making charcoal

Unknown

Here in Hawaii we have an abundance of kiawe, aka mesquite. My question is this----can I make charcoal by burning the wood in my fire pit and then putting iit in the egg and close all vents to snuff the fire? Has anyone had any experience at this? Thanks,
Tim
Kona, HI

Bama Fire

tim o'dell,
I'm heading to Hawaii next week on my honeymoon. We'll be in Maui for 4 nights then we're heading to the Kona Villas. Have and recomendations for great places to eat?[p]Thanks![p]Bama Fire

Unknown

Bama Fire,
Don't know many good places to eat but I do know a great cigar shop! Mine. When you get to town, give me a buzz at 329-3663 and I'll give you the rundown on a couple of great places to eat here----see you then[p]Tim

Tim M

tim o'dell,[p]Tim, check the archives as we had a load of posts here last year about making charcoal. As I recall a guy used a trash barrel that had another inner sealed chamber that contained the wood that was to be converted. You have to heat the wood but starve it for oxygen so it won't burn. Its not a complicated process but at the cost of lump - its more work than gain. There was also a website that showed the process.[p]Tim

Smokin' Todd

tim o'dell,
Here is an interesting link that guides you to making your own lump charcoal...i havent tried it but I do highly reccomend you follow the "optional" in the catogory in what u need to produce lump:)
http://www.eaglequest.com/~bbq/faq/15.html

Nature Boy

Tim M,
Yeah Tim, I posted that site. It looked interesting, but like you said, only if you have lots of spare time. He did it in 50 gallon drums. I don't think I bookmarked it, but I will look.

King-O-Coals

Don't do it Bama Fire. Think about what you are doing! Only a fool would,,,,, go out to eat when you could take your best man, Mr. "Mini" Humpty. HAAAAA! You thought I was talking about,,,,, naaahhh! But does she know you are a,,,,,well,,,,you know,,,,,,,a,,,,,,,,,,,cultist? Happy Honeymoon and hope you have a happy life... Does she cook,,,,,,,,,on the egg?

Spin

tim o'dell,[p]Lump charcoal is essentially pure carbon. The conversion of wood to lump charcoal involves the burning (driving off) of the volatile compounds in the wood to leave the carbon. The entire process requires the total absence of oxygen as any oxygen will cause the carbon to burn. The conversion produces about 20% charcoal (by volume) to wood. Commercial lump is a good deal.[p]Spin

Bama Fire

tim o'dell,
Nice! I'll give you a ring once we hop to your island.
EGGfest-Kona 2000! [p]B~F

Bama Fire

King-O-Coals,
She gets a big laugh out of me and my fellow cultist here at the Forum. She hasn't touch my EGG yet -- she's only gazed at it lustfully as it .... well .... made delicious meals.[p]Speaking of great meals, I had my future in-laws for dinner on sunday night. I had smoked a 6.3 pound Butt on the Mr. EGG for 22 hours. I was amazed at how long it took -- normally my smokes last around 16-18 hours for the same size butt. However, it was well worth the wait!! It was the best pulled pork I have ever tasted![p]I marinated the BUTT for 48 hours: french's mustard and JJ's rub. Cooked it indirect over hickory with beer and water in the drip pan. I was forced to re-lump after 18 hours as I couldn't get the dome temp to hit 300. After getting the fire back up, Butt sat (he he) on the egg for another 4 hours over some fresh hickory and beer. All I can say is WOW. I also made the Jalepeno Corn casserole which was excellent. What a great was to celebrate a sunday evening![p]B~F

Unknown

Bama Fire, plus now you've already got the inlaws on your side. Now, for the sneeky part. Don't just come right out and say it,,,,,, but kinda act like operating the egg is just a little too much for the little lady. Before you know it,, she'll have all the hair singed off her arms, and will have a catchy nickname on the forum. And if what I have discovered so far holds true,,,,, your knowledge base will expand considerably. She will be egging all types of mammals and fowl. My wife still acts kinda kluxey around the egg. You know,,, like "oh honey, that dome is too heavy for me to lift",, or, "what is that little slid thingy on the top", or "I'm going to egg something today, just let me fill my spray bottle in case of a flare-up". And she's always flattering me by saying things like "ummmmmm,, you smell good, is that hickory or mesquite?" I think she's dumb, like a fox... A friend of a friend of mine had just brought his new BGE home and his wife was going to cook something. She came into the house and said "I think you are going to have to adjust this top part a little,,,,,,,I can't get it to close all the way." Yep,, he didn't show her how to trip the latch before closing the dome.. OUCH! I still get a little faint when I think about that. Oh well,, he got him a new set of band/hinges and they are now egging fools again... Good luck in life my friend.

Bama Fire

K.O.C.,
Kinda like the old dog, blind in one eye, only one ear, half a tail, no teeth that answers to "Lucky."??[p]B~F[p]