwards to trying that. Meant to be harder to light, but once going really long lasting or high heat. Will report back.

[Saucy Pig]

Was running it around 230f ish. It was incredibly easy to light, maybe too easy. Got a couple bags of the cocoshell left so not a total loss.
Will have to bite the bullet and go for BigK next time. Keen to hear how you do with it. If its as good as people say will probably work out less expensive in the long run.

[gazz_46]

Hi

My 1st experience with restaurant grade BigK charcoal couldnt have gone any better Thursday

I'm cooking on a modded kettle (minor mods, nothing special) still learning the trade before poss upgrade and previous best temps were just under roasting temps - with wild swings between 250 - 290 for around 5/6 hrs with "normal" charcoal.

Using the same methods but with BK managed a longer lower and more importantly easier to control temp, after a little while got it down as far as 230 with very little "swing" for 8hrs and with less coal!

Granted i am now gettin to know my grill and vent settings better but definatley saw a positive improvement with the change in fuel....not much adjustment left in vents to go much lower.......... still modding my kit and skills.........got fair results with Tesco "cotton wood charcoal" too but not this good.

BK coal is a good mod

[KamadoSimon]

I have now tried the following lumpwood charcoals & these are my impressions of it:

- B&Q
Small pieces, lots of bits at the end of the bag, not particularly long lasting but did get some high temperatures. Biggest problem was inconsistency in size of lumps & length of burns. Often had problems getting it to the extremes of temperatures (i.e. above 500F) during the winter.

- Big K restaurant charcoal (12kg bags)
Good stuff - reasonable size chunks, high temperatures & longer burns. Lights fairly easily - took a little time to get going. Very little ash left over.

- Blue bag restaurant charcoal (from http://www.barbequick.net)
When getting up to temperature, it was like a fire-works display. But once lit (took some time to light properly), it burnt well both in terms of length for slow cooks or high temperatures for steaks etc. At £12.99 per 12kg bag (minimum order of two bags), including postage, this is pretty good value. EDIT: I also got two bags of this from Liverpool Wood Pallets - similar results without so many sparks (http://liverpoolwoodpellets.co.uk/ourshop/cat_282866-Buy-Barbecue-and-Cooking-Charcoal.html).

- Local charcoal supplier (Pang Valley)
4kg bags at £6 per bag. Lit very easily & good sized pieces but inconsistent longer burns times. Sometimes I had to top up during long cooks, other times not. You can get good high temperatures from it. Very little ash left over. Very much doubt this is using much if any hardwood - hence the longer burn time issues. Great from an ecological viewpoint as this wood is from managed coppice & hasn't traveled very far.

- BGE
£20 for 9kg. Most expensive one I have tried. Was really surprised at the charcoal lump sizes. More akin to the B&Q than anything else. I was expecting larger lumps. It lit very easily & it did burn well, both in terms of length & high temperatures. I also noticed it snuffed out well, meaning it was more efficient that the ones above i.e. you could re-use what hadn't been burnt). But it wasn't twice as efficient compared to the others, so therefore not worth the premium in my opinion.

- Big K (their top of the range 15kg restaurant quality bags) - £16.99 per bag. Minimum order 2 bags. Postage additional
Given that I liked their 12kg bags, I went for the supposedly better graded 15kg bags. Wow. I am impressed. This is the kind of stuff you see in pictures on the USA forums. Huge lumps - see picture below - mixed in with medium & smaller pieces. Their smaller pieces are the size of the B&Q large lumps. This is fine if you have a large or XL ceramic. Might be an issue on anything other than larger kettle i.e. you'd have to break it up before using - but no big deal. Not got to the bottom of the first bag yet, so do not know how much ash is left, but I am seriously doubting there will be much. Have done two cooks with it & I am hoping it carries on this way. Very little ash. Does low 'n' slow well (probably down to the fact there are large pieces) & the high temperatures are easily achieved. It snuffs out really well, again probably down to the large pieces, meaning it is easily as efficient as the BGE stuff. Only one downside, which they did make me aware of before buying - it does spark more than the 12kg bags when lighting up. But it was no where near as bad as the fireworks listed above. They also said it is more difficult to light - haven't found that problem at all - in fact I would say it is as easily lit as the BGE lump, but not as easy as the Pang Valley lump.

So - given I have 9.5 bags left of the Big K - I'll be using that for a while. But very very happily. Definitely the best quality lump I have tried & at a great price for the quality. Next best for me would be their 12Kg bags. Then I would go for the Pang Valley.

The only thing I have in the back of my mind, is where does Big K stuff come from & is it sustainable etc etc ? Don't know the answer to that - maybe someone here can comment on that.

Hope this helps people.

Big K pallet delivery:


Large piece at the top of my first opened bag against a 330ml beer bottle:

[JEC]

Excellent write up Simon, I have 4 bags of the 15kg BigK sat by my back door, just delivered today!! Used 1 bag of the 12kg, takes an age to get going, really like the BGE lump but too expensive unless you can negotiate a bulk deal (if they exist), lights well and as you say seems to last longer. Might order a looftlighter as I've been getting on well with my heat gun but don't want to melt the end using it constantly on the Egg.

[nwaring]

So... my second post!

Since getting my BGE last year I've discovered a new obsession for getting hold of good quality reasonably cheap charcoal.

Simon, your summary above is really helpful... the beginnings of a UK based Charcoal Listing as per the Naked Whiz site!

Can I add add one more to the list:

• Dorest Restaurant Grade Charcoal http://www.woofwoodfuel.co.uk/. Costs £16.65 for 10kg (assuming you buy more than one bag). Main benefit is it's UK produced but is also good quality, burns hot and produces minimal ash. The sizes of pieces was a little variable with perhaps a few too many smaller pieces.

Addtionally, I think I have more information about the 'Blue Bag' charcoal mentioned in Simon's post. I have a suspiction this is imported by a company based near sheffield in the heart oof the Peak District - http://directcharcoal.co.uk/aboutus.php. I spotted their sign when driving past one day... a couple of phone calls later and I picked up 6 bags (12kg per bag) for about £8 per bag cash. The bags look identical to those on http://www.barbequick.net and the liverpool retailer. Apparently they are an importer and don't have a retail outlet but do allow you to call in and collect. It's great charcoal, significant sized pieces.

Your info about Big K is helpful, I didn't realise that they sell direct.
Nick

[Steve]

There's more than one importer. Fuel Express import as do Rectella (Bar-be-quick) Rectella are up near Burnley, I think Fuel Express is Wakefield way.

Rectella supply Makro but not Booker apparently even though the bags look the same. I believe Liverpool Wood Pellets' blue bag comes from Fuel Express but don't quote me on that.

[Steve]

Also, I hear on the grapevine that this year Rectella have a stockpile of good charcoal. We all know blue bag was bad last year due to the flooding in Nambia. I've yet to buy some fresh blue bag this year so I don't know for sure.

[nwaring]

Thanks Steve... Fuel Express... amazing... it's just down the road!

Email just sent to see if they sell direct!

[nwaring]

A quick update having spoken with Fuel Express...

They have a depot in Castleford where you can collect collect 12kg bags of Restaurant Grade Charcoal. The cost is £9 per bag

Nick