British BBQ Society Forums

Got a flyer in the post - they have 'Fuel Express' restaurant charcoal - 12kg "Grade A" (whatever that means) for 7.49+vat =8.99 with vat. The regular 'blue bag' charcoal is 8.49+vat = 10.19.

Anyone ever used fuel express charcoal?

I have used it and wasn't impressed (quite small lumps, a lot of powder at the bottom of the bag) but then again I make charcoal so I am probably biased!

Is there anywhere local to you that make charcoal here in the UK? It's got to be better than importing it from Africa / South America. if you can afford the extra cost.

Hi less - have you specifically tried the restaurant grade of theirs and found it to be poor, or was it the household suff?

The one I got was "Fuel Express Lumpwood Charcoal" at £10.99 for 10Kg. So going off that it sounds like yours is a good price at the very least!

Just looking at the pictures I have (obviously this is a single bag I tried, and is not gospel) the stuff on top was quite big but like I said the bottom half wasn't all that. I even have a couple of pictures (sad like that) if you want them.

Blue bag from Booker works well, also make my own charcoal, but I can't keep up with my summers cooking that way.
Si

CyderPig wrote:Blue bag from Booker works well, also make my own charcoal, but I can't keep up with my summers cooking that way.
Si

What do you prefer cooking on? Do you find that your own made stuff burns better?

Thanks, I might give this new stuff a go.

If you have the will and patience, then try and find a local British woodland charcoal maker. Up to 90% of charcoal sold in the UK is imported and a large portion of that comes from Paraguay, which borders Brazil. Prime rainforest is disappearing at an alarming rate & charcoal burning is a contributor to this.

It's easy to overlook, but it is important. Waitrose is now sourcing much of their product from Kent & Cornwall, which is produced from sustainable & well managed British Woodlands. The demand for home produced Charcoal is on the rise.

Support your local producer and help an ancient craft re-establish itself in our woodlands, even better go and visit them, see the process in action.

Lastly, high quality charcoal is sold in volume. The ligher it is, the better the carbonisation, the quicker it heats up. Plus the flavour is fantastic.



Surrey county council have a list of charcoal makers on their website.
http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/environment-housing-and-planning/countryside/woodlands/woodland-products/charcoal

The Smoking Canon wrote:If you have the will and patience, then try and find a local British woodland charcoal maker. Up to 90% of charcoal sold in the UK is imported and a large portion of that comes from Paraguay, which borders Brazil. Prime rainforest is disappearing at an alarming rate & charcoal burning is a contributor to this.

Excellent post! I wish my local council had something like this up. And you'r not wrong about the volume. Our 6Kg bag can vary by 20% in volume so we really had to allow for this.