What charcoal is best to use for my Kamado?

If you bought a Big Green Egg, Kamado Joe or other Kamado Grill, it is equally important to use good charcoal. This is because it affects the taste of your dishes and the ease with which you control the temperature. In this article we will help you choose the right charcoal.

WHAT IS CHARCOAL

Charcoal is wood burned with a limited amount of oxygen. Because little oxygen reaches the fire, the wood hardly burns, causing it to char. Substances contained in the wood, such as methane, hydrogen and water vapor do burn, leaving you with more or less pure carbon after charring. The charring of wood can take several days. The final substance is much purer and burns much better than ordinary wood.

Commercial hardwood charcoal is made using large pieces of wood. The wood is lit in a very large kiln. After a certain amount of wood is burned, the oven doors are closed. This prevents additional oxygen from entering, which reduces the flames. It also keeps the wood smoldering and charred. What remains after the wood has cooled is hardwood charcoal.

WHY IS A GOOD CHOICE OF CHARCOAL IMPORTANT?

A kamado has the nice feature that you can optimally control the temperature inside the barbecue. Oxygen-rich air flows in through the slide at the bottom. This leaves through the temperature regulating cap at the top. Inside the kamado you will always find a cast-iron plate/grate at the bottom on which the charcoal is placed. Nowadays there are also handy stainless steel charcoal baskets for sale, which make filling and emptying the kamado easier. You also have better air flow with such a charcoal basket.

To control the temperature of your kamado play with the air supply. The slider at the bottom a little more open. Close the lid. This only works if the air can flow well past the charcoal in your kamado.
If you use briquettes (that's almost swearing...) then the ash will soon impede the proper flow of air past the charcoal in your kamado. You will notice immediately that your kamado will drop in temperature and will not get going. So don't use briquettes!
If you use cheap home, garden, and kitchen charcoal then it won't work either.

HOUTSKOOL VS. BRIKETS

Why should you use charcoal instead of briquettes? Charcoal briquettes are made from a combination of wood dust, small pieces of wood and some filler material. Besides igniting poorly in your kamado, briquettes also contain plenty of pollutants that you definitely don't want in your food.

No ash

So, as described above, briquettes are compressed from wood/charcoal residues. Often binding agents, but also sand and sometimes chemicals are added to make them easy to light. The result is that if your barbecue has been on for a while, it will have a thick layer of ash. High quality charcoal consists mostly of carbon so the ash formation is much less. The longer in production the process of heating takes, and the higher the temperature the more pure the charcoal becomes.

Longer burn time

Briquettes can usually only burn for a few hours. You do have briquettes with a long burn time, but they usually run out after four hours as well. Considering that a brisket or pulled pork can easily take 8 to 10 hours, briquettes are not really an option. Good charcoal has a certain hardness and purity, which makes the burn time many times longer than briquettes.

Higher temperature

Charcoal can reach a much higher temperature than briquettes. If you want to bake pizza or sear a steak on the barbecue, you may not reach the desired temperature with briquettes.

Fragrance

A good quality charcoal does not smell and gives a neutral taste to your dishes. The smells that come from briquettes are not pleasant. Now the smell of burning charcoal also gets into your clothes, but the flavor it gives off to dishes is thus neutral. You can possibly add extra flavor by using smoke chips.

More control over the fire

Briquettes ignite quickly, which ensures that your barbecue is ready to grill in no time. Often the temperature then quickly strikes, causing your meat to burn quickly, and after an hour the temperature already begins to drop, requiring you to refill the briquettes. Charcoal burns much more evenly and the temperature is easier to control. If you have a recipe that requires you to maintain a temperature of 100°C for, say, 8 hours, you can't really do that with briquettes. By the way, charcoal is not only suitable for kamados, but you can also use it in a kettle barbecue or on another charcoal grill.

THE MAIN TYPES OF CHARCOAL

Not all types of wood are suitable for making charcoal. Most charcoal is made from woods such as Oak, Maple, Acacia or Marabu. These types of wood all have a certain hardness, so you can count on a long burn time and high temperatures.

• Charcoal made from European oak & beech wood. This variety gives off a light mild smoke flavor. Has a long burn time and a good price-quality ratio.
• Charcoal made from South African black wattle wood. A somewhat lighter type of wood. Burns very clean without much smoke. This is the favorite of top chefs because this species gives off virtually no flavor to dishes
• Charcoal made from the Argentine Quebrancho holm oak. Its hard structure and coarse grading ensure a long burn time and high temperature when burned. This makes this charcoal extremely suitable for any type of ceramic barbecue such as Big Green egg or other types of charcoal ovens
• Charcoal made from Marabu from Cuba. A well-known heavy species known for its long burn time. Is sometimes more difficult to obtain. Gives a neutral smoke smell. Perfect for Low & Slow

WHERE TO BUY?

Just a few years ago, it was quite a challenge to find good hardwood charcoal. Nowadays, most barbecue stores, and garden centers have it in their selection. There are now so many different charcoal brands. Especially in America you can find many different types of charcoal, and every barbecue brand now has its own bag of charcoal. At Cookers & Grills we have a carefully selected assortment of the best quality premium charcoal. Below we have made a top 5 for you based on availability, quality and price.

Black Ranch (Argentina)

Black Ranch Quebracho charcoal is made in Argentina on a natural basis, using wood from the Quebracho tree (holm oak). It is produced from residual wood from the wood industry in Argentina or from specially established plantations, and is an all-natural product. Black Ranch Quebracho Blanco, from Argentina, belongs to the category of professional charcoal. This charcoal is known for its outstanding quality, with high calorific energy value and long burn time. Quebracho wood, with an unprecedented hardness of no less than 40%, is considered one of the world's hardest woods. This extraordinary density contributes to an exceptionally long charcoal burn time. Quebracho Blanco charcoal, if provided with sufficient oxygen can reach temperatures as high as 750 degrees Celsius.