Lump Volatiles Question #6

@blasting, Rockwood is the real neutral deal brother!  Cook with it and you'll not look back.

Thanks @stlcharcoal we learn something new everyday book marked for sure .... Still hopping rockwood makes it out to Cali one day ... I know I know it won't ... 

YukonRon , you mean there is no dealer in Louisville?  I get mine at a little outdoor power equipment shop (Henry's Outdoor Power Equipment) in Versailles.  Over an hours drive one way for me.  Go by there when I have to go to my hip doctor at UK, so just try to pick some up along and not run out.

Mikee said:

@stlcharcoal  Thanks for the technical explanation. Is converting wood to 80% charcoal the norm? Would increasing the conversion rate mean increased loss of the final product in combination of the charcoal being even more fragile to transport? How does 80% conversion compare to 100% in terms of cooking? Personally I like the flavor that lump adds to the meat. Would 100% charcoal be more like cooking on a gas grill?

80% seems to be the average of where it ends up.  I have purchased other charcoals that are definitely lower though......I don't know by how much.  These are the ones you can't break apart by hand.  They don't make the metallic sound when you hit them together, and they don't shatter when dropped.  It will also smoke like crazy for the first hour or so.  And while that's no a bad thing for a L&S, it sucks when you want to do a hot and fast for steaks or pizzas.  Not only do you have to wait forever for the smoke to clear, but it will hang around 400-500F dome temp until the wood burns away and the carbon can unleash the inferno.  I do more grilling than smoking, so I like to be able to go from 0 to 700F+ in 5-10 minutes with the help of weed burner and BBQ Dragon.

If wood content is higher, the volume is less.  The FTC, FDA, etc doesn't regulate a minimum carbon content to call something "charcoal" as far as I know, but I would call them charred wood that is almost charcoal (by my standards.)  That 20# bag is smaller than another 20# bag because of the wood fiber, moisture, etc.  Now it will last just as long (or longer) in terms of BTU's, but not really if you're waiting an 30-60 minutes to turn the "char wood" into "charcoal" after you light it.

In regards to 80%+ carbon, I don't know how you would do it--in the US with a kiln.  Just like in the BGE, the fire moves around inside of a kiln and it's never perfectly distributed.  Once you go past a certain point, you're going to start losing a lot of charcoal (charcoal/carbon is now burning rather than wood.)  It also gets even more fragile, so a lot is going to be lost to fines even before it goes in the bag.  Right now, it's about 6 pounds of wood, you get about 1 pound of charcoal.  Sacrificing charcoal trying to get to a high carbon percentage on the rest is going to jack that number up to 7:1 or higher, and the price of a bag is going to be even higher.....and the supply will go down since more is lost to fines and ash.   Trying to go over 80% would not be something to try in a conventional "Missouri kiln"--you would need some sort of retort kiln and do it in much smaller quantities.  Not practical or affordable for BBQ lump. 

In the end, as long it stays consistent, that's the most important thing.  That's tough to do with an all-natural product.  We want the consumer to be able to predict how it's going to preform, rather that every bag acting different when it comes to lighting times, smoke production, ash content, etc.  That's all chemical and won't change once it goes in the bag......the chunk size is the opposite.  That's unfortunately what the consumer first sees, and what we cannot control.  It's pretty consistent here in St. Louis (especially with the bags I personally deliver).......after they leave town, I lose that quality control aspect.