Deal on charcoal in UK

Stormbringer

@TheToast I've done two cooks and a clean burn using the new lump. First impressions are that the pieces are generally bigger than the BGE stuff. This is after going through one bag and examining the contents ... yes I have charcoal OCD. Using the BGE firelighters, it did take longer to get going than BGE lump, I put that down to larger pieces with a smaller connecting surface areas to adjacent pieces and the firelighter.

However, once it got going, it kept the heat for a very long time. To draw a comparison, when I did a clean burn with fresh BGE lump in the MM to the fire ring, it burned down completely in about 2.5 hours. With the Green Olive lump, after 2 hours at over 400C (new gasket incoming from @RRP ) the lump was at the top of the firebox.

So very, very happy with the switch to Green Olive.

nick50

Very impressed with this.  BGE too expensive so ordered 4x10 kg bags.  Delvery was really good (and free) and tonights brisket did well.  Will be using this from now on

Eoin

Waiting for the next pallet of 10 to arrive, ordered last week.

TheToast

Glad this is still working out for UK Eggheads. I should work on commissioner for them!

@nick50 just seen another of your posts. Where do you live and where do you get your brisket? I ask because I'm in London and struggle to find butchers that cut it the American way. 

Stormbringer

I'm on the second bag now. The stuff just doesn't burn down, it's like concentrated and controlled heat radiation. Although I use a MMX mostly. I do find it easier to regulate the heat than with the BGE stuff.

nick50

@TheToast.  I live in Leamington Spa.  There's a butchers there called Aubrey Allen, who seem only too pleased to cut a brisket flat or point (I haven't summoned up the courage or money to go for the full one yet, but it does look good when they bring it out)!

Eoin

Second pallet arrived today.

TheToast

Just been emailed that green olive have 20% off everything for next week - code is BLACK20

I still have an absolute ton of charcoal - probably enough til this time next year

Eoin

I was waiting for an offer. I have a local source here, which is faster lighting and faster burning - just seems less dense. I want some green olive for longer cooks.

Stormbringer

What's your local souce @Eoin ? I'd like a fast light/fast burn charcoal as well. I'm going to get some more Green Olive though, I've only got one bag left from the offer last Christmas.

@TheToast - the code is active on their website now.

Eoin

@Stormbringer this is what I use, sold at our local Coop.  

https://www.homefarmlogs.com/collections/3-coal/products/bbq-charcoal

They are not exactly communicative, I never got a reply to an e-mail asking about a bulk discount - since Coop sell for the same price, there must be a discount in there somewhere.

The bags are quite big for 3 kg - it's not as dense as the Green Olive, but lights and burns fast. The piece size is usually quite small, although some bags have had larger lumps.  In any case, small pieces that light fast are great for the MMX and for getting the XL going.

Stormbringer

Eoin said:

@Stormbringer this is what I use, sold at our local Coop.  

https://www.homefarmlogs.com/collections/3-coal/products/bbq-charcoal

They are not exactly communicative, I never got a reply to an e-mail asking about a bulk discount - since Coop sell for the same price, there must be a discount in there somewhere.

The bags are quite big for 3 kg - it's not as dense as the Green Olive, but lights and burns fast. The piece size is usually quite small, although some bags have had larger lumps.  In any case, small pieces that light fast are great for the MMX and for getting the XL going.

Cheers, I'll get some of those. I've been using 3-4 bits of BGE charcoal in the MMX to get it going, the rest being Green Olive. I found Green Olive by itself is great when it gets to temp, but takes a while getting there. Kickstarting it with some BGE charcoal was a winner. However the stuff you linked is cheaper, so I'll get some of that.

Now I just need a bigger coal storage area.

TheToast

That green olive stuff is slow to light but burns for ages. Managed pizza cooks over the summer at 350c for 3hrs and still had some left in pit

Stormbringer

TheToast said:

That green olive stuff is slow to light but burns for ages. Managed pizza cooks over the summer at 350c for 3hrs and still had some left in pit

Yep, I've experienced the same thing with a pizza party. Once lit, that stuff just goes on forever.

GrillSgt

I have to say I enjoy reading the U.K. threads. In general, have you all been grilling/smoking/bbqing most of your adult life or is this something just taking hold over there. 

Stormbringer

GrillSgt said:

I have to say I enjoy reading the U.K. threads. In general, have you all been grilling/smoking/bbqing most of your adult life or is this something just taking hold over there. 

Just over two years for me, which in no way constitutes a major portion of my adult life . It all started when I saw a Big Green Egg being used at our local Whole Foods to cook cajun chicken and pizza.

Eoin

GrillSgt said:

I have to say I enjoy reading the U.K. threads. In general, have you all been grilling/smoking/bbqing most of your adult life or is this something just taking hold over there. 

Just under a year for me.  BBQ in the UK usually means straightforward grilling with charcoal or on gas.  It's not really that big a thing here, not a separate culture as it seems to be in the US. I had probably grilled some sausages / burgers / chicken a couple of times a year before getting the Egg, now I cook on the Egg 3 to 4 nights a week.

Eoin

Any of you guys tried using olive wood for smoking?  It's not too expensive to get a big bag if ordering the same time as 100 kg charcoal as the free delivery kicks in.

Stormbringer

Eoin said:

Any of you guys tried using olive wood for smoking?  It's not too expensive to get a big bag if ordering the same time as 100 kg charcoal as the free delivery kicks in.

I haven't but only because I already have a selection of smoking woods from Grilling Wood, they are available from Amazon in the UK. I've had good experiences so far with apple, cherry and alder.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/BBQ-Smoking-Cherry-Wood-Chunks/dp/B01BSREPQS/ref=sr_1_2?m=A1H550DMK29HC7&s=merchant-items&ie=UTF8&qid=1511276697&sr=1-2&dpID=51Wfj5DdorL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch&th=1

stlcharcoal

Request for anyone in the UK......

Would someone snap a pic of the warning labels / placement on those bags?  We had a request to ship there, and I'm curious if we can even do that with our bags.  Thanks!

Eoin

@stlcharcoal pics below of what I have, no warning labels.

Who is your customer - a potential distributor? If I was your distributor I would do the research and add a sticker with anything I needed to include. Historically, the UK has been less obsessed with warning labels for the hard of thinking, that is changing though.

Stormbringer

stlcharcoal said:

Request for anyone in the UK......

Would someone snap a pic of the warning labels / placement on those bags?  We had a request to ship there, and I'm curious if we can even do that with our bags.  Thanks!

If you ship Rockwood, and depending on the price of course, I'm in! The thing I look for is a label saying restaurant grade. Also, Big Green Egg sell their charcoal here, as far as I know its the same labeling on the external packaging as the stuff sold in the USA, so you have a benchmark/baseline.

Eoin

@stlcharcoal

As per what @Stormbringer said, I'd be interested too.

stlcharcoal

I don't see a single warning label on that bag......wow.  I had looked at some other brands I found images of and didn't see anything either.

Canada's gov will show up with a micrometer and measure the letter size, spacing, etc.  And you have to have French and English.

Eoin

stlcharcoal said:

I don't see a single warning label on that bag......wow.  I had looked at some other brands I found images of and didn't see anything either.

Canada's gov will show up with a micrometer and measure the letter size, spacing, etc.  And you have to have French and English.

No warnings on bags of coal or wood either. Danger - coal burns. Do not light unless you are sure you want a fire. Etc.

Stormbringer

stlcharcoal said:

I don't see a single warning label on that bag......wow.  I had looked at some other brands I found images of and didn't see anything either.

Canada's gov will show up with a micrometer and measure the letter size, spacing, etc.  And you have to have French and English.

This is what's on Green Olive charcoal bags







Let me know if you need anything else.

HeavyG

I've violated every one of those "Remember Safety First" suggestions numerous times over the years.

Eoin

HeavyG said:

I've violated every one of those "Remember Safety First" suggestions numerous times over the years.

How many times did you die?

Eoin

Eoin said:

@stlcharcoal pics below of what I have, no warning labels.

Who is your customer - a potential distributor? If I was your distributor I would do the research and add a sticker with anything I needed to include. Historically, the UK has been less obsessed with warning labels for the hard of thinking, that is changing though.

I've been having less luck with this stuff recently. I bought a batch a while ago and it seems the QC is a bit hit and miss. The smoke is thick and white and is taking ages to clear. If I look carefully there are pieces that aren't fully turned to charcoal and also pieces that have what looks like tar on the outside.

Trying a couple of other options now. Alderline - alder wood lump from Latvia. Just lit some and it burns nice and clean with clear smoke fast. See how it does on steak tonight.

chrisuk

Hi all. Been a while since your posts however as another (albeit newbie), UK egg user who are you all using now for charcoal?