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Ontario Eggers - I need some help

Bob V
Bob V Posts: 195
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Ontario Eggers -

My son has been watching me Egg for many years now and is just finishing his first year at Queen's. He's living in residence this year but has found a house with some other students for next year.

He announced that he'd like to take our medium back to school with him in the fall. (This finally gives me an excuse to upgrade to a large. What a nice father I am...)He's already pretty good in the kitchen, but we'll spend the summer doing some intensive Egg training to get him up to speed. His avowed intention is to convert Kingston to North Carolina barbecue. He's one of the few US students from the South up there.

So - I need some help here: is lump charcoal widely available in Ontario? Are some brands better than others, or the brands the same as in the US? How about getting cuts like tri-tips? Lastly - do Canadian butchers know cuts of pork like Boston butts or is there a British name for them?

Thanks in advance for your help -

Bob V

Comments

  • giantwing
    giantwing Posts: 189
    Bob,
    I am in Vancouver bc which is on the west coast but I was born and raised on ontario.
    Your cuts are pretty much the same at least they are in BC. I have gone to Canadian Tire which has store all over Canada. You can get a large bag of royal oak for $15 which seems to be ok.
    Mike
  • Rib Fan
    Rib Fan Posts: 305
    Bob V,
    Lots of lump around Ontario. I personally buy RO from Walmart not sure if there is one in Kingston..but pretty sure there would be. RO seems to be the best for the $ locally. If not try Home Hardware or Canadian Tire. No shortage of supply.
    His best bet for meat is to find a local butcher rather than the big chain stores (although some good product can be found there as well). The local yellow pages or google search should lend this information.
    Canadian butchers know what a Boston Butt is...tri-tips could be hit and miss.
    Queens is known for their Engineering program...is that what his is majoring in?

    Hope that helped...anything else let me know. Oh I am about 2 hours west of Kingston.
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    Bob V,

    Some meat cuts have different names up here but a butcher should know both US and Canadian terms. Lump is not a problem but you may be taken aback by the price. Kingston is a major area for barbeque but I don't believe there are a lot of eggers around there. As giantwing said Canadian Tire has Royal Oak lunp and another building centre...Rona carries Maple Leaf.

    Steve

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • giantwing
    giantwing Posts: 189
    How is the maple leaf brand Steve?
  • giantwing
    giantwing Posts: 189
    How is the maple leaf brand Steve?
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    giantwing,

    Far and away the best I have used. No junk in the bag, no rocks, no sparking and really subtle almost sweet smoke. It used to have one of the best ratings on TNW's site but I guess they got a bag with a lot of small pieces. That has never happened to me in hundreds of bags. Can you get it out west?. I really like Basques out of PQ but you often get a bag that is all small pieces.

    STeve

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • giantwing
    giantwing Posts: 189
    We have rona out her but i usually avoid because home depot seems to be cheaper for the stuff i buy.
    I will go in and see tonight and see if I can find a bag.
    Its good to have some canadian content on here. I get frustrated with our dealer out here who seems to be a little slow on knowledge.
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    giantwing,

    Seems to be a lot of Canucks on the forum now. There goes the neighbourhood :laugh:

    Steve

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • Bob V
    Bob V Posts: 195
    Thanks RibFan -

    No - he's partying with the engineers, but he's studying a thing called cognitive science. He's loving it up there!

    Bob V
  • Bob V
    Bob V Posts: 195
    Guys -

    I did a search for charbon de bois and came up with this from Quebec http://www.charbonbasques.com/produits.php They show distributors in Ontario and New England as well.

    Has anyone tried it? I like the idea of trying to cook over maple...

    This could be a whole new thing.

    Thanks again.

    Bob V
  • giantwing
    giantwing Posts: 189
    We have rona out her but i usually avoid because home depot seems to be cheaper for the stuff i buy.
    I will go in and see tonight and see if I can find a bag.
    Its good to have some canadian content on here. I get frustrated with our dealer out here who seems to be a little slow on knowledge.
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    BobV,

    That is the Basques brand and it is very good. I still prefer Maple Leaf. You probably got Basques on your search because Charbon de bois means charcoal in French.

    Steve

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • Misippi Egger
    Misippi Egger Posts: 5,095
    I think the Spring is just thawing some of you guys out! :ohmy:

    Coming out of hibernation and firing' up the Eggs ! :woohoo:
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    Clark,

    Just barely above freezing right now. We have to use the eggs all winter cause the summers only last a few weeks :laugh:

    Steve

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • OttawaEgg
    OttawaEgg Posts: 283
    Plenty of lump here - CT has royal oak, as does wally's I hear.

    The only problem I have is getting the right wood for smoking. I have apple, hickory and mesquite - all in "chips" (not the tiny chips, the big chips). Haven't seen "chunks" anywhere. As for cherry wood, I only saw it in tiny chips - the kind you'd use in an electric smoker.

    Cheers :cheer:
  • RGBHV
    RGBHV Posts: 1,318
    Hi Bob:

    Kingston...what a great location to go to school.

    Half way between Toronto (the big smoke)and Montreal (stripper capital of Canada) and even closer to Ottawa, but I'm not sure why anyone would want to go there...(Ha, Ha! sorry Ottawaegg)

    Canadian Tire carries Royal Oak ($15.00 / bag)- I'm currently trying it instead of whicked good, etc. from my dealer ($20-25.00 per bag). I'm glad to hear that Rona is carrying Maple Leaf - I've used that before, I think a trip to Rona is in order.

    Kingston is a large enough city to have Rona, Home Depot and Canadian Tire. It's also surrounded by cottage country so I'm sure that your son will be able to find everything he needs within driving distance.

    Below is a link to a dealer that has an egg pic on his web site. I have no idea if they're any good or if they carry charcoal, but I'm sure they can provide some direction.

    http://www.fireplacesunlimited.net/c

    Good luck!

    Michael
  • fregg
    fregg Posts: 58
    Bob
    Home Hardware which is a hardware store right across Canada carries Maple Leaf at around the same price as Rona.
    Fregg
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    OttawaEgg,

    Try this. Loks like the Cdn. distributor for Smokinlicious may be in the Nation's Capital. Excellent wood

    http://www.smokinlicious.ca/index.php?Distributors

    Steve

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • Steve,

    Your Rona must have a different delivery driver than mine. I've bought +/-10 bags of Maple Leaf over the past two two years and they all have been a bunch of small pieces as described on TNW's web site. Every single bag. And I always find rocks and non-carbonated wood in the bags. I like the product because of the low spark, low ash nature, but hate the small pieces.

    Never tried Basques but heard it is good and will look to pick up a few bags this summer.
  • They do a good job sponsoring some local pro BBQ teams ("local" meaning Ontario). I don't seem many other charcoal companies doing the same, but then again, I can't same I run around looking for such.
  • Sorry - I replied to the wrong post. I was referring to Basques.
  • I did my MBA at Queen's and enjoyed it (the little I saw since I didn't have time to do much). Kingston is a beatiful place in the summer because it is right on the St. Lawrence Seaway. Per capita, it's one of Canada's most highly educated populations, but is also hope to the highest number of single mom's because of the three prisons in the area (a little bit of useless trivia).

    There's a Crappy Tire on Princess Ave. quite close to Queen's which would be the best place to get lump. The Home Depot is too far unless he has wheels because the cab costs would kill him. As another poster mentioned, the price tag might present a little sticker shock, but the 20% currency conversion certainly reduces the impact.
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    Corey,

    I thought I replied to this already but I don't see it so forgive me if it is a double post. I have never found Maple Leaf with a majority of small pieces. I usually buy it from the distibutor and never have a problem. I have bought a lot of bags from Ontario Gass BBQ and found the same thing. I only buy from Rona when I am running short(no joke intended) but haven't noticed a big diference when I have. They may have made a deal with ML to have their scrap bagged to make a few extra bucks.

    Steve

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON