British BBQ Society Forums

The Social Smokers wrote:

thelawnet wrote:I just buy what ever is in the supermarket. Works for me.

Best time to buy i s usually about October when you can buy whatever is left over for about £2/sack.

Really?! I wouldn't touch anything sold in a supermarket, especially when using in a smoker. Maybe for an open grill type BBQ. For a smoker you want something that doesn't contains any chemical binders or any lighter fluids that are going to taint your food.

The supermarket briquettes definitely don't contain any lighter fluids. Unless you are daft enough to buy the instant lighting one that is.

I guess nearly all briquettes contain binders of some kind or other and don't see any reason to suppose the supermarket ones are worse in that respect. Cheaper for sure, quicker burning probably, but otherwise they are fuel and they are sold by very big corps with standards to uphold and will come from the same few manufacturers anyway; i.e. Big K et al.

I prefer lumpwood for grilling but will use briquettes for smoking.

Pecker wrote:Personally, I always feel guilty about using better/longer lasting briquettes for just 10 minutes grilling, and I never find that re-using briquettes is reliable. The barbecue is enough of an inexact science as it is without unnecessarily introducing a new variable, IMHO.

shorter/smaller cooks just use less fuel, simples! You can cook a reasonable amount of food for two off half a chimney of heat beads. I can normally cut that down to a third of chimey if I use the smokey joe.

The key to reusing semi spent briquettes is to mix them in with some fresh

eater of food wrote:I believe that Eddie tends to go with heat beads.

Whatever gave you that idea

I tend to mix part used briquettes with fresh, if I remember I put them on the bottom of the chimney, I find that they "take" quicker.

I also use the smaller bits in my disposable BBQ (old el cheapo oven tin with holes & an old cooling rack ideal for a couple of sausages and burgers etc)

The Social Smokers wrote:

biggus_richus wrote:I used to use CocoShell, but I used up the last of my supply at the weekend and they're now like hen's teeth.

Next cook will be over Weber briquettes. I read the thread discussing the yellow ash and dodgy smell, but if they're good enough for Weber to use at their Grill Academy and on tour, then I'm happy to give them a spin.

Next cook will probably also be on the grill though, if the summer is truly about to arrive.

We were supplied weber whilst competing at Grillstock, never again! The take ages to get going in the chimney starter and also they do have a dodgy sulpher smell. Devonshire lumpwood is good, but burns quickly. I'd go for Big K stuff or standard Supagrill Briquetts.

I always found the CocoShell slow to get going but assumed that was a good thing - the slower they take to start, the slower they will burn out?

That's my limited experience, also they are very consistent in burn time

Lidl are doing King of the Grill briquettes, they burn hot and and are long lasting.
£2.99 for 5kg.

Do any of you guys recommend big k briquettes , wickes have 10kg bags for £4.99

The Range (Wickes' posh side) have 5kg bags for £3.49 and Big K Red Lumpwood at £4.49 for 5 Kg. (Our Wickes is next to the range so doesn't generally stock charcoal.

Makro have their restaurant lumpwood charcoal on special for £8.99 for 12kg when you buy 3 bags.

May need to hoover SWMBO's car!

Don't know if anyone else has spotted this, and I thought it might add to the Weber briquette debate.

The latest 'artwork' on the front says:

"Made from high purity carbon concentrate derived from mineral coal."

So I'm not sure they're 'briquettes' in the traditional sense of the word. It looks like they're made from coal, not charcoal.

Steve W