An overview of tips on charcoal and the types of charcoal for the barbecue season. Because most questions about charcoal are asked at the beginning of the barbecue season. High-quality products are the clear recommendation for the barbecue season. They play it safe in order to have no foreign matter and the right amount of carbon in the bag. Quality, even at a slightly higher price, pays off in the end. High-quality products guarantee the right temperature and burning time when grilling.
Common types of charcoal
Different types of charcoal, as charcoal is also called, are commercially available in many price ranges. Charcoal is actually a purely natural product. It is formed when the wood is charred.
Charcoal briquettes consist of small pieces of charcoal or ground charcoal. With the addition of different binders such as corn or potato starch, they are wet-pressed and then dried into the usual shape of charcoal pads or sticks.
Charcoal for the quick kind of grilling pleasure
The charcoal packed in bags or large sacks made from pieces of charcoal should be very easy to use on the grill. It can be easily ignited when dry. The pieces of charcoal should not be so small, as they will burn very quickly and turn to ash. During the grilling process, you then have to refill and the temperature is not evenly high. Large chunks are of higher quality and will burn and hold temperature much better. Consequently, the barbecue party becomes a success.
Charcoal briquettes for the long barbecue evening
The other type of charcoal that can be found commercially is charcoal briquettes. These briquettes, pressed together with great pressure and highly compacted, have a very high calorific value. They don’t ignite as quickly and take longer to heat up, but their burning time is much longer and more constant. There are some charcoal briquettes that can be extinguished with water after use, then dried and reused. Briquettes are preferable, especially with regard to long burning times.
Various types of wood for the charcoal
The Europe-wide DIN standard standardizes the values that charcoal must-have. However, it is also important to know the country of origin of the charcoal and the tree species from which the charcoal was made.
- The charcoal, which is made from local wood, is environmentally friendly. High combustion performance is achieved with charcoal made from hardwood from deciduous trees. Beechwood is a guarantee for high-quality charcoal.
- The charcoal made from Querbracho wood has been available from us in consistently high quality for many years. With its large grain, it ensures long-lasting high heat. The charcoal from the South American Quebracho wood offers many advantages. It causes no flying sparks when ignited and has no unpleasant odor development.
- Lignite briquettes are also commercially available. It burns very hard and there is a strange smell when it is lit. In the ash of the lignite briquettes, there is a significant proportion of sulfur, which has a yellow-brownish color and is unhealthy.
- A special new development is charcoal made from ground coconut shells. These ground coconut shells are pressed and offered in briquette form. Coming from a waste product, this charcoal is very good.
- The burning time of this charcoal is very long. It burns at least twice as long as conventional charcoal. This charcoal also has the advantage of being smoke-free, making it the perfect alternative for balcony grillers.
Special features of the charcoal for different cooking methods
The charcoal in pure piece form burns quickly and gives off the heat quickly. But it quickly turns to ashes. The charcoal briquettes burn harder but give off the heat more evenly and for longer. The charcoal briquettes can hold the heat for up to three hours.
With certain types of preparation, the “long jobs” such as pulled pork or beef brisket, you have to pay very close attention to the constant temperature. In the kettle grill or water smoker, it is particularly important that the temperature does not vary greatly. The use of charcoal briquettes is recommended here. Also, note tips for grilling trout and fish.
What to look out for when buying charcoal?
Basically, you should buy big bags of charcoal. In the small sacks, there are much smaller pieces and much smaller fractions and coal dust. There are nice big chunks of coal in the big sacks. The plus logo should be present because the European standard DIN EN 1860-2 regulates the proportion of ash, water, and carbon in charcoal and charcoal briquettes. Any admixture of other substances such as slag, bitumen, pitch, or glass is not permitted. Products with the DINplus logo have the advantage that the carbon content is high and the ash content is as low as possible.
Storage of the charcoal
You should always store the charcoal in a dry place. Moisture is charcoal’s worst enemy. Charcoal with high moisture content is very difficult to ignite. In the summer, the garage or garden shed is the usual place to store charcoal. In winter, a dry basement room is preferable.
