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The Best Charcoal for Barbeques

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  • 02-06-2012 10:59pm
    #1
    Ernest
    Registered Users Posts: 444 ✭✭


    What is the best charcoal briquettes for Barbeques?. I mean which ones give the best taste to food being cooked?
    A few yeara ago Woodies used to sell a brand called Great Lakes and I recall it produced an excellent taste but I have not seen that brand for a long while. Does anyone have a recommendation on the best one of whats now left in the shops? Or has anyone seen Great Lakes recently in Ireland?


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    #2
    Cocoon
    Registered Users Posts: 600 ✭✭✭Cocoon


    I wouldn't touch briquettes personally, they have chemical binders and stuff in them. Woodies and B&Q have good quality lumpwood which is a natural product which burns hot and when you close the vents when finished cooking the lumpwood keeps its shape and doesn't turn to dust like briquettes, so next time you fire up the BBQ you still have fuel left over..


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    #3
    Ernest
    Registered Users Posts: 444 ✭✭Ernest


    Cocoon wrote: »
    I wouldn't touch briquettes personally, they have chemical binders and stuff in them.
    ..

    Hadn't thought of that: "chemical binders and stuff". Don't like the sound of that.
    I wonder if there are any national or EU Health standards or regulations applicable to charcoal briquettes? Since these "chemical binders and stuff" are likely to taint (as against just flavour) the food being cooked, there ought to be such standards.


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    #4
    Cocoon
    Registered Users Posts: 600 ✭✭✭Cocoon


    I'd say there must be standards for food quality charcoal, found this on another forum.

    “I had heard that wheat was used in charcoal as a filler, but I didn’t really know much about it, so I researched it. According to the Texas Wheat Producers Board And Association, and The Kansas Wheat Commission, wheat starch is used as a binder in most commercial charcoal briquettes. On another site, I found the Kingsford charcoal ingredients listed as follows: Wood Charcoal, Lignite Charcoal, Anthracite Coal, Limestone, Starch, Borax, Sawdust and Sodium Nitrate. This list does not specify where the starch comes from, but at an allergy site, more information about Kingsford Briquets was provided: “Both corn and wheat starches are used in this product, but they predominantly use cornstarch. They do not make any food products that do not contain gluten. This was confirmed by the company.” There is a positive note to all this. While reading about charcoal in general, I learned that if you allow your coals to burn to a complete ashy surface before you start cooking, any glues and additives will burn off before you start cooking. Hope this helps. ”

    From my experience lumpwood burns clean and if you need extra flavour add some wood chips.


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