Great Finds (NF)

[Big Cliff]

Last year when I went South the place I rented didn't have a BBQ. I ended up at Wall-mart and found a little portable charcoal one for $14.99 US, bought a bag of briquets and proceeded to cook all sorts of things on it. It's not very big, perhaps 14" in diameter but it was perfect for two people and I have even managed to cook 4 decent size steaks on it at the same time. I liked it so much that when I got back home I bought two more of them ($19.99 at Wall-mart here), one for here at the house and one for when I am up North. It was a little slower than propane but I kind of liked the way things turned out so I took a little extra time.

Last week I was reading that if you want the best BBQ flavors you should use charcoal instead of briquets and that even the quality of the charcoal makes a huge difference. I had tried charcoal last year at one point but wasn't too impressed with it, I found it hard to light and it didn't seem to get very hot so I kind of gave up on it. Last week I was in CTC and bought a bag of Royal Oak charcoal, it was more money than some of the other brands but I thought WTH I'll give it another try; WOW what a difference! Easier to light, burns really nice and hot, gets hot fast and it hardly uses any charcoal.

One of the other features I really like is that since I am usually only cooking for 1 to 4 people I only need a couple of handfuls of charcoal to cook the whole meal, most of the other BBQs I looked at would need a small pail full just to cover the bottom. Anyway, just thought I'd share, it's not the best quality BBQ I have ever seen, this one is now on it's second season and it's starting to get a little rusty on the outside but for $20.00? I can afford to replace it every two years if I need to and it's still a lot cheaper than buying a propane one?

 

 

[misfish]

If you ever come across an old propane BBQ on the side of the road Cliff,grab it. Gut it,keep the grills and use it for charcoal. Just buy some of the aluminum trays from the dollar store to hold the charcoal.

[captpierre]

2 hours ago, misfish said:

If you ever come across an old propane BBQ on the side of the road Cliff,grab it. Gut it,keep the grills and use it for charcoal. Just buy some of the aluminum trays from the dollar store to hold the charcoal.

Great idea. My old Barbie is just about done. Will try this. 

[ketchenany]

Cliff there is charcoal starter, basically a cylinder with holes and a handle. I bit expensive for my liking but any handy person can easily make one. Once burned hot dump it in the BBQ.

Son in law use it. And yes charcoal is way better than the briquettes. Probably contain chemicals.

 

 

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[dave524]

Tail gate cooking with an Hibachi,  haven't seen one of those in years but they were awesome. And yes Walmart does make good BBQ"s ?

[pics]

Costco used to have good charcoal from Quebec.  The last time I bought some it was from Mexico and it was crap.. sent sparks out constantly.  Now I just make my own using the double barrel method..

[bigbuck]

I brought one of those years back. They are cheap and if you get 2 years out of it, you are ahead of the game. They are pretty much disposable and for 1-3 people, perfect. I've got you beat though, when our Barbie at the cottage had a nice fire caused by spider webs in the Gas tunes, I took the heavy cast iron grates and put them over a couple concrete blocks and voila!! A nice BBQ pit that doubles as a small fire pit. You really can't beat charcoal, what is better but hard to get is dry grape vines. Bbq'ng on those is unbelievable. 

[misfish]

3 hours ago, bigbuck said:

, what is better but hard to get is dry grape vines. Bbq'ng on those is unbelievable. 

Say what ? Interesting.

Albert,any truth to this? LOL

[ketchenany]

3 minutes ago, misfish said:

Say what ? Interesting.

Albert,any truth to this? LOL

Don’t know B. We only use the grapes no sense in destroying the source.

If it’s the stuff they prune in the spring lots in Niagara at this time of year. I’m not sure but the actual trunk would be hard to come by for sure. 

[Rizzo]

I have bought a couple of those cheapee hibachis, Work great for a shorelunch...except for last year when I went to St Clair and the charcoal was garbage and we didn't have much of it. Luckily I had a couple of pre-cooked steaks that just needed re-heating so we didn't starve...ate em cold. That was one of those days that everything that could go wrong did...skunked, broke a rod, buddy put a hook through his hand...and bbq wouldn't heat up. It was one for the ages. They say some day you will look back and laugh about days like that...well I ain't laughing yet. 

[Old Ironmaker]

Briquets always beats gas and charcoal always beats briquets. I have an old gas BBQ and use it for charcoal, I put some sheet metal on the bottom. Nothing beats the taste of a charcoal BBQ.

A great way to start charcoal is to fill a clean coffee can with holes drilled in the bottom and fill with the charcoal or briquets and place with the open end down on top of some paper or fire starter.  Light the paper and use a hair blower to feed the fire O2. Remove carefully and spread out the white hot coals, I use fire retardant aluminized gloves, I don't know where I stole I mean got them from. Large tongs work. Depending on the size of your Q or firepit one can use a leaf blower, even a Shop Vac will work. 

Note Bene, don't use a recycled gas Q, Hibachi etc. on a wooden deck. You may burn the deck boards or burn your house down. 

[bigbuck]

The dead trimmings from the vines. Sublime. 

[Tom S]

On 4/19/2019 at 3:28 PM, ketchenany said:

And yes charcoal is way better than the briquettes. Probably contain chemicals.

I actually prefer using Kingsford original briquettes for a few reasons:

- With a bit of research you can get a list of the fillers they use, Kingsford doesn't use anything that should worry you. Lump charcoal (particularly from cheaper brands) has been found with pieces of treated wood, metal, plastic, combined with it)

-Briquettes give of a more consistent heat and can be counted out, lump burns inconsistently and you can only make an educated guess at the amount you need

-I've bought bags of lump that were obviously roughly handled at some point, the whole bags were just little pieces. No way to know until you open up the bag and start digging. Never had that issue with briquettes

-Briquettes start up so easy with a chimney lighter. Never use lighter fluid or Matchlite briquettes, that's where your chemical taste comes from

Factoid - Kingsford Charcoal was started by Henry Ford ,Thomas Edison, and EB Kingsford as a way to use up wood scraps from Ford's Automotive Plants at the time. 

[Old Ironmaker]

When I was a kid and had visions of me taking gold at the Montreal Summer Olympics I refused to eat anything from the briquet or charcoal fired BBQ. I was positive it contained carcinogens. 

[pics]

I use lump charcoal and add more as I go, along with pieces of hickory, cherry, maple or apple.. (always without the bark though). I am going to try to make charcoal with some cherry this spring.  Sugar maple is the best but finding it can be a challenge..

[Old Ironmaker]

9 hours ago, pics said:

I use lump charcoal and add more as I go, along with pieces of hickory, cherry, maple or apple.. (always without the bark though). I am going to try to make charcoal with some cherry this spring.  Sugar maple is the best but finding it can be a challenge..

Believe it or not Pics metallurgical coke makes a good Q fuel. Did it during the strikes of 81' and 90'. Can't be anything in that stuff that will kill ya', ya' think? We were desperate, young and crazy, I don't suggest doing it again. Reading this thread I was wondering myself if one can make homemade charcoal. Do you know how you will try and do that? 

[pics]

I fill a small drum with hardwood, then place it into a 55 gallon barrel and light a fire. The small drum has to have a tight fitting lid and a quarter inch hole in the top to vent the gasses.  It's not unlike making coke for blast furnaces..