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Entries in charcoal (4)

Tuesday
Sep082009

Review: Stubb's All-Natural Charcoal Briquettes

DateTuesday, September 8, 2009 at 7:55PM

On an impulse, I picked up a bag of Stubbs 100% All-Natural Charcoal Briquettes at my local Lowe's the other day.  I've used sauces from Stubb's and found them to be pretty good and I thought the charocal might be like the Kingsford Competition Briquettes that I've read so much about (but never seen in a store).

So when I got home, I fired up the cooker with a small pile of the Stubbs briquettes and had the cooker going pretty quickly for some pineapple shrimp kabobs.  My first reaction was that there's no difference in appearance or smell to any other briquette that I've used.  And, given that I cook on Kamado style cookers the last thing I wanted was the extra ash that comes from briquettes vs. lump charcoal.

In the end, the fire burned fine but didn't have the nice smell that I've come to expect from burning lump charcoal.  It also created the ash that I had hoped to avoid and did not extinguish cleanly with the ability to relight again.  In short, this was just charcoal briquettes that I'd expected something more from because Stubb's had put their name on the bag.

I don't know about you, but I'm sticking with all natural lump charcoal.

Cheers,
Braddog

AuthorBraddog | Comment3 Comments |
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Monday
Jun012009

Recipe: Steaks on the Bubba Keg

DateMonday, June 1, 2009 at 9:54PM

BK SteaksNow I do a lot more lo 'n' slow than I do high temp grilling, but my daughter has been asking for steak so I obliged. And since the Bubba Keg is at its best at high temps, I fired it up Sunday night for steaks on the grill.  I had picked up 4 filets at Sam's for ~$17.

I raked the ashes out of the bottom of the BK and had it at 500 degrees in about 20 minutes with a fresh load of lump charcoal. The cast iron grate put really nice grill marks on the steaks and except for having to butterfly them (my wife and kids like their steak well-done), these came out perfect. They were juicy and fork tender.

Here's how I prepped them:

  • 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1/2 tablespoon of minced garlic
  • 1/2 tablespoon of Kosher salt
  • 1/2 tablespoon of cracked black pepper
  • 1/4 tablespoon of rosemary

I heated this mixture in the microwave for about a minute to thin the olive oil and help to dissolve the salt.  I wisked the mixture together and then poured it into a square baking dish.  I then dipped each steak into the mixture, taking care to turn each one over to get good coverage.  Then, I covered the dish with cling wrap and and let them marinate in the refrigerator for about 90 minutes.

This simple marinade had a great flavor to compliment the steaks grilled over a hot charcoal fire.  I see more steaks in my future!

Cheers,
Braddog

AuthorBraddog | Comment3 Comments |
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Friday
May292009

The Long, Slow Burn

DateFriday, May 29, 2009 at 8:57PM

When I tell folks that the pulled pork they're enjoying cooked for 12+ hrs (or longer), I often hear comments like "Wow, how many times did you have to add charcoal?". People are amazed when I tell them that I didn't add any and that I got a good night's sleep besides. So here's an example to illustrate the burn times that can be achieved with the Big Green Egg.

Over the holiday weekend, I cooked pork butt on three consecutive nights. The last night, Saturday, I fired up the BGE at ~9:00pm for an all nighter. I filled the BGE with lump charcoal almost to the fire ring. The butts cooked until ~2:00pm the next day. At that time, we bumped the temps to 300 degree and put a load of ABT's on the cooker. At ~4:00pm, I removed the plate setter and continued to cook at 300-350 degrees while I put a couple of chicken breasts on.

All told, the cooker ran for ~20 hours on a single load of lump charcoal.  I accomplished this without the aid of an electronic draft device (i.e. a Stoker or BBQ Guru), just controlling temps with the vents and giving the coals a good stir when switching between smoking and grilling.

So how about it?  How long have you cooked a single load of fuel?  And gas doesn't count!  :)

Cheers,
Braddog

AuthorBraddog | CommentPost a Comment |
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Wednesday
Dec242008

What fuels your fire?

DateWednesday, December 24, 2008 at 8:42AM

If you're shopping for a bbq pit, part of your decision making process will be to determine what type of fuel you'll use to fire the pit.  You basically have 3 options to consider and each have pros & cons.


  1. Hardwood - Many folks believe that it's not really BBQ if it isn't cooked over wood coals.  I don't personally subscribe to that line of thinking, but maybe that's because my experience with a stick burner was really awful.  I had an offset cooker that I tried to burn wood in and I just never could get it right.  One of the things to consider about using hardwood is whether you have a consistent source for fuel and do you have a place to burn it to coals prior to shoveling it into your cooker.

  2. Propane - Sometimes called Lazy-Q, many gas powered cookers are pretty close to "set it and forget it".  I've cooked on a propane smoker with great results.  However, one of the things that alwasy concerns me a little bit is leaving a roaring burner of propane overnight.  Propane, like everything else has gotten a little more expensive as well.

  3. Charcoal - This fuel type could be divided into a couple of categories;  briquettes & lump.  Either way, this fuel is readily availble and still surprisingly affordable.  I won't get into the debate of briquettes vs. lump here, but suffice to say that I'm a lump charcoal guy.

So leave me a comment and tell me, what fuels your fire?

Cheers,
Braddog

AuthorBraddog | Comment3 Comments |
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