Bon Appetit Magazine Cermamic Grill

bgeaddikt

Girlfriend bought me a magazine and i found an interesting article about special charcoal and a weird box cooker lined with ceramic. What caught my attention the most was the charcoal they use for this cooker and how the juices that drip on the coal actually add flavor instead of giving a nasty burning smoke.

Acn

Binchotan is the bomb.  I've had slices of fish grilled tableside directly on the charcoal a couple of times.  It is MUCH better than the standard lump we get here.  However, you pay for that difference.  If you look at the site, it looks like the best deal you can get would be to buy 10 cases of Aramaru Binchotan (a step down from the White Binchotan) for $79.20 per 33 lb case.  The good stuff just goes up from there.

SmokeyPitt

Interesting.
http://korin.com/Charcoal-Barbecue-Konro-Lg

It looks like a Yakitori style grill.  They sell some very expensive lump charcoal to go with it. 

http://korin.com/Grillware_2/binchotan_accessories_2

I have to wonder what makes that $240ish one better than one like this:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Fire-Sense-Large-Yakatori-Charcoal-Grill-60450/203589025?cm_mmc=Shopping|THD|G|0|G-BASE-PLA-D28I-Grills|&gclid=CI-Xs8G64c0CFdgKgQodPWIDiQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

dopey

When we went to Chefs table at Brooklyn Fare, I saw them searing a seafood course over this rage hot looking fire with no smoke and wondered how they did it. 

I forgot to ask.

I'm glad you found this so now it's one of those lingering questions in my tiny mind answered!
At $10 a pound it's well worth it for a Michelin restaurant, but I'd have to buy a mini to afford to cook Bologna...

smokeyw

I find that more often than not, the juices dripping on hot coals do add a nice flavor.

bgeaddikt

Man! Just checked out their site and the damn charcoal is pricey! They weren't kidding! I want to get the 5lb bag so bad now. But even that is $50+. If i still had my Mini-Max i could probably get away with a few cooks using their coal.

dougcrann

Ain't no way I would spend $10+@pound for lump...

Mosca

SmokeyPitt said:

Interesting.
http://korin.com/Charcoal-Barbecue-Konro-Lg

It looks like a Yakitori style grill.  They sell some very expensive lump charcoal to go with it. 

http://korin.com/Grillware_2/binchotan_accessories_2

I have to wonder what makes that $240ish one better than one like this:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Fire-Sense-Large-Yakatori-Charcoal-Grill-60450/203589025?cm_mmc=Shopping|THD|G|0|G-BASE-PLA-D28I-Grills|&gclid=CI-Xs8G64c0CFdgKgQodPWIDiQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

Probably the same as the difference between a BGE and an Akorn. Both will work, one is higher quality, pick the one you like.

bgeaddikt

Woah! Charcoal in water?!? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5xo65Tppqo

gdenby

I see that the Korin product is hand made, and has a somewhat larger cooking area than the Fire Sense. And, Korin has something of a reputation for selling high quality products at somewhat higher prices.

Binchotan is remarkable, its almost pure carbon, and the genuine stuff comes from just one type of oak that grows in one area of Japan. So, it is expensive.
Sometimes it is so close to pure carbon that it has a metallic sheen and clinks like pieces of metal. Fairly hard to ignite, but burns long and hot.

fishlessman

isnt the charcoal just activated and washed. i could build a small system to do this in small batches if someones really that into lump. system cost 170k, how many years for the break even

gdenby

fishlessman said:

isnt the charcoal just activated and washed. i could build a small system to do this in small batches if someones really that into lump. system cost 170k, how many years for the break even

What I've read is that binchotan is made now by being blasted w. superheated steam. I have considered buying activated charcoal granules as a fuel and a water filter. Still really expensive.

fishlessman

gdenby said:

fishlessman said:

isnt the charcoal just activated and washed. i could build a small system to do this in small batches if someones really that into lump. system cost 170k, how many years for the break even

What I've read is that binchotan is made now by being blasted w. superheated steam. I have considered buying activated charcoal granules as a fuel and a water filter. Still really expensive.

its a simple system load royal oak in vessel 1, superheat it with steam, pressure transfer lump to vessel 2, rinse with with water, reheat til water steams, open valve in back, steam/water vaporizes instantly thru the blow off tank in back. 8 pounds activated lump, go cook a hotdog

bgeaddikt

Has anyone personally used the binchotan charcoal in their egg? Wonder if it may get too hot  I'm curious to buy a small bag now

blind99

you could pick up a firesense yakitori grill from amazon for $45, and try the binchotan in that, all in for about $100

i've been to korin once.  if you have a thing for knives, stay away.  very cool store.

HeavyG

bgeaddikt said:

Has anyone personally used the binchotan charcoal in their egg? Wonder if it may get too hot  I'm curious to buy a small bag now

Binchotan is too expensive to use in an Egg. Only the Komodo Kamado folks can afford to use it.

clemsontyger97

dougcrann said:

Ain't no way I would spend $10+@pound for lump...

Not even if it's 100% center-cut?   

4Runner

Pull away away from the edge folks.....

SkySaw

I'm no expert on Binchotan, but I suspect the whole reason for having it is that its ability to produce very high heat makes it ideal for using just 3-4 small pieces in a small grill to cook dinner. It's also clean burning, so you can have a few of these going in a restaurant without killing everyone from CO poisoning. A couple of pieces of lump in one of those Konro grills might not produce enough heat to effectively grill all that delicious yakitori.

The only use I could see for it in a Kamado would be to do something like a high direct cook. I used to like to cook chicken thighs at 275º high in the dome direct with just a few handfuls of lump. This reduced the tendency for fat to drip on the charcoal and make the chicken taste sooty. Otherwise I can't imagine why Binchotan would be a better choice in an Egg.

bgeaddikt

It makes more sense to me since i Have a Minimax and would use this for some sort of high heat sear.