British BBQ Society Forums

Hi everyone, first post so excuse my ignorance. As a flat dweller, BBQing isn't my forte. However I have just purchased one of these http://www.firebox.com/product/2087/Portable-BBQ-Grill. Probably sniffed at by the cognoscenti, I purchased it to use in the park, beach etc. I've done a bit of reading on this website, so I know that I need to get good quality restaurant lumpwood charcoal, but want to be as ecologically sound as possible, especially after reading some of the dubious sources of supermarket charcoal. Any tips on
the best charcoal to get in the London area would be gratefully received. As for lighting the BBQ I see a lot of people recommending the Weber chimney starter. How much charcoal do I need to put in etc. How long will it take to get to optimum cooking temperature ?? My final question and the thing I have the least clue about is, obviously this is a portable BBQ, after cooking how do I cool down the charcoal ? How long will it take for the charcoal to cool down ?? As the BBQ folds down flat, how do I carry the charcoal back home, is there a special bag I need to buy ? Finally what is the most Eco friendly way of disposing of the used charcoal??? Sorry for so many questions and big thank you in advance to anyone who takes the time to reply.
Cheers
Mark

Hello and welcome, try http://www.localcharcoal.co.uk/ it will list your nearest charcoal producer and having picked up a bag from my nearest producer today I can vouch for the quality and expert knowledge

Hi Mark,

JEC gave you some great advice with the charcoal site. I probably wouldn't go with restaurant grade lump for your needs as it comes in big bags which you probably wouldn't want to store. Another suitable one for you would be Heat Beads. They can be purchased online and are stocked by many good garden centres and places that sell BBQs.

If you're more likely to use your BBQ as a portable unit you probably wouldn't want to lug a chimney starter with you. As you're going to be grilling on that unit, then there's nothing wrong with using a firelighter cube to light your charcoal in the BBQ.

There's no great way to cool your charcoal after use, if you use lump wood it burns hot and fast so by the time you've eaten, it should be almost burned out. Ash from lump wood charcoal is good for the garden so can be sprinkled over soil, this is not the case with briquettes. As for transporting ash, I'm sorry I wouldn't know. My portable BBQ is a Weber portable so I just put the lid back on and lock it in place and off I go.

Hope that helps.

Cheers

Steve