Hi all,
I managed to get my hands on a big bag of charcoal, what we in Sweden call "Cuba coal". It is made from a small tree/bush called Marabu, and it grows in tropic regions like Cuba. It is actually an 'imported' tree that hinders agricultural development, so making charcoal out of it is a Good Thing. It is supposedly great for low and slow cooking. A friend of mine (a Primo retailer) did some tests with different types of charcoal in a Primo Oval XL 400 and a Flameboss. He used 5 kilos of charcoal (various brands), and set the grill to run at 225° F. When it dropped to 212° F he considered the test 'over'. This specific charcoal lasted 60 hours and 10 minutes. Pretty impressive. Can't wait to give it a run this weekend. As you can see from the pictures the chunks are very large.
Another fellow nerd when it comes to making your own charcoal is a researcher who lives in the woods, literally. He's made it his calling to produce top notch charcoal. Recently he realized he had 10 cubic metres of coal dust ('leftovers'), and figured it was time to manufacture briquettes. So he built a briquette 'pooper' (hyudralic), and mixed corn starch with water and charcoal dust. He pushes the black goo through a long metal pipe, and out comes a long thick briquette, which is then chopped up in pieces. He says he's still fine tuning the mixture, but I was given a sample bag to try. I'm really psyched about this one, if it turns out good I won't buy anything else in the future.
While at it I bought a nice carbon steel tray for kitchen and grill use. Made in Katalonia, Spain. The brand is 'Pallares'. They come in various sizes, and had a very reasonable price, so I bought one because I really like the look of it. Spinaker, it ain't cast iron, but I really like the rough style.
Here's the 'Cuba' charcoal, from Marabu
Here's the 'Pallares' steel cooking tray, with the charcoal in the back. Notice the large size chunks. Up front you see the new custom briquettes.
I managed to get my hands on a big bag of charcoal, what we in Sweden call "Cuba coal". It is made from a small tree/bush called Marabu, and it grows in tropic regions like Cuba. It is actually an 'imported' tree that hinders agricultural development, so making charcoal out of it is a Good Thing. It is supposedly great for low and slow cooking. A friend of mine (a Primo retailer) did some tests with different types of charcoal in a Primo Oval XL 400 and a Flameboss. He used 5 kilos of charcoal (various brands), and set the grill to run at 225° F. When it dropped to 212° F he considered the test 'over'. This specific charcoal lasted 60 hours and 10 minutes. Pretty impressive. Can't wait to give it a run this weekend. As you can see from the pictures the chunks are very large.
Another fellow nerd when it comes to making your own charcoal is a researcher who lives in the woods, literally. He's made it his calling to produce top notch charcoal. Recently he realized he had 10 cubic metres of coal dust ('leftovers'), and figured it was time to manufacture briquettes. So he built a briquette 'pooper' (hyudralic), and mixed corn starch with water and charcoal dust. He pushes the black goo through a long metal pipe, and out comes a long thick briquette, which is then chopped up in pieces. He says he's still fine tuning the mixture, but I was given a sample bag to try. I'm really psyched about this one, if it turns out good I won't buy anything else in the future.
While at it I bought a nice carbon steel tray for kitchen and grill use. Made in Katalonia, Spain. The brand is 'Pallares'. They come in various sizes, and had a very reasonable price, so I bought one because I really like the look of it. Spinaker, it ain't cast iron, but I really like the rough style.
Here's the 'Cuba' charcoal, from Marabu
Here's the 'Pallares' steel cooking tray, with the charcoal in the back. Notice the large size chunks. Up front you see the new custom briquettes.
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