Charcoal - educate me!

A chimney would definitely be beneficial. I use Big Q Restaurant Grade charcoal as the much bigger lumps give a longer cooking time, along with a more even temperature.

I use a Weber Go-Anywhere and have never had a problem with the quick light stuff. And you can keep a bag inside the BBQ when transporting.

If you end up carting separate bags of charcoal and a chimney starter it becomes less portable - and then you may need lighter fluid and lighter cubes too! 🙂

Tesco, Sainsburys, B&M - as long as its lump wood you usually can't go wrong. Some bags are better than others, but I've never had an issue with the Tesco stuff. Other's MMV

Yes to a starter chimney for speedier lighting. Also lumpwood charcoal. Buy in bulk from your local fuel yard in big 12kg sacks. I think I buy CPL restaurant grade stuff, whatever that means...? It's what the fuel yard have and it works well.

fazzini
Full Member
Tesco, Sainsburys, B&M – as long as its lump wood you usually can’t go wrong. Some bags are better than others, but I’ve never had an issue with the Tesco stuff. Other’s MMV

I had a summer job for a few weeks working on a charcoal packing line. At the end of the line were stacks of branded bags - B&Q, Sainsburys, Tesco, B&M - all of them. Same production line, different coloured bags <different pricing!>

Starters are defo worth it. The Weber fits in our go anywhere* when you cut the grate in half. So basically everything for the BBQ can be carried in the BBQ.

*Which is tiny compared to an SJ I think.

Same production line, different coloured bags <different pricing!>

Haha.... yep OK, got that!!

I use either Weber lumpwood charcoal or Weber briquettes.

I always cook indirect and last few minutes put the food over the flame to give it a nice char.

This is on a Weber 57cm kettle BBQ though. The lumpwood burns really hot so be wary of that.

The lumpwood burns really hot so be wary of that.

That's the problem with portable BBQs - you can't get the food away from the heat, no space to move and no height adjustment.

You can cut a coke can in half and fill the half can with some water, put that in the middle and charcoal around it. Or put it to one side. Its not perfect but it creates a cool spot. I've done roast chickens on a beach bucket bbq using this trick to keep things cool for half an hour then as the water has boiled away the coals are beginning to cool anyway, anther half hour and the chicken is done. Its not prefect, but it can help with temperature control a lot.

*Middle Class Outside Cooking Trigger Warning*

Different charcoal is good for different things.

Want to cook low and slow - briquettes are the way to go.  I use Commercial Grade Charcoal Briquettes in my Kamado.  Either reagular wood or coconut shell.

A good chimney starter is really useful too, either to light the whole lot or for your lit coals for the Minion Method.

Want to get something really hot - Lump wood, which is what I use in the Ooni pizza oven to get a base temp.

We do need more background info though...

Is your bbq style this...

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Or more like this...

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I prefer charcoal (lumpwood?) rather than the pre-formed round briquettes, just seem easier to light and work with.

We do need more background info though…

I'm hoping it's much more of the first one but with less grass and more sand!

TBH this is really aimed at cooking for small numbers (< 5 probs) as I'd use the bigger gas Weber for larger numbers - so I'm aiming for ready to cook as soon as reasonably possible and not too spendy in terms of fuel.

I'm sure I used too much charcoal last night but I didn't have a lot of choice as I'd gone with pre-packed instant light stuff.  I now know that a small chimney and less fuel will hopefully be quicker and, probably, better!

Always use briquettes for a low and slow cook, lump wood for grilling and cooking dirty.

I use a local wildlife trust to get my lump wood from, who produce great quality charcoal.

Depending upon the wood used, you'll also get a slightly different burn, some state which wood they have used.

Definitely worth spending a bit more on quality charcoal and a chimney starter.

https://devoncharcoal.co.uk/makers/

I tend to cook on my Weber 57cm several times a week through the summer and using good charcoal is essential. The self lighting bags are usually full of small bits and the lighting fluid produces loads of smoke.
I get my charcoal from a farm shop and they get it from a local producer, it burns very nicely and gives the food a nice taste.
Using a chimney starter is very simple to light, cook the food and then shut down the vents to kill the fire, this usually leaves half the coals left to use next time.
I love BBQ food.

Globaltic, woodwool lighters, no starter needed. The GA is better for storing what you want to cook with as it's more case shaped, but you'll work something out with the SJ and a container of some sort no doubt.

Literally years since Ive been on the forum, but Im back and figured I would add my 2 cents on a topic that is FAR too close to my heart....please excuse me

Charcoal is only to be used in a webber or smoker. To that end quality charcoal is essential. Natural quality producers are hard to come by but the best Ive found are https://www.oxfordcharcoal.co.uk/ Now which one suits depends on what you are doing. I tend to use Marabu in my smoker (but then I tend to smoke for +10hrs) but Birch and Ash work well for fish and the like. Try different variations and find what you like.

Now BBQ is a WHOLE different thing and here only wood will do the job. African hardwoods are still the best, like Rooikrans (steaks), Mopane (General use) and Camel Thorn (Chicken (anything that requires longer burn times)) - see here https://www.braaiwooduk.com/. Ive had some success with European hardwoods but I just find the quality very inconsistent.

Hope thats of some use to someone after a fair few years of accumulated knowledge.

Alderline lump wood charcoal which you can order from Amazon is great for quick grilling. It lights easily without a chimney. It smells great and burns really hot. Brilliant for steaks and burgers. I’ve used it for low and slow too and it works for that but it excels at hot n fast grilling.

I came here to say this. Although it's usually cheaper to but it direct from Alderline.

They also do briquettes in 2 forms. Normal, supermarket shaped ones and also 'Super burn' which are huge with a hole down the middle.

They're great for long cooks and burn so much more cleanly than normal briquettes. You can add them to the fire while your already cooking and they don't add any nasty chemical flavour or smells.

The last bag if superburn briquettes that I got was 50/50 chunks and dust but usually, they've been pretty good.

With a Weber go anywhere if you cut the grill in half in the middle you can carry it around with it sat in the bottom on the grate and some charcoal and a mini chimney starter inside it. The split grill also makes it easy to add more charcoal from the chimney starter during cooking if needed. It’s a great hack.